Polium is making the first console to take blockchain gaming into the living room

Polium, a company that aims to build products and infrastructure for Web3 gaming, has announced that it will be developing a gaming console dubbed Polium One.

Polium One gaming console / Photo credit: Polium

The console will be built exclusively for games in the emerging Web3 space. It will be capable of running on different blockchains and will be compatible with new and existing games on Immutable X, Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon, the company said.

Other features include a fingerprint scanner to verify transactions, a multichain wallet together with a wallet button for in-game trading, and an app to exchange non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Users will be able to find games and explore metaverses on the company’s app store.

Polium said that its up-and-coming console will be powerful enough to run high-performance games and will also work well for traditional players and those who are new to Web3.

According to the company, the console’s internals will be provided by gaming hardware major Nvidia, and its software will be built based on the Linux OS.

The Polium app store / Photo credit: Polium

Enthusiasts of the console, however, may have to wait a while for its release, which is set for Q3 2024. Pre-orders can be made by purchasing Polium Pass, the company’s NFT on the Ethereum network. Polium plans to ship 10,000 units to pass holders and partners after the release and aims to sell over 1 million units in total.

Pricing for the console was not provided, but the firm said it will be “affordable” as the company aims to boost mass adoption for Web3.

The product, however, hasn’t resonated well with the public. Many took to Polium’s Twitter account to express their discontent.

Some accused the console of copying Nintendo’s GameCube logo, while others condemned the company for collecting pre-orders and funding without providing a working prototype and road map. In response, Polium said it will have a functional prototype before taking pre-orders and that it is currently in talks with Web3 game developers to provide games for its console.

As for the logo, it already announced a new one after the accusation.

See also: China is embracing Web3 without crypto