Sovereign computing has always been a bit of a tightrope walk. On one side, a scarcity of resources leads to faltering efforts, and on the other, mimicking existing products too closely means losing that sovereign edge. Earlier this year, President Putin tasked the government with designing a distinctively Russian game console. In response, the industry has opted for both approaches. According to Habr.com, one path is the development of a console utilizing the Elbrus processor, a Russian-made chip. Meanwhile, as reported by RBC, there’s also a move towards creating a cloud gaming service under the guise of sovereign technology.
Diving into the Elbrus-based console, this processor is rooted in a Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) microarchitecture traditionally aimed at handling hefty, critical tasks. Performance-wise, though, Elbrus hasn’t dazzled, with many benchmarks branding it as “completely unacceptable” for most standard tasks.
This new console isn’t expected to match the power of a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S. Hence, Russian leaders are urging developers to think outside the box to tackle these performance hurdles. Anton Gorelkin, the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, expressed his hopes succinctly: “I trust my colleagues to tackle this with full responsibility and to produce something truly revolutionary. It’s clear Elbrus processors aren’t yet on par with PS5 and Xbox, so unconventional solutions are a must.”
What could this unconventional approach entail? One option might be simplifying games to a level the Elbrus CPUs can manage. However, savvy Russian gamers used to global hits might find these ‘simplified’ games underwhelming. Alternatively, using cloud rendering and computation could be a solution, but it would necessitate impeccable broadband with minimal latency for an enjoyable gaming experience.
Gorelkin also highlighted the importance of the console not just as a platform for ported old games but as a vehicle to promote homegrown video games.
Shifting gears to cloud gaming, MTS, a major Russian telecom company, is developing its own console concept. They’re taking a transparent approach with their cloud gaming service, dubbed the MTS Fog Play platform. This device, armed with budget-friendly hardware and an Xbox-style controller, is priced around $50. Given this low price, the console itself won’t handle even basic Android games. Instead, it will lean on the Fog Play cloud service, allowing for both remote gaming and game rentals. Those with high-end PCs interested in MTS’s offerings can use their existing hardware while renting.
Neither console has hit the market yet. However, once they do, we’ll be eagerly awaiting the benchmark results to see how these new ventures perform.
