If you like cryptocurrencies, the Polium One NFT console might seem like a tempting proposition. For everyone else, it's comedy gold.
The developers of Polium One offered the console as a portal for "Web3" games. These games generally fall under the "play to win" motto. That is, earn cryptocurrencies by playing.
Given the controversy surrounding Web3 projects and NFTs in general, largely due to costly environmental impact and a penchant for "rugpull" scams, it's something modern flagships like the PS5 and Xbox Series X have smartly avoided.
Polium has been quite active on Twitter, where it gets exactly the wrong kind of attention. Almost every post published by the developer has received extremely negative feedback. But why is this?
We present the Polium One, a multichannel console for Web 3 Gaming. #Web3OnConsole pic.twitter.com/tkRaP2O13AJuly 2, 2022
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cube game
The Polium One NFT console first caught the eye with a rather familiar logo. Designed to resemble a cubic 'P', Twitter users were quick to point out that Polium's images bear a striking resemblance to the iconic Nintendo Gamecube logo.
Polium has since changed its logo in response to the backlash. But to be fair, "modded" is used very liberally there, as it's more of a slight mod that still can't shake its Gamecube roots.
But a plagiarized logo is probably the least offensive thing about the Polium One NFT console. After all, what good is a console if there are no games to play on it? This is where the first signs indicate that Polium One should be approached with extreme caution.
On the subject of games, Polium insisted on Twitter that the console "will have exclusive games and games." Whenever a user asks what games we can expect to launch on Polium One, the brand vaguely answers that it is "currently in talks" with several Web3 game developers.
So far we have announced a console with no games attached, therefore. But it's getting worse. Polium also claimed that the console will be able to run games at 8K resolution and up to 120 frames per second with ray tracing enabled. Sorry but no. Even the most monstrous PC rigs will struggle.
Not only are the best 8K TVs on the market right now extremely expensive, but that would also mean that the Polium One is much more powerful than the PS5 and Xbox Series X. And since the console renders appear to be roughly the same size than an adult human hand, I doubt that's the case.
Insidious
Finally, I must address why the Polium One exists (or theoretically exists) in the first place. NFT and crypto. As you'd expect from this type of project, you can't just reserve a Polium One with your hard-earned money. Nope.
Instead, you will need to purchase a Polium Pass in order to pre-order the console. The Polium Pass is, you guessed it, an NFT. The one that must be purchased through the Ethereum network. Sigh.
On top of that, only 10,000 of these NFTs were minted. This seems to go against Polium's mission statement to bring Web3 gaming into the mainstream. On the contrary, it is clear that Polium One does not have mass market appeal. This should immediately alert anyone remotely interested in the project.
It should also be noted that so far Polium has not revealed the technical specifications of the console. It also states that it won't have a working prototype until November of this year.
The cynic in me thinks there's plenty of time for Polium to rack up those NFT pre-orders and fall apart. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be atypical for NFT-based projects like this one.