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The seventh generation of video game consoles is typically remembered for the blockbuster hardware produced by the major Japanese and American manufacturers of the era — the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3, and the Nintendo Wii. Yet beneath that well-known narrative ran a quieter current of experimentation, as smaller firms attempted to blur the lines between gaming consoles and general-purpose home computers. The EVO Smart Console, developed by the Alabama-based company Envizions, was one of the more ambitious of these outsider attempts.
Positioning itself as a media PC and gaming console in a single machine, the EVO Smart Console targeted buyers who wanted a living-room-friendly device capable of running productivity software, web browsing, and traditional games. With both a Fedora Linux variant and a Windows variant on offer and dual-core AMD processors inside, it courted enthusiasts who already lived inside the desktop-computing world but wanted a controlled, big-screen experience.
Released as a beta in October 2006 and priced at $250 at launch, the EVO arrived late in the year with a small target audience and limited marketing reach. Its story is one of bold ambition and unfortunately limited commercial results, with only low hundreds of units reportedly sold before Envizions quietly discontinued the product in 2010.
Quick Facts
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Maker | Envizions |
| Type | Home console |
| Generation | 7 |
| Released | 2006 |
| Launch Price | $250 USD |
| Units Sold | Low hundreds |
| Media | DVD-ROM, CD, SD cards |
| CPU | Dual-core AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ (2.90 GHz) |
History
The EVO Smart Console was developed by Envizions, a small company based in Alabama that set out to challenge the conventional console market by offering something closer to a living-room PC than a sealed gaming appliance. The company’s first finished product shipped in beta form in October 2006, an unusual launch window that placed the hardware near the tail end of the seventh generation’s debut season rather than competing head-on with the season-one console debuts of Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo.
At the heart of the machine sat a dual-core AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ running at 2.90 GHz, a high-clocked desktop processor for the time. Buyers could pair that hardware with either a Fedora Linux or a Windows operating system, a level of operating-system flexibility that was rare in the dedicated console space and was instead far more typical of the small-form-factor PC market. Optical media support included DVD-ROM and CD, while storage expansion came via SD card slots, allowing users to move documents, music libraries, and save files between the console and other devices.
Envizions pitched the EVO as a media hub, gaming platform, and light productivity computer rolled into one package. The combination of an x86-based CPU, a familiar optical drive, and a freely chosen operating system made the hardware feel like an extension of existing PC workflows rather than a closed gaming ecosystem. Despite that flexibility, the company reportedly spent approximately $1 million developing the product. Commercial adoption, however, never materialized at scale. The EVO Smart Console reportedly moved only low hundreds of units across its entire production run, and the platform was discontinued by 2010.
The Game Library
Software was always going to be the tricky question for an outsider console, and the EVO Smart Console reflected the realities of being a small hardware maker without exclusive developer relationships. The platform’s official game library skewed heavily toward open-source and indie titles. Three games stand out in the available documentation as notable releases for the system: SuperTux, the long-running open-source platformer inspired by classic side-scrollers; Kobo Deluxe, a top-down shoot-’em-up with roots in the X11 freeware scene; and Kid Destiny, a smaller-scale adventure title.
These three games share a common heritage of being developed outside the traditional closed-platform publishing model. SuperTux and Kobo Deluxe in particular had already cultivated communities on Linux desktops long before the EVO Smart Console existed, and their availability on the platform reinforced the machine’s character as a console built for Linux-literate enthusiasts rather than mainstream console buyers. Beyond these notable titles, the actual catalog of EVO-specific releases was thin, and most gaming on the device effectively meant treating the hardware like a small living-room PC and installing compatible software directly onto it.
The shape of the library tells part of the EVO’s broader story. Without the financial muscle to secure exclusive triple-A productions or to license major third-party franchises, Envizions instead leaned on the existing open-source gaming ecosystem. That choice delivered an authentic, if specialized, catalog — one appreciated by hobbyists but unlikely to win over shoppers comparing the EVO directly to an Xbox 360 or a Wii.
Legacy
The EVO Smart Console holds a clear niche in seventh-generation history as one of the most ambitious media PC-console hybrids of the era. It was a deliberate attempt to package a contemporary x86 personal computer into a form factor, price point, and feature set acceptable to console buyers, complete with optical media and SD card storage. The dual-OS approach — Fedora Linux in one configuration and Windows in another — was a particularly unusual choice for a consumer gaming device, and it positioned the EVO closer in spirit to a Shuttle-style mini-PC than to any of its bigger-name rivals.
The platform’s commercial failure had identifiable downstream consequences. Envizions reportedly invested approximately $1 million in the development of the original EVO, and the unit-sales reality — only low hundreds, by the available record — meant there was little headroom for an aggressive follow-up. A successor called the EVO 2 was reportedly cancelled before reaching consumers, and the company’s efforts eventually morphed into the EVO 2 DX, a hybrid device running Windows and Android. In that sense, the EVO Smart Console is best understood as the first chapter of a longer, ultimately unfinished, story about a small American firm trying to make a living-room PC work as a mainstream gaming product.
For collectors and historians interested in the wider console landscape, the EVO Smart Console stands as a reminder of just how high the barrier to entry was for outsider hardware during the seventh generation. It also stands as one of the clearest mid-2000s examples of a vendor betting that console shoppers might want the flexibility of a personal computer instead of the curated experience offered by Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft.
Collecting It Today
For collectors drawn to unusual or short-run consoles, the EVO Smart Console occupies a genuinely rare corner of the market. Because production reportedly ended with only low hundreds of units out in the world, surviving hardware is scarce, and complete-in-box examples are even harder to come by. Prospective buyers should expect to plan for a slow hunt, as these units do not turn up often in the usual secondary channels.
When evaluating a unit, there are a few practical considerations. Buyers who specifically want one of the Fedora Linux configurations should confirm which OS is installed before purchase, as both Linux and Windows variants existed at retail and are not interchangeable in collector terms. Original packaging, the included power brick, printed documentation, and any bundled media are all worth weighing when assessing condition. As with any PC-based console from this era, attention should be paid to aging capacitors, dust-clogged cooling, and the condition of the optical drive, since replacement parts for uncommon hardware can be difficult to source.
Anyone researching the EVO as part of a broader look at the console industry can find more context on the wider consoles directory at RetroArcade, where the seventh generation and its more familiar contemporaries are cataloged alongside their rarer, more experimental peers.