Web 3 gaming company Polium has announced the Polium One, "the world's first multi-chain gaming console," capable of running games built on different blockchains. The announcement has already met criticism from gamers for its ties to the blockchain.

Polium says its system will be "powerful enough to run high-performance games and will be easy to use for a traditional gamer who doesn't understand Web 33." The console will be available to pre-order by players who buy a Polium Pass, one of 10,000 non-fungible tokens (NFT) minted on the Ethereum blockchain. Consoles will be released to those who pre-order in Q3 2024, with a full release in 2025.

Polium says the console's controller will have a fingerprint scanner and a dedicated button for quick access to the console's multi-chain cryptocurrency wallet. The system itself aims to output 8K HDR at 120 frames per second and incorporate ray tracing. Polium has yet to confirm specs for the console.

Polium has yet to announce any games available at launch, but says it is "currently in talks with multiple game developers."

It also claims it will use Apple's proprietary TouchID technology, which that company has never allowed another to use.

In addition to objecting to the console's ties to the blockchain, critics claim the company's lack of specifics around tech and timeline — the first prototype was said to be due in "a few months" — indicate Polium is out of its depth. Add to that the small size of the team (four), the similarities between Polium's logo and that of the Nintendo GameCube, the lack of confirmed games, the confusing tech claims, and you've got a pretty unflattering portrait of the company.

That criticism has prompted a response from the developers, plus a little more in the way of details about the console's launch.

"We have been receiving FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] and criticism regarding our ability to execute," the company said in a statement in its Discord server.

"We have experience in hardware and software development. We are currently doing the power tree for the console's board. We should have a functional prototype by November or before. We will show the prototype live on YouTube or have a well-trusted influencer show you all. The prototype will probe that the console can run games that are on different blockchains and built with different programming languages."

Polium also reversed course on taking pre-orders before showing the prototype.

"Once we have a functional prototype, we will build the console for manufacturing," it said.

"Some of you are not passionate about Web 3 and are only here for entertainment and FUD. But we will start banning people [from the Discord.] Anything is possible when you are passionate about a problem. We will deliver. Stay tuned," the statement concludes.