The new $120 gaming console from the Chinese company Huawei bears two names already solidified in American lore, the first being "Hawaii" and the second being the console's name, "Tron." Finally, the controller isn't much different from Xbox's trademark design.
Only the console structure, shaped and sized like a soda can, is unique, and yet, it too has a borrowed feel, probably from the twice-made movie, "Tron." Like the Wii, it's all white, but, of course, with a slightly more serious touch (as few products are as friendly as Nintendo's Wii). Geek.com takes the "Tron" comparisons a step further in wondering why the Huawei didn't at least include the movie's catchy graphic designs.
"What's more disappointing is that Huawei went with the name Tron and didn't even bother to deck this thing out with some blue neon and angular geometric patterns," wrote geek.com author Lee Mathews.
"Tron" costs just $120 and operates on an android operating system, two characteristics that would have been considered breakthrough features if not for the Ouya, which also uses android and costs just $99, according to Cnet.
Cnet called the $120 price a "strategic move" by Huawei, and perhaps that's an apropos descriptor for the product in general. Rather than an out and out console, it's more of a hybrid between, say, the PS4 and the mobile games offered on smart phones that have become so popular, especially so in China, where the Tron will only be currently available. The PS4 and Xbox One are so expensive to import overseas that products like Tron may offer a viable alternative. Like the reverse of that quote from Commissioner Gordon in the "Dark Knight," Tron is the console people need right now, but maybe not the one they deserve (meaning: they deserve better).
Based on the early reviews and its appearance at the Consumer Electronics Festival (I need to attend that next year), however, Tron still gets the job done. Geek.com called its internals impressive and the game play "zippy" even it failed to "mitigate the annoying Bluetooth controller lag that plagues Android consoles." Cnet also called the "company's mainland game partnerships and distribution channels" a strong sign for its games.
