BlueStacks Signs On Ubisoft, Warner Bros. Interactive And GREE For GamePop Platform

The cross-platform mobile software company BlueStacks may be rethinking its approach to living room-based mobile gaming with the GamePop and its distribution model, but it’s still signing up big-name partners. The company announced today at GDC that it will be bringing Ubisoft, Warner Bros. Interactive and GREE titles to GamePop, alongside its existing partners. These developers and… Read More

GamePop Review: The Android Gaming Console Gets Another Iteration, Still Disappoints

There’s a rush on to be the first Android console maker to strike the right chord with consumers, and there’s no shortage of contenders. Bluestacks is one such contender, and their GamePop is finally ready to ship to consumers. It’s a unique take, packing 500 top Android games into the console pre-loaded and ready to go, all for $6.99 per month. But can it avoid the pitfalls of… Read More

BlueStacks GamePop Mini aims to pick up where original console left off

When a company such as BlueStacks introduces a product with a non-traditional pricing structure (like the one we’re seeing with their gaming console “GamePop”), it’s not the easiest thing in the world for the general public to accept. “You’re giving me a piece of hardware free, but it doesn’t do anything unless I pay a

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BlueStacks Adds A Free Hardware Option To Its ‘Netflix For Gaming’ With GamePop Mini

GamePop Mini

Mobile virtualization startup BlueStacks only recently revealed the GamePop, its mobile home gaming console  that offers all-you-can play gaming for a flat monthly fee, but it’s already expanding the line. Today, the company is announcing GamePop Mini, a version of the GamePop that offers completely free hardware with a standard $6.99 monthly GamePop service subscription, with smaller hardware that’s yours to keep after 12 months even if you decide to cancel your GamePop account.

The GamePop Mini also runs Jelly Bean 4.2, and connects to your TV via an included HDMI cable. Just like its big brother the GamePop, it will provide access to the service’s curated list of 500 games (from both Android and iOS sources) each month, with titles from studios like HalfBrick (makers of Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride) that are normally available only with a one-off purchase. The key difference between the GamePop and the GamePop Mini will be in terms of specs, which BlueStacks aren’t quite ready to reveal.

The $129 GamePop is currently available free to pre-order customers, but reverts to full price as of June 30. The GamePop Mini will become available as of July 1 for pre-order, and BlueStacks CEO Rosen Sharma told me in an interview that it will ship at or around the same time as the GamePop some time this winter. Sharma said a free console was always something that it wanted to do, and that the GamePop Mini is the first of a line of “forever free” options it plans to provide to gamers seeking to access its services.

“We were always planning this, because we think of GamePop as a service,” he said. “Just like when you think of when Netflix came out, they used to send you a Wii disc so you could run it on the Wii, and then you could run it on the PlayStation. And our goal is that you can run it on a number of different devices, and some of them will be from us, and some of them will be from other people.”

GamePop becoming a platform agnostic service would be a considerable departure from other mobile gaming consoles out there, like OUYA and the upcoming GameStick. It would open the door to integration in smart TVs, Windows computers, embedded devices and various other places. Once that happens, the value prospect of a subscription service with true portability increases dramatically; GamePop truly does become the Netflix of mobile gaming.

“It is in part to show how good the market is out there, and I would call it a showcase, but the pre-orders have also inundated us,” Sharma said. “So it’s not just a showcase. The direct channel is a very strong business, and one we plan to continue, but having it run everywhere is our vision.”

Sharma also talked about GamePop’s potential to eventually bring in media titles, as well as interactive experiences that aren’t strictly games, like the Talking Tom series, which is especially a hit with younger audiences. For mobile developers, that presents an option for getting a variety of mobile titles in front of a wide swath of users on a huge range of devices, on a subscription-based billing model that could upturn the pay-per-download revenue scheme that’s mostly driven the mobile software ecosystem to date.

GamePop Mini will be a way for BlueStacks to spread its service far and wide, especially since there’s no commitment, and you need only return the console hardware should you decide to cancel the subscription before the 12 month mark. It’s also super portable, and in fact pocketable, so it’s designed to travel (which has the side benefit of introducing new people to GamePop). I think it’ll be most interesting to see how users react to having both a free and a $129 hardware option for a brand new type of gaming device, but we’ll find out more come winter when they launch.

BlueStacks introduces the GamePop Mini, its first subscription-based ‘free’ game console

In an effort to outdo itself, BlueStacks is announcing the GamePop Mini for the cube-averse. The biggest difference between the Mini (seen above on the left) and the cube (the… uh… cube above) isn’t the form factor; it’s in pricing. Where the regular GamePop is $129 (unless you act soon) the Mini is “free” after a 12-month subscription of $7 per-month, or $84 total. At this price, it costs less than an OUYA, but slightly more than a GameStick. “If you keep it more than 12 months, you keep it forever,” BlueStacks’ Head of Marketing and Business Development John Gargiulo told us. Of course, there’s not much to do with the Mini without a subscription. “It’d be like if Netflix did it this way and had hardware — the unit would be useless without the subscription,” he added. Additionally, if you return the Mini inside of 12 months, there’s a $25 restocking fee.

The subscription gives users access to a plethora of games from 500 “popular mobile game partners.” Those partners include the teams behind Jetpack Joyride and Fieldrunners. “Getting the kind of developer support we’ve gotten, it sets us apart,” Gargiulo said. “We saw what happened with the Dreamcast and we saw what happened with the Wii U. You need to have good launch titles; there needs to be games everyone recognizes and wants to play.”

To make GamePop more enticing to developers, BlueStacks created Looking Glass — proprietary tech allowing iOS-only apps to run on its Android-4.2-based console. When an iOS app makes calls to Apple’s hardware, Looking Glass interprets those calls and translates them to the GamePop Mini’s hardware. Of course, a few changes within the code are necessary. “[Porting is] not easy, but I would submit it’s not hard, relatively speaking,” Gargiulo said.

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Gamepop Android Console Brings iOS Games To Your TV

Bluestacks’ Gamepop will support the ability to play iOS games on your TV through Looking Glass.

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GamePop console gets iOS game support

OUYA-rivaling console GamePop will support iOS games, BlueStacks has confirmed, using an Apple pseudo-virtualization system called Looking Glass which makes porting iPhone and iPad titles straightforward. The new functionality, which joins GamePop’s already-known Andorid game support, will see iOS titles from participating developers included in BlueStacks’ subscription-based all-you-can-play gaming package, priced at $9.99 per month.

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BlueStacks to offer GamePop Android game console for $129, expands title lineup

BlueStacks to offer GamePop Android game console for $129, extends free preorder through June

BlueStacks is taking on OUYA in a big way, having announced its Android-powered GamePop game console a few weeks ago. The company wouldn’t give specifics on how much the device would cost when it was first unveiled, although it offered an option to get the console for free through May — provided you were willing to subscribe to the $7-per-month service for at least a full year, which gives you full access to a large number of paid and free mobile games. Today, BlueStacks announced that the free offer has been extended through June, after which time the console can be yours for $129. What’s more, the service has inked partnerships with more gaming developers, adding at least another $50 worth of titles to its overall catalog. One such company is COM2US, which will feature its very own channel in GamePop’s UI. Head to the source link to get your pre-order in.

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Via: TheNextWeb

Source: Gamepop.tv

BlueStacks GamePop misses OUYA’s competitive price point

OUYA is getting closer and closer to it’s public launch next month, and Android emulation service BlueStacks is looking to shake things up at the same time with their new GamePop portable gaming console. It’s a bit different than OUYA, as it uses a subscription for unlimited gameplay, but the price of the console itself is a bit more expensive than the OUYA.

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BlueStacks announced that the GamePop console will cost $129, which is just a tad more than the OUYA’s $99 price tag. However, gamers will have to buy all of their games separately with the OUYA, whereas the GamePop will offer a $6.99-per-month subscription for an all-you-can-play buffet of Android titles.

Of course, pre-orders for the new console are ongoing, and from until the end of June, you’ll be able to get the console for free if you’re willing to lay down a full-year subscription on the service, which only costs $83.88. That’s certainly quite the deal if we do say so ourselves, and even though the console will cost more than the OUYA, the subscription model of the GamePop seems rather enticing.

BlueStacks also announced the addition of more games coming to their portable console from three new developers. They weren’t wordy as to what games would making their way to the GamePop, but they did say that these new titles just announced today would cost over $50 if you bought them in the Google Play store, and users will be getting them for free with their subscription.

BlueStacks has already managed to get a handful of popular mobile game developers to partner up with them, including Glu, Halfbrick, and Gameloft. It’s not said exactly how many games will be available at launch, as the team is still working on getting a final count, but it should give OUYA a run for its money. However, we’ll see if the game selection on the GamePop is worth the $6.99 monthly fee. That’s a low price to pay, but that definitely adds up after a couple of years.

VIA: The Next Web


BlueStacks GamePop misses OUYA’s competitive price point is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

BlueStacks GamePop console takes on OUYA

As OUYA gets ready to launch in full next month, other companies are trying to replicate the success with their own portable gaming consoles. Android app emulation service BlueStacks has announced GamePop, which is a portable Android-powered gaming console that looks to take on OUYA, as well as become the Netflix of gaming with a unique subscription plan.

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The console is available to pre-order now, and you can actually get the console and controller for free throughout this month, but it’ll cost $99 if you order one after May (although the final price hasn’t been finalized yet). The console requires an $83.88-per-year subscription fee as well, which comes out to $6.99 per month. This will get you an all-you-can-play buffet of games to play on your TV without needing to pay for the games individually.

BlueStacks has already managed to get a handful of popular mobile game developers to partner up, including Glu, Halfbrick, Gameloft, Intellijoy, and Deemedya. It’s not said exactly how many games will be available at launch, as the team is still working on getting a final count, but it should give OUYA a run for its money.

Plus, the monthly subscription fee is also an interesting concept, as its essentially the Netflix for games. However, you have to pay by the year (sort of like a contract), but $6.99 per month doesn’t seem that bad at all, especially considering that you can play as many games as you want, which could be a bargain for those who are heavy gamers. As of right now, there’s no word on a ship date for the GamePop console.

[via The Next Web]


BlueStacks GamePop console takes on OUYA is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.