History of video games/Platforms/Fuze Tomahawk F1

History edit

In China edit

 
Beijing, China in 2017, where Fuze Entertainment was based.

The Fuze Tomahawk F1 was developed by Fuze Entertainment, a company based in Beijing, the capital city of China.[1] The console received attention in the west due to it's similarities to major consoles, as well as backing from noted game developer Keiji Inafune.[2]

The Fuze 1 was released in China on June 1st, 2016[3] with the Play model costing 899 yuan and the Elite model costing 1499 yuan.[4] The system is also known as the Tomahawk F1.[5]

The SouljaGame Fuze edit

 
Rapper Soulja Boy in 2018.

In late 2018 the console gained attention in the west after rapper Soulja Boy tried to bring it to market as the SouljaGame Fuze.[6][7] The version of Fuze sold by Soulja Boy was likely the Elite model.[8] The SouljaGame Fuze had a listed price of $639.98, though the system likely spent its whole time on the market on sale for $399.99 with either case being a significant markup over the MSRP of $320 for a non-SouljaGame Fuze at the time.[9][10] It is unknown is the SouljaGame Fuze ever sold, though the media frenzy created around the announcement alone is notable in it's own right.

Technology edit

Compute edit

The console is powered by a NVIDIA Tegra K1 system on a chip containing four ARM Cortex A15 cores clocked at 2.2 gigahertz.[6][11] For memory the system had four gigabytes of DDR3 RAM clocked at 933 megahertz.[6][11]

The Play model has 32 gigabytes of eMMC solid state storage,[6] while the Elite model has a mechanical 500 gigabyte hard disk drive.[4][11]

Hardware edit

The Fuze supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.[11] The console requires a constant internet connection to play games, and is known to operate poorly outside of China.[8]

The Elite model can use qi charging for wirelessly charging controllers.[11] The charging is initiated when a controller is placed on top of the console, depressing dual diagonal plates on the top in the process with a stylistic flair.[8]

The console was intended to be able to run a VR headset,[1] though it is unknown if such a headset was ever released. The headset was set to launch at a cost of 1,100 RMB in 2016.[3]

Software edit

The Fuze operating system is based on Android,[4] a popular choice for microconsoles of the time. As the console was only officially released in China, the interface is nearly exclusively in Chinese language.[8]

The Panda TV streaming service was supported.[8] This third party streaming service was shuttered in 2019.[12]

Notable games edit

  • Dynasty Warriors 8[4]
  • Spy Chameleon[4]
  • Assault Android Cactus[4]
  • Half Life 2[8]
  • Sine Mora[8]
  • Virtual Tennis Challenge[8]
  • DuckTales[8]

References edit

  1. a b "Fuze Tomahawk F1: The Chinese Android XStation 4". CGMagazine. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  2. "China's Newest Game Machine Seems So Familiar" (in en-us). Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/chinas-newest-game-machine-seems-so-familiar-1775708699. 
  3. a b "Fuze launching F1 console in China, with the aim to beat Sony and Microsoft". May 10, 2016. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/272340/Fuze_launching_F1_console_in_China_with_the_aim_to_beat_Sony_and_Microsoft.php. 
  4. a b c d e f "Is China's New Fuze Console More Than a PS4 and Xbox One Rip-Off?". www.vice.com. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  5. Kain, Erik. "China's New Fuze Video Game Console Looks Like The Love Child Of Xbox One And PS4". Forbes. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  6. a b c d "Soulja Boy strikes again; famous rapper resells Chinese Fuze console". MSPoweruser. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  7. "Soulja Boy no longer selling game consoles". TweakTown. 30 December 2018. https://www.tweaktown.com/news/64284/soulja-boy-longer-selling-game-consoles/index.html. 
  8. a b c d e f g h i "Worst Soulja Boy Consoles Ever! - Rerez". YouTube. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  9. "Soulja Boy strikes again; famous rapper resells Chinese Fuze console - MSPoweruser". https://mspoweruser.com/rapper-soulja-boy-bizzarely-sells-his-own-souljagame-consoles-its-an-expensive-emulator-2/. 
  10. "Soulja Boy adds two more knock-off consoles to his brand". VG247. 19 December 2018. https://www.vg247.com/2018/12/19/soulja-boy-adds-two-more-knock-off-consoles-to-his-brand/. 
  11. a b c d e "The Fuze Is Basically PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Mashed Together OffGamers Blog". Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  12. "China Live Streamer Panda TV to Close Down". Variety. 8 March 2019. https://variety.com/2019/digital/asia/china-live-streamer-panda-tv-to-close-1203158142/.