Skip to main content

Konami’s first gaming PCs bear a striking resemblance to the Mac Pro

「ARESPEAR」プロモーションムービー

Video game maker Konami is now entering the gaming PC business with a trio of new desktop towers targeted at gamers.

Konami’s new Arespear desktop — where the “Are” part of the name stands for Advanced Revolution of Esports — comes in a compact tower form with a design that seems to have been inspired by Apple’s distinctive cheese grater aesthetics on the latest Mac Pro.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Unlike the more angular Mac Pro, however, the Arespear lineup features flat black side panels with a curved, bulbous silver front. Konami’s initial lineup includes the Arespear C300, C700, and C700+ models.

The entry-level C300 has a starting price of around $1,750 and comes configured with an Intel Core i5-9400F, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics, 8GB DDR4 RAM, and 512GB M.2 PCIe solid-state drive. Meanwhile, the $3,200 high-end C700 is equipped with a water-cooled Intel Core i7-9700 processor, upgraded Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super graphics, 16GB of memory, and 512GB SSD alongside a 1TB hard drive for extra storage.

The C700+ model features the same specifications, but adds an acrylic cutout window and RGB backlighting, with the see-through design adding a $210 premium to the cost of the C700. All of Konami’s Arespear PCs come with an unspecified dedicated sound card with maximum 7.1 channel output that supports up to a 150ohm headphone amplifier, the company said.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

In addition to desktop PCs, the Japanese video game maker is also expanding into PC accessories, with gaming headphones, mice, and keyboards. Though this may be the Konami’s first foray into the PC gaming business, it’s not the Japanese game maker’s first hardware rodeo.

In addition to creating titles like Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill, Konami also makes arcade systems. According to Gaming Industry publication, the Arespear lineup is made by the Konami Amusement division, which is responsible for the pachinko, slots, cranes, and other arcade machines.

If you’re interested in the Konami line, the good news is that the company is accepting pre-orders right now. The bad news is there is no word if the new Arespear line will ever be available in any market outside of Japan anytime soon. If you are in Japan, however, these desktops are expected to ship in December.

Editors' Recommendations

Chuong Nguyen
Silicon Valley-based technology reporter and Giants baseball fan who splits his time between Northern California and Southern…
PS5 vs. PC: Which is the better buy for gaming in 2024?
A PS5 standing on a table, with purple lights around it.

The PlayStation 5 has been around for several years now, and it's easier to find in stock than ever before. It's also built up in an incredible roster of games, including Spider-Man 2, Horizon Forbidden West, God of War: Ragnarok, and more. Toss in the fact that it's backward compatible with PS4 titles, and you'll have access to thousands of hours of gaming goodness on the new-gen console.

The same could also be said of PC, which is home to thousands of games and can easily be upgraded by installing new hardware instead of buying a whole new console. But if you're interested in gaming, should you buy a PS5 or PC in 2024?

Read more
I turned my Steam Deck into the ultimate cross-platform gaming machine
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth running on the Steam Deck.

I've been playing a lot of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which, as a self-proclaimed PC gaming snob, would have presented a problem for me in the past. After all, a console exclusive like Rebirth just doesn't fit into my typical pattern of gaming, which oscillates between desktop at home and Steam Deck on the go.

But I've found a solution, opening up the world of third-party apps and breaking the mold for the Steam Deck. It's allowed me to game far beyond my Steam library, revealing the immense versatility that is latent in the Steam Deck's design.
Streaming your PS5

Read more
If you’re still gaming on 16GB of RAM, you’re missing out
Corsair DDR5 RAM inside a PC.

A good gaming PC is not just a top-notch graphics card, a reliable processor, and a bunch of irrelevant components. Every part plays a role in delivering a smooth gaming experience, and while those two big-ticket components may have the biggest impact, the amount of memory (RAM) in your PC is also a huge deal.

Trust me -- and this is coming from someone who was still running 16GB last year -- the difference between 16GB and 32GB RAM is like night and day. Whether we like it or not, that upgrade is one that's looming on the horizon for many gamers -- and now is a surprisingly good time to pull that trigger.
We're on the brink of a RAM evolution
It's safe to say that the narrative around memory, and I mean both regular RAM and video memory (VRAM) found in graphics cards, has shifted a lot in the past year or so. Previously a somewhat overlooked component, RAM became a hot topic among PC gamers and in the media, and knowing how much RAM your PC needs has become a necessity.

Read more