Slightly Mad Studios barely dropped the news that they are working on an independent console to take on the next generation of consoles that the company's CEO, Ian Bell, released the first image renders of the console on Twitter:

Failed to fetch tweet https://twitter.com/bell_sms/status/1081170180582006785​

It seems like Bell could not hold his excitement to share these designs as images of early design builds were initially expected to be released in four to six weeks' time.

The console, called the Mad Box, is projected to ship in around three years and is being boasted as "most powerful console ever built" with 4K and VR support.

What do you think of those early designs? Some more fine-tuning is required or you'd be happy to own a console that looks like that?

UPDATE

After sharing the first render of the Mad Box, Ian Bell took to Twitter again to share some more possible looks of his company's upcoming console. Which one do you prefer?

Failed to fetch tweet https://twitter.com/bell_sms/status/1081774150803349504
Failed to fetch tweet https://twitter.com/bell_sms/status/1082036334015868929
Failed to fetch tweet https://twitter.com/bell_sms/status/1082233744797270016
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SOURCE

 

[WhiteMaze]

And this folks, is what happens when you hire Tempy to design a console for your company.

Now let's all bleach our eyes together.

 

[Mr. Elementle]

No shit, Sherlock. Here's another prediction for you: despite what sort of mobile revolutionary car manufacturers promise you, the next generation of cars will have WHEELS underneath them. Why? Because there's no need to reinvent those things! Same here: linux is free, easily modifyable and has come a long way in proper driver support. It'd be retarded to just say "naaaah...we might be a small team, but we'll just start from scratch working on an OS. We've got a name to maintain. "
Likewise: just about every game is on steam, so it doesn't take Nostradamus-powers to predict they want games that aren't tied into a system to be ported to their machine.

???Okay, but like so you agree with me that they aren't going to develop a new console OS and it's just a glorified linux PC that they're calling a console, like you sort of snatched what i said out of the air like??? because to you use your car analogy if someone announced their new hoverboard model, but it had 4 wheels and also a steering wheel and you sit inside but there's no roof, you can call it a hoverboard but it's still a car without a roof, just like this is still just gonna be a pc

I realized after posting this that the thing describe there is called a convertable, i forgot those existed for some reason, but like you get the idea

 

[LightyKD]

I dunno where you got the switch being a low end machine, it sells for more than both the xbox one and ps4. The idea that you'd pay more for hardware knowing its worse than the competition just so devs have to work harder is the dumbest thing I've ever heard

Um, 100+ million people paid for low end hardware with the Wii. Developers shouldn't be afraid to push hardware. As Kennedy once said

"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too."

You honestly think that the greatest achievements of this industry came because developers had the tools and horsepower easily laid before them? NO! The best development techniques came because there was a problem or a restriction that either needed to be solved or worked around. Resident Evil 2 on Nintendo 64 is a shining example. The problem with today's industry is that developers are starting to get too used to having what they "need" that they don't learn nor take the time to optimize their games. Just look at the many 60-100 GB games we have now.

Back to the Switch, YES it is the low end of the modern console spectrum. Price means nothing In the case of Raw horsepower...

PC
XBox One X
PS4 Pro
XBox One S - PS4 standard (too lazy to check on these two right now)
Xbox one Launch Edition
Nintendo Switch
Wii U

I like my Switch but in no way do I kid myself and say that it's high end. All the money that you are shelling out is based on the dock and the joycons. Heck even compare the Switch to the price of the Shield TV. both devices are using the same SOC. My statement still stands. I want to see the Switch have some competition on the low end. I CARE about making gaming accessible and affordable to everyone. I wasn't born with a silver spoon up my hiney. I know that some families struggle. Not everyone is able to hold onto middle class status. That doesn't mean that we restrict those people from video games. Music, movies, television and books are widely available, regardless of economic situation. If gaming is to stay the dominant form of entertainment then the industry needs to be as easily accessible to the masses.

 

[Kioku]

I dunno where you got the switch being a low end machine, it sells for more than both the xbox one and ps4. The idea that you'd pay more for hardware knowing its worse than the competition just so devs have to work harder is the dumbest thing I've ever heard

I don't know where you're going with this but it being a low end machine doesn't mean it's bad. It's significantly weaker than any of its competitors' home consoles. It barely keeps pace with most higher end phones. No amount of sales will change that.

 

[Xzi]

I don't know where you're going with this but it being a low end machine doesn't mean it's bad. It's significantly weaker than any of its competitors' home consoles. It barely keeps pace with most higher end phones. No amount of sales will change that.

Switch is about 3/4ths of a generation back, but let's not be deceptive. It's not as if PS3/XB360 could keep pace with modern high-end phones either, and to top it off, neither of those was even remotely portable. Modern game engine support gives Switch a great price : performance ratio.

 

[Bladexdsl]

so it's just a shitty pc with a really shitty case! straight to on sale release

 

[Juggalo Debo]

I like em, but i also get in the aesthetics of stuff. I bought a car I put a bodykit on it.... I

 

[pedro702]

looks ugly as hell, and it seems to be a pc tower lol. that design is not something to have under a tv its too tall, most tvs wont have space to have that under it...

 

[Condarkness_XY]

It's the new console ouyatuya! Wait a min.....

 

[Deleted User]

It won't sell looking like that. Doesn't look like a console.

 

[Taleweaver]

???Okay, but like so you agree with me that they aren't going to develop a new console OS and it's just a glorified linux PC that they're calling a console, like you sort of snatched what i said out of the air like??? because to you use your car analogy if someone announced their new hoverboard model, but it had 4 wheels and also a steering wheel and you sit inside but there's no roof, you can call it a hoverboard but it's still a car without a roof, just like this is still just gonna be a pc

I realized after posting this that the thing describe there is called a convertable, i forgot those existed for some reason, but like you get the idea

I certainly agree that they're going to use Linux, but IMHO that doesn't make it somehow less of a console. I mean...ps4's os is based on freebsd, and it's not a secret that the xbone runs a modified windows. If those aren't consoles, then I don't know what is.and I certainly don't get why this box should be called different.

 

[Shubshub]

@Shubshub
View attachment 154258
Your console has arrived XD

I guess I am suing

 

[netovsk]

Does this design look cost effective to them? Set sail for fail!

 

[pedro702]

I certainly agree that they're going to use Linux, but IMHO that doesn't make it somehow less of a console. I mean...ps4's os is based on freebsd, and it's not a secret that the xbone runs a modified windows. If those aren't consoles, then I don't know what is.and I certainly don't get why this box should be called different.

well consoles without exclusive games aren't really consoles, if its only gonna play some pc ports then it wont really be a "console" imo.

same way i never called steam boxes consoles.
ouya,steam boxes and so on all failed miserably, you cant make a pc that plays pc games and pass it under a console just becuase it connects to the tv, it doesn't work, not to mention they dont read physical media, or have their own studios to make games, if it plays pc games only people already have a pc so they just skip them altogether.

 

[iyenal]

Ouya Fail v2 announced

 

[emigre]

Ive got to admire how batshit this looks. It beats the generic black box look.

 

[Rabbid4240]

Looks like a fucking hat

 

[Sliter]

this kinda give me the same energy of zeebo, but actually looks very better lol
in the power, at least

 

[Gamer4Lyfe]

This thing cracks me up, it looks shit. As someone said earlier, they should have kept the whole picture blurred.

 

[Edgarska]

So it's a PC with a closed environment.
To be fair, the current consoles are already just crappy PCs (and an Nvidia Shield), but at least they're not this ugly.