The Indrema L600 was intended to revolutionize the gaming market as an open game console based on Linux. However, strong competition and financial hurdles meant that the console never saw the light of day.
What kind of console was it? The Indrema L600, developed by John Gildred and his startup Indrema, was meant to be the first Linux-based console offering an open platform for games. The concept: give developers and users more freedom to create or modify their own games. The console targeted tech enthusiasts and indie developers and was announced in 2000. Yet despite ambitious plans, the project got stuck in development (via Computerwoche).
Why was the year 2000 so special? The years 2000 and 2001 were a turning point for the gaming industry. With the PlayStation 2, Sony set new standards by not only being powerful but also playing DVDs. At the same time, Sega paved the way for online gaming with the Dreamcast. Shortly after, in 2001, the XBOX was released. The Indrema L600 would have had to compete amid these giants, significantly complicating its market outlook.
A special console
What made the Indrema L600 unique? The Indrema L600 was supposed to be more than just a game console – a full-fledged entertainment system in a sleek, futuristic design. With its compact size of 12.5 x 10.5 x 3 inches (1 inch equals 2.54 cm), it visually resembled a cable receiver. Equipped with a PlayStation 2-style controller, it was expected to offer numerous features that were ahead of its time.
The remarkable features:
- Open-source base: As a Linux-based console, it allowed developers to create games without licensing fees
- Modularity: The planned GPU slide-bay mechanism would have allowed for the exchange of graphics cards
- Multimedia functions: Besides games, it was supposed to play DVDs and serve as a media center
As indicated by Web.archive from the then-entry on HowStuffWorks.com, the hardware was also meant to be innovative:
- A 600 MHz x86 processor from AMD.
- An Nvidia graphics chip with up to 180 million polygons per second.
- and 64 MB of RAM.
Especially the modularity of the console was unique and could have brought future-proofing to the L600 at the end if it had been released. However, the 600 MHz x86 processor was somewhat less powerful compared to the competition.
What did the competition offer? The PlayStation 2 used a 294 MHz Emotion Engine processor that was specifically optimized for games, while the Xbox employed a 733 MHz Intel Pentium III processor that provided higher computational power (via Console Database). The possibility of component exchange was a unique selling point at that time, just as it remains today. A release was planned for spring at a price of $299.
Why did the Indrema L600 never come out? The Indrema L600 faced enormous pressure from the start to compete against the powerful competition from PlayStation 2, Xbox, and others. The console market was then dominated by companies with immense financial and technological resources, while Indrema only had a limited budget and relied on investors – who unfortunately did not materialize (via Gamespot).
To complete the development, the company would have needed to raise $10 million in capital according to the entry on Fandom.com – a sum that was clearly never reached. Without sufficient financial resources, the project had to be abandoned in 2001. After the closure of Indrema, CEO John Gildred withdrew from the project and turned to other technologies.
The Indrema L600 remains a fascinating example of a visionary yet ultimately failed console. But what happens when old consoles receive unexpected new features? You can read about it here: A fan of retro games creates a setup from legendary Nintendo hardware and a DVD player
