A $4000 gaming system?!
If you’re the type to scour weekly flyers for video game sales and console price drops, you need not concern yourself with the Encore, a new countertop gaming system from Toronto-based JVL. Why? Price, of course.
Because at US $3,999 – yes, that’s right – this luxury item isn’t trying to compete with the current crop of sub-$300 machines. In fact, with Ivanka Trump providing the testimonial quote in JVL’s press materials, it’s fairly clear the company is not going after prudent players.
If you’ve got the cash to spare, however, and want an entertaining appliance (and conversation piece), read on.
The Encore is an all-in-one gaming system not unlike what you might find on a bar at your local pub – actually, there’s an optional coin slot in case you want an additional revenue stream. The glossy 22-inch touch screen delivers a high-definition gaming experience, though most of the built-in 140-odd video games are cartoon-like in the graphics department.
Players can use their fingertips or the spill-resistant buttons to navigate among genres – such as Action, Puzzle, Strategy and Cards – and then tap to begin playing.
This unit looks extremely cool, including coloured lights on top of the screen that change during gameplay, but the feature that blew me away was the incredible audio, powered by four loudspeakers and a subwoofer.
At a hefty 38 pounds, though, you might want to give the Encore (measuring 22 by 21 by 15 inches) a dedicated place in your home, perhaps near your high-speed Internet connection, as the Ethernet jack in the back is reserved for downloadable updates and new games.
Most of Encore’s games are of the “casual” variety, so don’t expect first-person shooters like Call of Duty or vast fantasy landscapes à la World of Warcraft. Instead, gem-swapping puzzles, poker matches, Sudoku challenges and trivia-based digital diversions are the name of the game.
A few of my favourites include:
Monster Mash: Save the fearless monster hunters (who resemble the Ghostbusters gang) by destroying flying witches, toothy vampires and ghastly Frankensteins. As you make your way through a haunted mansion, use your fingertip to quickly tap the baddies, while leaving the hunters alone.
Gone Snowboarding: Along with Gone Fishing and Gone Bowling, Gone Snowboarding stars a white polar bear who must shred three increasingly difficult mountains. Collect power-ups and avoid trees to make it to the bottom of each hill in record time.
Underwater Mess: Scour a messy underwater world and find all the items listed at the top of the screen, plus hidden treasures. In a take on Where’s Waldo, your task is to tap the correct items, while incorrect ones will cost you points.
Filed Under: First Look > Gaming Consoles
Tags: $4, $4000, 000, arcade, bar, cost, counter, encore, expensive, Games, Gaming, jvl, pricey, table, top, video
If I was to put down a whopping $4000 for a gaming system, I would expect something on par with a similarly-priced personal computer. From the description, this thing is nothing more than an overpriced library of Flash games one could get for free on the Internet.
My advice, if you have that much money to burn, is to economize, do some product research, and use that extra cash on a brand-new PC instead (which does a heck of a lot more than just play games and serve as a “conversation piece”). The only thing it will be lacking is that nifty coin slot.
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Good call.
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This thing should be at least a little spectacular, and as a conversation piece, it would be a continous interrogation as to why I am not in the local sanitarium. Because I would have to be insane to spend this much money on something that doesn’t plug directly into my brain and blow my mind.
Similar to Pub machines? Is this a joke? $4000 for a 22″ screen and the whole thing weighs 38 lbs, that should be easy to move around when you need to. Do some people just have too much money? Or are consumers just that gullible?
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Get Bent…. 4 G’s thats a car to get me places…. Real entertainment over computer graphs? people need to watch zeitgiest or iron mountain… get real people.
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Look at it as an investement. There has been one in my local pub here in Dubai ( I’m a Canadian ex-pat here) and I am sure that in the last two months that the owner has made back at least half of his investement money alreay.
RC
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You have to be joking.
For 4000.00 you can easily purchase all three major consoles (Xbox 360, PS3, and the Wii), a Plasma or LCD screen that does 1080P, and a nice library of games. All of which would be far superior to this monstrosity.
If you are a bar or pub owner revenue may be the consideration for buying this, but for home use? Not a chance.
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I doubt even a pub would have such a piece of crap, especially at such a price as $4000 – they’re still businesses, and spending that much for something that’d see so little use and make them little money (if any at all) wouldn’t be a smart move. They’d lose money on this over-priced baby toy.
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I could undstand it as part of a business investment, but in the home? No…
*Thinks of the gaming ‘puter she could buy with that….*
Then again.. might be a good way to gain back some of that allowance the kids get, lol….
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With a whopping price tag and second rate entertainment value the only people buying this are total suckers with way way too much cash to burn. Nothing this unit will do cant be enjoyed already on far less costly equipment and software. The company responsible for this debauchery should be looking at record losses in the upcoming quarter if for nothing else than trying to screw consumers into purchasing garbage.
If you want to buy junk, go to a garage sale and save yourself $3,990.00. I could only hope that event he obscenely wealthy would look at this for what it is, trash.
Our landfills are already loaded with couldnt cut it second rate slop “gaming” systems and this would just be another one.
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$4000 for a piece of junk? From the sound of this thing, the graphics might be a match for the SuperNES at best. For all the features, that could explain some of the high price, but how much would a replacement cost if something happened to it? I’d say put a $200 price tag on it if they think it’s such a great system, and see how the other systems still beat them. This thing wouldn’t even be worth $50 from the sound of it.
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A FOOL AND HIS MONEY IS SOON PARTED……..
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A new toy for people with more money than brains!!!
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You are all forgetting that this is targeted at the rich and what none of you seem to understand is that when you are that wealthy you don’t care what you spend your money on. Imagine your at the dollar store and you see one of those old water games where you “pump” the water to make the rings land on a cone. Ah, how cute, and only a dollar! You buy it, use twice and set it on the shelf for someone else to do the same. Now, imagine your rich…..you get the idea. Somewhere in India a single mother of two made 70 cents in 1 day and can’t imagine you crazy rich people spending your dollar on a silly game.
I think I’ve made my point.
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The people who are bitching about the price are forgetting one thing: this thing isn’t meant to compete against home consoles like XBOX and PS3. It’s meant to compete against the bar and arcade machines that people bring home to put in their fancy rec rooms, like pool tables, pinball machines and arcade stand-ups, which cost anywhere from $2,000-$10,000.
In that context, the entertainment value proposition is pretty decent. All the hardware is included, and $4,000 divided by 140 games works out to $28.57 per game — not bad at all…
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