In brief: Russia's quest to develop homegrown consoles that are made by Russians and enjoyed by Russians doesn't seem to be having a lot of success. According to new reports, two machines are being created: one isn't very powerful, and the other is a $45 device that streams games from the cloud.
Back in March, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the government to create Russian stationary and portable game consoles, along with operating systems and cloud-based game delivery systems for the machines.
With Russia heavily sanctioned and looking to promote its own products, one of its in-development consoles is powered by the Elbrus processor. Developed by Moscow Center of SPARC Technologies (MCST) and based on the VLIW (Very Long Instruction Word) architecture, Elbrus is designed primarily for domestic applications in critical infrastructure, defense, and other sensitive areas.
Elbrus processors' performance can't match high-end CPUs from Intel, AMD, and Arm, but they are adequate for enterprise and government work. The CPUs certainly aren't going to power a console that can compete with the PS5 or Xbox Series.
The console will also use a domestic OS, though it's still undecided whether this will be Aurora or Alt Linux.
The Russian government admits that this device isn't going to be on the same level as current-gen machines.
"I hope my colleagues will approach this task with full responsibility and come up with something truly groundbreaking," said Anton Gorelkin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy. "It is obvious to everyone: Elbrus processors are not yet at the level required to compete equally with the PS5 and Xbox, which means the solution must be unconventional."
Gorelkin said that Russian consoles aren't being designed only to play ports of hundreds of old, less-demanding games. He added that they should primarily serve the purpose of promoting and popularizing domestic video game products.
Another organization following Putin's instructions is Russian telecommunications firm MTS. Its console (above) will use the company's cloud-based gaming platform, called Fog Play. It allows owners of high-end PCs to rent out their computing power to those with less-powerful equipment, charging an hourly price. Those with more powerful PCs can access games on the service and use their own hardware to play them.
MTS' device is expected to cost no more than $45 and come with an Xbox-like controller, suggesting it's unlikely to appeal to those who enjoy current-gen console games.
Russia admits its homegrown consoles can't match the PS5 or Xbox Series
