When tackling the task of creating sovereign computing solutions, the efforts often flounder due to limited resources or veer towards becoming a mere imitation, losing their original intent.
In the aftermath of Putin’s directive to create a Russian game console, the industry seems to be exploring two distinct paths. One involves crafting a console featuring the homegrown dual-core Elbrus processor, as reported by Habr.com. The other route, according to an RBC report, is to develop a cloud gaming service leveraging affordable consumer hardware, branding it as a sovereign initiative.
The Russian Elbrus processor is pivotal to this console project, known for its Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) microarchitecture, which is traditionally suited for heavy-duty, mission-critical applications. However, from a performance standpoint, Elbrus struggles to impress, as benchmarks largely deem it “completely unacceptable” for most tasks.
Anton Gorelkin, the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, stated, “It is obvious to everyone: Elbrus processors [cannot] compete equally.” The new console is not expected to reach the performance levels of industry giants like the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S. Therefore, developers are tasked with thinking outside the box to circumvent the performance hurdles.
Gorelkin expressed hope that his colleagues would tackle this challenge seriously and innovate beyond the norm. He acknowledged the Elbrus processors’ current limitations against PS5 and Xbox, emphasizing the necessity for an inventive approach.
To meet this inventive call could mean simplifying games so they’re compatible with Elbrus CPUs—though given Russian players’ access to high-quality global games, this might not appeal—or employing cloud rendering, which would demand impeccable, low-latency internet for seamless gameplay.
Interestingly, Gorelkin also highlighted that the console shouldn’t be just a mids for porting old games, but rather a means to boost domestic video game fame.
On the topic of cloud gaming, Russian gamers might find interest in a console from MTS, a leading telecom company in Russia. MTS is straightforward about its console being a cloud-based gaming service, dubbed the MTS Fog Play platform.
This device, which resembles an Xbox controller and is priced around $50, harnesses modest hardware. Given its price, it would be incapable of even running basic Android games on its own. Instead, it leans on the MTS Fog Play cloud service for support, which offers both remote and rental gaming models—meaning those with high-end computers could rent games and enjoy them using their existing hardware.
As of now, neither of these consoles has hit the market. We’ll be watching closely for any benchmarking results when they eventually do.
