There’s a brand new name in the world of games consoles today. No, it’s not the MadBox, but the KFConsole, a machine launched today by chicken-based fast-food outlet KFC. Yes, you read that sentence right.
It’s actually something that KFC, via its KFC Gaming social media channels, has been teasing for some time, but which nobody took seriously. Aside from the fact that the idea itself appears somewhat odd, KFC has twice delayed the console in recent months, feeding into the perception that it wasn’t a real thing.
However, KFC has now fully unveiled the KFConsole and it’s fair to say that it has some pretty lofty specifications. Perhaps the most eye-catching feature though is something unique to the machine. While other console manufacturers worry about keeping internal heat under control, the KFConsole instead channels it to a special drawer in which you can house your fried chicken, to keep it warm while you play.
The console wars are 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓.
Introducing the KFConsole. #PowerYourHunger pic.twitter.com/k7AM6g61Ip
— KFC Gaming (@kfcgaming) December 22, 2020
Ignoring the shape, which is clearly inspired by one of KFC’s famed “bucket” meal containers — and the chicken drawer — it’s a serious custom build from PC cooling specialist Cooler Master.
Cooler Master uses a customized version of its NC100 chassis, and packs in a ninth-generation Intel NUC i9 compute element. The KFConsole employs a hot-swappable GPU slot, although it’s not clear what the installed GPU is aside from being an Asus item.
Like the other next-gen consoles, the KFConsole uses NVMe SSDs for storage, with a pair of 1TB Seagate BarraCuda drives. That rather eclipses what either the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X can offer. Cooler Master doesn’t detail the type or capacity of RAM installed.
The tech all means that the KFConsole can offer real-time ray-tracing, 240fps at 4K, and VR, as well as the smell of warm fried chicken. KFC hasn’t revealed any images of the rear of the console yet, so we can’t say anything about the connectivity for sure.
If it does turn out to be a true console, KFC hasn’t announced any games for it yet (we’d put money on Grid and Skyrim being among them), though we suspect it’s a really a PC. Either way, there’s no pricing just yet, and it’s unlikely to be a bargain bucket.
