EVO: Phase One Launch Announced

Anytime we hear of a video game machine not made by Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo, we tend to wince due to the history of failed upstarts in the past. Anytime we hear of a video game system not made by Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo that costs more than the high-end PS3 and features a blatantly-copied PS2-style controller, we slap our heads and wonder what these people were thinking. Enter the EVO gaming system, made by an upstart company called Envizions (yes, with a "z"). The EVO is a console that strives to be a PC, gaming computer, and media center in one box and will become available on October 20, 2006 via the company's website.

The EVO, which was supposedly at this year's E3 (though no one mentioned them at that time), the EVO will come with an as-yet unspecified CPU, a Sapphire Radeon X1600 Pro (with an HDMI port), an 80 GB hard drive, and a special liquid cooling system to keep all the components from incinerating. The system will also ship with Akimbo video-on-demand software and a wireless controller, all for the low low price of $679.95. Yikes! For that kind of money, one could build themselves a fairly nice computer that would be able to game and act as a media center, or they could buy the high-end PS3 and still have $80 left over to drop on MGS4. You might want to rethink your strategy, Envizions; people are giving Sony hell over the PS3, and they're established in the gaming world.

Product Page [via IGN]