There is a fine line between PC gaming and console gaming, as there are many gamers who favor one gaming alternative over the other -- but hybrid PC/game consoles haven't been widely explored. The Origin PC manufacturer's new "The Big O" PC, however, includes a built-in Microsoft Xbox 360 Slim game console built directly into the PC.
The base model includes an Intel Core i7 930 processor overclocked to reach speeds of 4.0GHz. Origin also includes a video system powered by the SLI multi-GPU configuration with up to 24GB of RAM support available.
In addition to the Xbox 360 Slim, The Big O also includes a liquid cooling system designed to keep the CPU, motherboard, GPU and Xbox 360 Slim cool during long gaming sessions.
"We entered into a competition in CPU Magazine to build the Ultimate Dream Gaming PC so we included the best from the PC world and the best of the console world to create the ultimate gaming system ever assembled," Origin told MyCE. "The Xbox and PC work independently giving users the flexibility to use both systems at once on separate displays. There is a built in switch to provide network access to both systems."
There is an effort to help consolidate the number of electronics in the living room, with DVD players, Blu-ray players, digital cable boxes, game consoles, set-top boxes, DVRs, and other electronics still used. Cable boxes and game consoles often feature streaming content and DVR capability, but a game console inside a PC is quite a unique product.
Don't expect to pick up a product from The Big O line at a cheap price, as pricing begins at a wallet busting $7,669.
I'm honestly unsure if other companies will try to follow Origin PC's footsteps, and expect this to remain a niche product offering for gamers. The high price tag will ensure The Big O won’t have a lot of customers -- but other manufacturers may try to find ways to include a quality PC coupled with a game console.
I think it’ll take a major PC maker and a strong marketing push from a console maker for a product like this to make a significant impact in the marketplace, but nonetheless, it's still really cool.
