Between a few games, I had the opportunity to meet two French equipment manufacturers.
Blue Day
The French manufacturer is presenting two products at the show.
The first is a special "Street Art" series of his gamer-oriented PC "Move Ultimate". The boxes are made of aluminum, with artistic representations of the most beautiful effect. The weight is a bit surprising (5.5 kilograms at 7 according to the official website). In itself, it's not that much for a total configuration, power supply and graphics card included. But from the size (37 x 18,8 x 23 cm with handle), it seems like a lot.
Designed around Intel's modular and scalable NUC platform, the configurations offer i5 to i9 processors, M.2 PCIe NVMe Gen 3 - 1TB SSD, Wi-Fi 6, Dual Lan, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two front USB 3.1 ports…
Retro gaming demos were also made thanks to the "Mini Kubb" PC of only 7 cm side. A mini-configuration, at €299, capable of running office automation without any worries, with a computer that fits in your pocket!
Under control
I admit that before coming to the show, I didn't know the brand at all. As a result, it was with great pleasure that I agreed to discuss with Laurent Simon, president of the Under Control group, to realize... that I know them very well!
Indeed, Under Control has been on the compatible accessories market for 13 years already, selling 500 units a year, for a turnover of 000 million over the last year. The brand is present in most supermarkets, offering inexpensive alternatives to most official accessories. But now, Under Control seeks to make itself known to the general public, hence its presence at the show and the creation of a new website, undercontrol.com.
Among the accessories present at the show, all the usual brands are present. Accessories for Nintendo Switch consoles. Controllers, Bluetooth or wired. A ventilated docking station, which has the advantage of being more practical than the official one (because you don't have to slide it to put it back in). A whole range of PS4 controllers with double vibration. Helmets, delivered with spare foam for the ears. Great flexibility in the headband. A rigid microphone. All these products are guaranteed for three years.
A PlayStation 5 controller is in the works. His model is ready, already conceptualized. It will be released in the first quarter of 2023. The battery should last twice as long as the official one.
Recently, the brand also bought Burn Controllers, known for controller customization. The goal of Under Control is to offer ultra customization of controllers, down to the materials used and, why not, the fingerprint. In the longer term, the brand is eyeing the side of the Metaverse, with the possibility of creating an NFT of its personalized controller.
In any case, in the ten years that we have been doing trade shows, this is the first time that I have seen a brand offer such personalized goodies...
