The Indrema L600 (also known as the Indrema Entertainment System) was a home video game console created by Indrema Corporation, announced in March 2000, first conceptualized during a game of Quake. It would be running on the Linux kernel and would allow independent developers to create games on it. It was also planned to be an multimedia device, with features that other consoles were unable to have. It was initally planned to release in the holiday season of 2000, but delayed to Spring 2001. However, on April 6, 2001, Indrema would shut down without a product.
Features[]
The L600 would have been a console that ran on the Linux kernel. It was to have a plethora of features. Although it could play CDs and DVDs like most of its competitors, it could also play MP3s, record shows (al a TiVo), browse the internet and check emails, and allowed games to be downloaded via the Indrema Game Channel. These would be seperate "channels" (predating the Wii's use of the term by 6 years). It also allowed the user to upgrade the GPU via the GPU slide bay, and games were to be distributed by the aforementioned Game Channel, DVD-9, and CD-R. Similar to the Xbox, it would have a hard drive, with sizes up to 50 GB.
Why It Was Cancelled[]
Indrema received skepticism about the console's chances to compared to the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. They could not fund $10 million in capital to complete the console due to companies going against Linux and the dot-com bubble burst.
Result[]
Indrema was shut down, John Gildred, the CEO, moved on. However, there were a few attempts to bring the concept back, including the TuxBox, which never came to fruition. The closest to this console to any related type is the PlayStation 2, which had built-in DVD playback, and could also play HD games. Another console, which the L600 had been compared to, is the original Xbox, which also uses PC components and could support HD games, but required a dongle for DVD playback. The prototype's whereabouts are unknown, while the SDK of the system is lost, with no available downloads.