When compared to other countries, China's console gaming industry is relatively new. Until 2015, the Chinese government instituted a near-complete ban on video game consoles, citing concerns over video game addiction and its effects on impressionable gamers. Inadvertently, this policy helped pave the way for the explosive growth in the Chinese PC gaming community, and the rise of developers like Netease and Tencent.
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However, since the end of the nearly two-decade-long ban on the console gaming industry, many Chinese companies have begun developing their own exclusive consoles for the Chinese market, one that has been expanding with a year-over-year growth rate of 21% since 2008.
5 Subor Z
- Developer: Zhongshan Subor
Developed in collaboration with AMD, the Subor Z is perhaps one of the more visually striking Chinese game consoles, seemingly taking design elements from both Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's Playstation 4. However, one of the more unique aspects of the Subor Z is its operating system, (one that will be familiar to any veteran of Windows 10) as it runs on a customized version of the OS. Additionally, the Subor Z sports a number of domestically developed internal components, such as its Fenghuang CPU and GPU, that make it a truly Chinese product for the Chinese market. Considering the relatively upstart nature of the console gaming industry in China, Zhongshan's Subor Z is an innovative gaming platform that is a far cry from the knock-off consoles of the prior decades.
4 iSec
- Developer: Eedoo, Lenovo
Back in 2012, developer Eedoo partnered with Lenovo to develop a console capable of motion capture technology, similar to Xbox and its Kinect line of gaming peripherals. As it was initially released during China's ban on console gaming, the iSec wasn't marketed as a game console, but rather as a home entertainment system, capable of playing music, movies, etc.
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Despite this all-encompassing approach, the iSec fared poorly in the Chinese market, and combined with its hefty $600 price tag, the iSec was essentially dead on arrival when it was first introduced. Since then, the company behind the iSec has been acquired by an undisclosed software developer, so it's unlikely the iSec will see a second-generation anytime soon.
3 Fun Box
- Developers: ZTE, The9
A joint venture between the Chinese telecom company ZTE and online game operator The9, the Fun Box holds the distinction of being one of the first domestically made consoles to be sold after China's nationwide ban on console gaming was lifted. Featuring 2GB of RAM and 8GB of storage, the Fun Box's internals are more on par with the Raspberry Pi 400 than those of even a last-gen gaming console. But the Fun Box was never truly intended to render AAA titles in 4K. Rather, the Fun Box was built around the Android OS, and as such, would be more at home playing the variety of games available on the Google Play store.
2 Mate 20 X
- Developer: Huawei
Stretching the definition of the term "console" somewhat, the Mate 20 X from telecom company Huawei is in fact, a gaming smartphone. However, the Mate 20 X features a number of internal components seen more frequently in the PC gaming sphere than in mobile gaming, such as a built-in vapor chamber to help dissipate heat when under high loads. Additionally, the phone is capable of supporting a D-Pad attachment, allowing players the opportunity to more finely control their movements in-game.
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This, coupled with the fact that the Mate 20 X was first presented in comparison to the much more well-known Nintendo Switch, makes it much easier to see this "gaming smartphone" as more of a "console that can make phone calls." Considering the boom in the Chinese mobile gaming sphere, the Mate 20 X is a natural balancing act between the console and mobile gaming communities.
1 Tomahawk F1
- Developer: Fuze
If the Subor Z took design inspirations from the Playstation 4 and the Xbox 360, the Tomahawk F1 took the two consoles, smashed them together, and ran with the end result. Unfortunately for the Tomahawk, however, that's about where the similarities end. With 4GB of DDR3 RAM and a four-core CPU by Nvidia, the Tomahawk F1 sits at roughly half the computing power of the PS4, a console released a full three years before the Tomahawk.
However, the saving grace of the console lies less in its blistering performance, and more in the pricepoint. At initial release, the PS4 cost roughly $400 before tax, whereas the Tomahawk F1, with all additional upgrades, would set the consumer back a comparatively cheap $230. Therefore, the Tomahawk F1 might be better presented as a "bang-for-the-buck" alternative in the Chinese gaming market, especially to those who may otherwise be unwilling to pay large up-front costs associated with more mainstream gaming consoles.
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