Consumer Electronics Show 2004 Day 2 - VIA's new Gaming Console

Final Words

So how does the ApeXtreme play? The two games we saw running were Rogue Squadron and Madden 2004. Rogue Squadron ran fine but Madden 2004 was far from smooth, while we couldn't get confirmation of the resolution it was running at we'd assume either 640 x 480 or 800x600 given the degree of aliasing as you can see in the image below.

As a gaming platform the ApeXtreme is no Xbox or Gamecube killer, or even a competitor. The system provides a decent entry into the PC gaming world as simple sports games, adventure games, Counterstrike and other such titles will play relatively well on the ApeXtreme. VIA's goal of making their way into the living room can very well be fulfilled, but not as a gaming platform rather a home theater platform. If Apex can extend the functionality of the ApeXtreme beyond gaming its attractiveness will increase tremendously, the problem with it right now is that the majority of PC games were not designed to be played in front of a TV with a controller. The other problem Apex will run into is that console games are written to work within the very rigid constraints of console hardware, whereas PC games are not written for a completely uninterrupted gaming experience. Gaming on the ApeXtreme will never be as smooth of a process as on a dedicated console, especially considering the long install times that the majority of games will leave users with. One side effect of the long install times however is that loading times should be reduced significantly as we're talking about having all games installed on the ApeXtreme's hard drive.

The hardware specifications of the ApeXtreme will also limit its success as a long term gaming product; although they are similar to the Xbox specifications, the ApeXtreme is being released over two years after the Xbox. Basically, don't expect the ApeXtreme to have the usual 3 - 5 year console lifespan.

How Apex decides to improve and sell the ApeXtreme will be up to them, but what is important is to note VIA's contribution to the project. VIA's role has become much less of a reference design provider, and more of an end-solution provider. Any manufacturer could buy the VIA motherboard, chipset, GPU and CPU that went into the ApeXtreme and design their own solution. If you aren't happy with the way the ApeXtreme was done the solution is simple - make your own. VIA is doing their best to make that challenge as easy as possible for manufacturers, with a fairly large name like Apex taking the first steps we'd hope that other manufacturers will follow - for VIA's sake at least.

The ApeXtreme won't replace your Xbox and it won't ruin PC gaming, but what it will allow is people without a PC to enjoy PC games. How big of a market we're talking about, only time will tell, but Apex clearly views it as something worth going after. The real story behind the ApeXtreme is VIA's platform, whether it is successful in Apex's case or not doesn't matter - if they fail, another manufacturer can just as easily give it a try.

VIA has finally shown us that they can do much more than just talk about moving beyond the PC, now it's up to them to find the partners to begin to take advantage of the opportunity they have presented. Was this supposed to be easier than competing in the PC market?