14 DAY TRIAL // If you are one of the users hardly waiting for Acer's promised gaming console, you might want to re-consider your options, as the company just made it clear that there won't be any. The Taiwanese PC manufacturer claims that the rumors that broke last week are "a major misunderstanding" and it does not plan to release any gaming console, but rather gaming-oriented high-end desktop PCs.
"That was a major misunderstanding as James T Wong, Acer's senior VP was wrongly interpreted," said an UK spokesperson for the firm. "Acer is not going to release any game console but the idea is to develop a high-end PC (so not a console) targeted at the serious gamer."
Previous rumors claimed that Acer was working on an open-license games console to compete with Nintendo's product and with Microsoft's Xbox. However, rather than building a console, Acer will introduce a high-end desktop PC that will be able to run the latest gaming titles.
"If you look at most of the other game machines that are out there right now - Nintendo's, the Xbox - they are 'closed' and proprietary systems," said Wong at a previous press meeting.
Releasing a gaming console would have been a little odd, given the fact that it would be Acer's first unit of its kind, and competing with companies that have a long tradition on the gaming consoles market could be labeled as suicide.
More than that, Acer invested a huge amount of money in the buyout of US-based PC manufacturer Gateway. In fact, the buyout aimed at taking advantage of Gatway's experience on the desktop PC market.
The upcoming desktop offerings from Acer will pitch at both the high-end consumer and small-to-midsize business markets. However, the Taiwanese manufacturer does not plan to release computers for enterprises, because this market requires more resources.