Quote:Original post by AvatarOfChange
The Evo Smart Console has brand new, expensive hardware that makes it a very strong system. Check the specs and you will see. How we offer this for the price that we do is very simple.

Not to sound rude, but you need to check your facts.

Here is a newegg pricelist for components matching your specs. As you can see, the selection I picked provides equivalent (and in places better) specs, for $100 less than the Evo - and these are single-purchase retail prices, I assume buying in bulk would be cheaper. For that $100, you could afford to add a dedicated video card (for instance, the ATI Radeon 4830, or NVidia 9600 GSO), which would allow one to actually play games.

So my impression of the Evo is that it is overpriced, given the low specs, and will be hamstrung by the lack of a dedicated graphics card.

Quote:Original post by AvatarOfChange
Our system has a ATI HD 3200 that was tested w/ Crysis @ 60+ frames per second. It plays great.

At low resolution and quality settings, sure. I have this exact integrated GPU in my machine, and while not bad for integrated, it is hardly a powerhouse.

Quote:Our system hardware costs 500+ and we offer it at $379 US. I am going to check with IT and make sure about the prices, but the last time I added it up we were @ around $540 for everything. My first instinct is to say that prices have gone down a little since last quarter, but not so much that somebody could build our system for the amount that we sell it for.

Have your IT guys take a look at my pricelist there - your system components, retail from newegg, cost less that $300.

Quote:Do you make your own ketchup or do you buy it at the store?

I build my own PCs, where possible, as it tends to save a little cash, and offer a little more flexibility in configuration. I realise not everyone does this, but I am just saying that for the $500 you expect the hardware to cost, you could afford a real video card.

Heinz all the way baby (Hunt's sucks, it is drippy).

But I do make my own ranch dressing and mustard, and computers :)

Again, I don't want to sound like I'm bashing, because I have a lot of respect that Envizions has actually brought to market what so many others have tried and failed. I also think that there is room enough in the market for a hobby and indie-friendly, console, whether linux-based or not. I simply disagree that trying to compete on the higher-end of hardware is not a viable strategy.

As swift pointed out, the hardware included isn't all that great, and frankly, if you are spending on hardware what you say, then you're really getting ripped off. It surprises me greatly that these aren't even breaking even.

As far as performance, My Unibody MacBook is running a GeForce 9400M integrated chip, which stands toe-to-toe, with the Evo's Radeon 3200 chip. Under Bootcamp and Windows XP, playing Left 4 Dead, I have to turn my resolution down to 720p, disable MSAA, and turn the shader and texture detail down to low, just to keep a playable 30 frames per second. I just can't believe that Crysis, being far more graphically demanding, would reach 30fps on Evo, let alone 60... Maybe, just maybe, at 640x480 or 720x480 (480p widescreen) with all settings on low.

Again, I really think that trying to compete with today's AAA games is a poor strategy. Without a 7-figure install base, you're not going to attract big-name developers. Running Windows to leach PC games or relying on the precious few that get linux ports simply isn't enough software to keep an interest in the platform. This also relegates EVO to also-ran status, where the only big titles you have have already been there, done that on every other platform. In short, if I can play the same Windows version of crysis on the PC I already own, at far better quality, then why play it on EVO? If I don't play games on Evo, its nothing more than a DVR that happens to play some games. If I don't play those games, why not just get a DVR with more capacity for cheaper? The problem, in short, is that there is nothing to distinguish the Evo from the many other choices available to the consumer.

The only thing that EVO can distinguish itself on (and with the likes of XNA community games, even that window is closing) is on quality independent and hobbyist-made games. There is a lot of talent out there -- look at Braid, Castle Crashers, and many other small-scale games that have been critical and commercial successes. These are the types of games that a small team of 2-5 people can bring to market with a real level of polish, generate lots of buzz, and make enough money to fund their next venture. Now, here's the thing, none of these games would take advantage of the hardware you have (much as I maligned it for being obsolete earlier), these games would run great on that Omap3530 chip I mentioned before. So the conclusion I make, is that for 90% of the software you need, the bread-and-butter titles, the hardware is going to waste -- its only justified by the 10% of games I'd have more fun playing on my PC, and (possibly) for the DVR features. In my mind, it would be more effective to support those 90% with hardware that runs at less than 1/3 of your reported manufacturing costs, than to spend 2 times over again, just to add DVR and a few titles (that again, most people would rather play at their desktop.

I pose the question: Given the choice between a $380 DVR/console, and a $130 console that share 90% of the same software, which do you buy? Can't I also buy that $130 console and a $250 dedicated DVR? I don't think these questions are hard for the consumer -- I think you have a hard enough time trying to convince them to buy that $130 console. Honestly, in many ways I see this drive to add DVR functionality as "Hey guys, if this whole gaming thing doesn't work out, at least you got a neat (not to mention expensive) DVR." and it doesn't sound to me, that the EVO is a serious games machine.

I really do wish EVO the best, if for no other reason than what it stands for, but ideologies alone don't make for good business. I'd love to be proven wrong.

That said, if Envizions ever wants to change direction and align more with my line of thinking, then I'll simply say that I'm available and looking for work [wink]