   The Practicality of an NVIDIA ION-based Game Console?
  I recently heard about the new NVIDIA ION platform, which is a new gaming-centric platform for netbooks and nettops. However, I wondered: how could this cheap, yet somewhat powerful, gaming baseline apply to the rise of homebrew consoles. So, I began dreaming.I wondered: what is the practicality of a game console based on the ION platform? What games could it run? How well could it run them? All these questions and more would have to be answered.So, I call out to the community to answer one question: what is the practicality of a NVIDIA ION-based game console? What could it do? Not do?   
  The problem with an ION-based platform is ultimately going to be price. The cheapest intel ATOM CPUs are still 40ish dollars for a single-core, in-order CPU which is probably roughly equivalent to a 1.2Ghz Pentium 3. The ION is probably another $40 on top of that... On my Unibody macbook, which pairs the same ION GPU with a 2Ghz, Core 2 duo CPU and dual-channel DDR3 memory, I have to turn the settings down to medium across the board to get playable frame-rates at 720p resolution, even in a relatively graphically-unimpressive game like Left 4 Dead.Then, since PC hardware isn't exactly DIY on a board-level, you're going to need to source a large quantity of off-the-shelf motherboards (and get guarantees they'll be available in 5+ years.)There's a company now doing an "open-source, linux-based" console that has slightly better hardware from ATI and AMD -- it costs $350 and it doesn't compare very favorably to the $299(or cheaper) XBox 360. This is ultimately the problem of an open-source or home-grown console competing against the big-boys: The hardware the big-boys make is $500 of custom hardware built for gaming from the ground up, and sold as a loss-leader. For a home-grown console based on PC parts to be a viable business model, you need to sell $200 worth of hardware for $300, because you don't have the luxury of profiting off of game liscenses the way the big boys do.I am convinced, however, that a home-grown, homebrew-friendly and possibly linux-based console could survive in a niche market. The key, though, is to think on a smaller scale, something that would compete with the last generation, rather than the current. Think of a fully open, homebrew-friendly, open-source Dreamcast with a more capable CPU and plenty of RAM. A chip like the Omap 3530 costs only $40 in volumes of 1000 and gives a 600Mhz processor with SIMD (SSE-like) extensions, a 430Mhz DSP for sound and video codecs (or other creative uses), an OpenGL|ES 2.0 3D accelerator supporting vertex and pixel shaders, 256 megabyts of internal DDR RAM, and 512MB of internal flash memory, DVI/HDMI and S-Video plus other little features like ethernet, USB and GPIO built in. This would basically be a console-ized Beagle-board in a plastic shell. The Beagle turns a profit for both Texas Instruments, and its distributor, DigiKey, at only $149 -- wrapping it in some plastic, in volume, is pennies on the dollar -- so you could easily market such a "console" for the same $150 price-point. Combine this with digital distribution, and take some percentage off the top like Apple, Microsoft, Steam or any other of the digital distribution channels, and you actually have a sustainable business.There are three other points that contribute to my last-gen ideals: firstly, most hoembrew / indy games don't need all the power that a console aimed at competing with the 360 or PS3 would have, instead, most homebrew/indy games are either small-to-medium-sized affairs or mods built on top of existing open-source code like the quake engines. There's no sense spending money on hardware that will never be used by 90% of your potential developer base. Second, the Wii has shown that gamers don't need gee-whiz graphics -- good-enough graphics are sufficient when combined with compelling gameplay and unique experiences. Finally, the Appstore, Playstation Store, XBox Live, and Nintendo's platform have all shown that quality, smaller-scale games are not only viable, but often are more profitable than their full-scale brethren.If I had the money to make this a reality, I'd honestly take a run at it myself. Unfortunatly I don't have a million dollars stuffed in my mattress.   ;  The biggest problem with doing an ION-Atom homebrew is that I don't know how much life ION is going to have left. The next revision of the Atom cpu is going to move the memory and graphics from the chipset onto the CPU.In such an enviroment you'll have no more ION, it will all be Intel.(As an aside based on that change NV's chipset arm is going to be in some serious trouble, as all they will have left are legacy systems. They won't have ION and last I checked they don't have the rights to build chips for the i7 line, nor by extension the coming i3 and i5, and I don't think they build for AMD either. Couple that with the lack of DX11 plans right now and that they can't get their last generation gpus down to 40nm.. well, imo the future looks wonky for them.);  Buy PC, buy USB Gamepad.There, cheapest and most effective thing that comes close to a homebrew console.   