Remember the portable Steam machine called the Smach Zero? It's back!
If you've been holding your breath, hoping against hope that the Smach Zero becomes reality, we have good news for you. It's on Kickstarter right now.
Truth be told, it looks like a bigger version of the Wii U pad to us.
While the jury's still out on whether Steam machines are really what gamers want in their living room, that hasn't stopped Smach from going ahead in trying to get funding for its Smach Z portable Steam machine.
If the name sounds familiar, it's because we reported about the Smach Z (then called the Smach Zero), in an earlier article. Now Smach, the company behind machine, is gearing up for the final push to make their portable Steam machine a reality by taking it to Kickstarter.
Despite the name change, the Smach Z is still packing the most of the same proposed hardware it had when it was called the Smach Zero. Here's a refresh of them, direct from the Smach Z's Kickstarter page.
We have to say, it does sound like an impressive piece of gaming machinery, even if it's only capable of 1080p.
The Smach Z is now modular, with its controls taking a page of out of Valve's Steam Controller. It uses haptic controls though you can also swap in physical buttons, a D-pad and an analog stick depending on the game. On top of that, the unit itself can be a controller for PC titles, as like NVIDIA's Shield devices, the Smach Z can also stream games from your main gaming rig if you do desire.
The most impressive thing about the Smach Z is that the developers claim that their machine can last at least five hours, longer if you use the optional battery packs. If that's true, gamers who want to play on the go might just have found the perfect portable system!
The newly named Smach Z starts at €199 but sadly, that tier's all filled up. The next tier is at €249 (~$400), which is still a pretty good discount over its proposed retail price of €349. if the Kickstarter is successful, the machine will ship out October 2016.
Source: Kickstarter (via Gamasutra)
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.