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

Chuong Nguyen
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「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.

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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.

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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.

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Chuong Nguyen
Chuong Nguyen
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