Any PC gaming devotee can tell you why a decent computer will outshine a dedicated device like an Xbox One or PlayStation 4, but console gamers have always been able to boast about the comforts of a machine built for the living room. Now, however, custom-built PCs are making threatening inroads into console territory.
Asus has announced a new device in its line of living room gaming PCs, the ROG GR6. With an Intel Core i5 ‘Broadwell’ processor, eight gigs of memory and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M graphics card, it should have enough power to match the graphics of a home console, with all the flexibility of a PC.
Few would be satisfied with a standard PC tower hiding underneath their television, and as such Asus has designed the GR6 to be a device that’s worthy of your living room. It’s small and silent, but boasts an unusual shape and some coloured stylization to give it some visual appeal.
However, Asus has some hot competition on its hands in this growing section of the marketplace. Valve has taken PC gaming in its grasp thanks to the success of the Steam gaming platform over the past few years, and the company has spent the last few years prepping their Steam Machines for a full-scale assault on consoles. With a host of partnerships with top manufactures, the first devices in this range are set to be available later in the year.
Huge titles like Mortal Kombat X and Grand Theft Auto V are now seeing PC ports that either release concurrently with their console versions or include plenty of extra content further down the line. The increasing prevalence of gaming PCs in the living room might be the tipping point for a further shift in the mainstream popularity of PC gaming and services like Steam — the question is, which manufacturer will be able to corner the market with their device.
More information on the GR6 is available on Asus’ Republic of Gamers website. Pricing and release details have not yet been confirmed.
