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A bit of background here: You may remember me from the main site as the PS1 user and possibly KSP player. What you don't know is that I am a total tech whizz who among my friends is notorious for tinkering with computers and whatnot and having them leave in worse condition than when I started. Luckily, I've gotten a lot better at fixing things, and after my friend told me he was opening a technology company of his own, and I ended up as vice president/game console production technician, I realized that even though I had the parts to do it, I didn't know what I was doing with them.

Then I thought Arqade would be a good place to start, but I wasn't totally sure if questions about game console production was on-topic. I really didn't feel like risking it.

Question: Is it off-topic to ask about building your own game consoles?

Unrelated but funny: Wow, only 37 views and on "hot meta questions" 3/3/23.

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  • FYI: The console business is notoriously difficult to break into. Expect low (or even negative) margins; difficult negotiations with developers, retailers, and manufacturers; and a very long and uncertain road to profitability. I'm not saying you can't do it, but you need to seriously consider the amount of resources you and your friend are prepared to put into this.
    – Kevin
    Mar 1 at 21:19
  • @Kevin We build more than just consoles, but the console is pretty much our centerpiece project, the thing we're going to put the most time and effort into. I am also already aware of that. Opportunity Computing starting in 2022-2023 is going to be a huge disadvantage. Considering others (Xbox, Sony, Nintendo) have been doing it since the 90's (or even the 80's) and the 2020's hasn't been great economically either to begin with. I don't expect to build very many consoles though, as we just don't have enough people to make them. (yet, I hope)
    – Deko Revinio
    Mar 1 at 22:00

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I don't think "building your own game console" would be on topic here.

We have some repair-related questions, for example:

But it sounds like your question is more about creating a console from scratch. That's a bit too deep for this site. We are primarily more geared towards playing video games, and not creating them or creating the hardware/software to play them.

Thus yes - this is off-topic. And to be honest, I am struggling with finding an SE that would fit this topic. Depending on how specific your question is, it might be acceptable on a number of sites:

  • Electrical Engingeering (I figured if you are trying to create a console, you are probably going to need to design circuitry of some sort)
  • Game Development (note this is more about video game development than console development)
  • Software Engineering (you are going to need some sort of software for your console!)
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    Thanks! I've been struggling to find one that would accept it too, that's pretty much why I asked. Usually, I ask on meta before I just go in and risk it.
    – Deko Revinio
    Feb 27 at 17:06

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