En 2016, antes de que Nintendo Switch llegara al mercado, cuatro soñadores de Mallorca en España se lanzaron a una aventura muy ambiciosa. Daniel Fernández, Ignacio Armenteros y los hermanos Antonio y Óscar de la Torre pusieron en marcha un proyecto que perseguía reunir la potencia de un PC capaz de reproducir videojuegos triple A en una consola portátil. Smach Z es la cristalización de esa idea. Un fruto que, tras años de duro trabajo, no llegó a madurar por completo. Su primera fecha de lanzamiento se fijó para abril de 2017, pero la mala suerte se cebó con una iniciativa que, de haber salido adelante, contaba con un potencial enorme.
El problema fue el fracaso de las Steam Machines o plataformas de hardware para comprar videojuegos en línea. No llegaron a asentarse nunca como un producto masivo, pero sí pusieron sobre la mesa el acceso a un catálogo gigante de juegos a solo un click. Llevar el potencial de tal inventario al usuario ajeno al PC es todo un caramelo que, hoy por hoy, solo pueden comer unos pocos. En su momento fue una de las principales virtudes de la consola que hoy nos ocupa.
La creación de la consola Smach Z
El arduo camino comenzó con una campaña de financiamiento que, al segundo intento, logró reunir más de 400,000 euros. Tras esa palanca, que activó el desarrollo de un hardware de estas características, llegó lo recolectado en Indiegogo, la inversión privada y las ayudas públicas.
El primer modelo contaba con un precio de mercado estimado de 300 euros, una cifra extremadamente competitiva que habría supuesto el posicionamiento perfecto para el producto. Pero su accidentado desarrollo, postergado en exceso, repercutió en las entrañas de una máquina que, tras ser anunciada en 2016, tuvo que retrasarse y actualizarse constantemente.
La postergada primera aparición en público
Después de tres años de retrasos imprevistos, Smach Z llegó por fin a la Gamescom de 2019 con una presentación conceptual. Terminó costando entre 699 y 1,099 euros, mucho más que su precio original, resultado de las continuas demoras y problemas acumulados en su proceso de desarrollo. Lo que obligó a abandonar el planteamiento original.
La consola se mostraba como una máquina capaz de ejecutar juegos AAA (los mejores) en su pantalla táctil de 6 pulgadas. En esencia, se trata de un PC en formato consola portátil que permitía instalar tanto Windows como Linux, y acceder a cualquier tienda virtual de PC, Steam, GOG, Origin, etc. La duración de su batería se estimó entre 2 y 5 horas y su tiempo de carga en 45 minutos. Además, podía conectarse a una pantalla con teclado y ratón.
El sueño se truncó por una cadena de desgracias que atestiguan lo complicado que resulta salir adelante con un proyecto de esta envergadura. El primer gran obstáculo vino de parte de la empresa valenciana ImasD. Con ella firmaron un estudio tecnológico y la producción, algo que debía llevarse a cabo en seis meses y que nunca se cumplió. La propuesta de la compañía, según lo expuesto por Smach Team, contaba con diversos fallos que interrumpieron una colaboración que no terminó bien, llegando a instancias jurídicas. Tal y como se puede leer en la última publicación de la compañía en un hilo oficial de Reddit, la demanda sigue en curso. Y el proyecto tuvo que replantearse tras perder 200,000 euros.
Con todo, el equipo siguió adelante solventando problemas con, por ejemplo, los moldes del dispositivo. Que pasaron por tres empresas diferentes, desde China hasta España. Otros con el diseño electrónico y el desarrollo de la Bios, que tampoco fueron sencillos. Pero nada de eso impidió seguir remando y acudiendo a las plazas más importantes de la industria para mostrar el bebé al mundo.

Fuente de la imagen: Kickstarters
El fin del sueño de Smach Z
En la Tokyo Game Show del mismo año la mala suerte volvió. Durante la presentación pública, la pantalla del dispositivo no encendía. Una muy mala forma de iniciar un evento multitudinario en el que los problemas no habían hecho más que empezar.
Cuando se encontraban arreglando los últimos detalles, viendo la luz al final del túnel, la pandemia entró en escena obligando a la compañía a mover su producción de China a España. Poco después, la asfixia del parón económico obligó a aplicar un ERTE de casi un año y medio de duración. Esto dejó a la plantilla con menos de 5 trabajadores.
Así, los continuos retrasos supusieron las primeras tablas del ataúd de Smach Z. Respecto a los reembolsos, la compañía fue muy clara y adjuntó un formulario para que los interesados reclamen sus devoluciones. Ante un escenario de bancarrota, todos los recursos obtenidos de la venta de sus activos se destinarían a los reembolsos. Esta práctica lleva haciéndose desde hace un tiempo, pero la empresa ya no cuenta con el sustento de la inversión privada.
El camino de Smach Z llegó a su final con un comunicado que expresa una disculpa sincera, y que en estos tiempos de desconfianza, pone énfasis en la transparencia. La empresa ha sido auditada y certificada por entidades externas y por estrictos controles gubernamentales destinados a garantizar que todo lo recaudado fuera a parar al desarrollo. Nos encontramos ante un proyecto que, simplemente, no llegó a fructificar. Una aventura que quedará grabada en la historia del hardware español como uno de los intentos más ambiciosos de asaltar el mercado de las videoconsolas. Una iniciativa que ha demostrado una capacidad de lucha y una pasión envidiables, que pone de manifiesto lo extremadamente complejo que resulta este negocio.
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