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Konami Launches a Line of Gaming Desktop PCs

They use the brand name Arespear and three pricey models will be available in Japan from December.

 & Matthew Humphries Former Senior Editor

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Konami is a name usually associated with video and arcade games, and gave us such classics as Castelvania, Gradius, Metal Gear Solid, and Silent Hill. However, the Japanese company has decided to turn its attention to hardware and is set to offer a new line of gaming-focused desktop PCs.

As Engadget reports, the Windows 10 PCs will be sold under the brand Arespear and three models will be available initially. The cheapest option is called the Arespear C300 and uses an Intel Core i5-9400F paired with 8GB of DDR4 RAM, a 512GB NVMe M.2 SSD, and a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650. Then there's the Arespear C700, which improves on performance by using a water-cooled Core i7-9700, 16GB of RAM, and a GeForce RTX 2070 Super. Finally, we have the high-end Arespear C700+, which looks to be exactly the same as the C700 internally, except for the addition of a 1TB SATA hard drive alongside the 512GB SSD. Externally, it adds a transparent cover and RGB lighting.

The case design is definitely "love it or hate it," but I doubt anyone will enjopy the pricing. The C300 costs $1,750, while the C700 is an eye-watering $3,200. If you want the extras offered by the C700+, add another $210 to the price. For anyone outside of Japan, Konami's new PCs won't be an option, at least not this year. They are expected to launch in Japan in December, placing them in the difficult position of competing for sales with the newly-released PlayStation 5.

The Arespear brand is also being used for two gaming keyboards (K100F and K100L), and the H100 heaphones. The keyboards look to be produced by Realforce and use capacitive non-contact keys with adjustable actuation points. The K100L differs from the K100F by being a tenkeyless keyboard. Meanwhile, the H100 headpones include a volume control dial and have been designed to remain comfortable for those long gaming sessions. As for sound quality, Konami developed the headphones with the supervision of the "BEMANI Soun Team," which is the company's branding for its in-house musicians.

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Matthew Humphries

Matthew Humphries

Former Senior Editor

My Experience

I started working at PCMag in November 2016, covering all areas of technology and video game news. Before that I spent nearly 15 years working at Geek.com as a writer and editor. I also spent the first six years after leaving university as a professional game designer working with Disney, Games Workshop, 20th Century Fox, and Vivendi.

I hold two degrees: a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a Master's degree in Games Development. My first book, Make Your Own Pixel Art, is available from all good book shops.

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