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I turned a mini PC into powerful gaming console
I value two things above all else when I'm playing games: convenience and convenience. Okay, maybe that's one thing, but it's so important that I will seek out gaming experiences that make it easier for me to get started. I love my ModRetro Chromatic because I can pick it up anytime, flick the power on, and play Tetris or any of my growing stack of Game Boy games. It's the same with other gaming handhelds, where I prefer the seamless Steam Deck to any Windows-based option.
I love couch gaming, but I also love PC games, and the two aren't as compatible as they could be.
I love couch gaming, but I also love PC games, and the two aren't as compatible as they could be. Windows 11 isn't always optimized for gaming, and if you're trying to control it with a game controller from ten feet away, it's even worse. Yes, I know I could add Bazzite instead, and have the ease-of-use of SteamOS with a complete desktop environment waiting in the background in case I need it. But the problem is that I love multiplayer FPS games, and most of these use anti-cheats of one type or another, and those safeguards don't work on Linux.
So, that leaves me with Windows 11. In the past, Windows used to have the Windows Media Center edition, which turned the operating system into a customizable carousel, similar to how the Xbox dashboard works. That never worked with games, but there are a few ways to make Windows behave similarly for the ultimate in couch gaming.
Everything is an Xbox now
Well, except for Linux-based operating systems
The lines between gaming consoles and PC gaming are blurred, if not overlapping, at this point. Microsoft has made no secret of its plans to put Xbox on EVERYTHING, PC games are rarely limited to the platform, and even Sony has started putting its games on other platforms. Yeah, Nintendo is doing it's own thing as usual, but for everyone else in gaming, the scene is set for gamers to be able to play their favorite franchises on whichever hardware they prefer.
Even your PC is an Xbox, or maybe it's more correct to say your Xbox is a customized PC, since it runs a heavily customized version of the Windows 11 kernel. And that's where I'm aiming here, because while I love SteamOS, I also love multiplayer games that use anti-cheat and those exclusively run on Windows. Maybe in the future I can switch, but until then, my couch computer will run Windows, while my gaming handhelds will mostly run SteamOS.
This mini PC is better than an Xbox
I've been using a gaming PC for my couch computer, but while it's powerful, it's also large and noisy. I can't fit it inside the TV cabinet, or behind it, and it's just an ugly mess of cables behind. I've always wanted to replace it with a mini PC, which I did recently with the Strix Halo-powered Bosgame M5 Ai mini desktop.
Now, this mini PC packs a whopping 128GB of shared system memory, enough to run almost any LLM you could name. It's not quite as powerful when gaming, but it's still around the performance of an AMD Radeon RX7600 desktop GPU. That's impressive from an APU design, and the CPU inside is about as powerful as the AMD Ryzen 7 7900X inside my productivity PC right now. So, we've got a good starting point (and it even has Windows 11 Pro installed), so let's make it more couch-friendly.
Windows 11 comes with some caveats
But it meant I can still play multiplayer games with anti-cheat
Windows 11 isn't nearly as convenient as a purpose-designed gaming console, at least not without some tweaks. Adding Wake-on-LAN is a handy way to turn on your couch computer from across the room, or anywhere with an internet connection, and connecting a couple of controllers will make things perfect for some co-op action. Then there's the thorny issue of which dashboard to use, because Windows 11 sucks for navigating with a controller, and having a dashboard will help.
Kiosk mode:
Windows 11 has an inbuilt kiosk mode, which lets you lock the system to either a single or a group of UWP apps.
It's really easy to use. Head to Settings, then Accounts, and click on the Other users page. You'll see an entry for Kiosk, click Get started, add a name, and choose an app from those installed on your computer.
Except, you'll probably need to use the Shell Launcher instead, which is a little more involved. I've not set this up yet as I don't need my mini PC to be locked down, but I'll probably add it when I have a minute because the idea of a dedicated user account that's locked to a set of already installed games is appealing.
Set to auto login:
This is pretty straightforward. Run netplwiz, uncheck the box next to Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer, and reboot.
You only need this if you plan on using Steam or one of the other launchers below, because Kiosk mode automatically signs in.
LaunchBox
LaunchBox or BigBox (depending on which mode you set it to) has been a favorite of mine for emulating older games for years. But I only recently realized that it can work as a frontend for any Windows game, whether linked to Steam, GoG, Uplay, or manually added to the launcher. This makes it well-suited for couch gaming, as you can add everything you have installed, and have the launcher turn up in Kiosk mode. Or, you can have Kodi as the main app, because a plugin for LaunchBox lets you launch games, then go right back to Kodi afterwards.
It's as close to a console as you can with Windows and works perfectly with controller-first navigation. LaunchBox is paid software for the full breadth of features, but it's well worth supporting the dev to keep this fantastic program going.
Playnite
We've been using Playnite mostly on gaming handhelds as a Steam Big Picture alternative, but that means it'll also be perfect on the TV. It's one of the easiest to use "universal" launchers, and will happily pull games from most of your storefronts into the dashboard. And that's just the official add-ons. There's third-party plugins to bring in those games and keys from almost anywhere you can name, and a few that I didn't even recognize.
It'll even scan your library and bring in metadata, cover images, and more, so you don't have to spend time setting things up the long way. That convenience goes a long way, and I love it.
I love my new couch computer
But it wasn't all smooth sailing
I've been meaning to replace the large tower PC plugged into my TV for ages, and this fantastic mini PC has given me the chance to do just that. It's smaller than the current consoles, and more powerful, and I can play a much larger selection of games. Plus, I can now finally hide it in the TV console. It only took an hour or so to set up, and most of that was waiting for things to download so anyone could get their own console replacement.