The giants of handheld gaming have been hitting quite a market problem brought about by the popularity of smartphones and tablets, leading them to gimmicks like price cuts and refreshed versions of old handheld lines. Today, Sony is taking such a path, announcing the Playstation Vita PCH-2000 which is an incremental upgrade to the original […]
Designing the world’s most advanced gaming laptop wasn’t easy for Razer. With every tweak and addition came an avalanche of decisions and workarounds.
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Nintendo has unveiled the latest entry into the 3DS family of devices. This one will be arriving as the Nintendo 2DS and as the name would imply, this one is not 3D. The Nintendo 2DS will be available beginning on October 12 and those looking to make a purchase will be able to choose between […]
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.
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.
OUYA announced today that they have reached the 10,000-developer mark with their portable Android-powered gaming console. The console made its public debut at the Games Developer Conference last month, where it also began shipping to Kickstarter backers. During that time, OUYA had around 8,000 developers signed on.
OUYA’s head of developer relations, Kellee Santiago, revealed the new statistic today, and says that it’s quite an accomplishment for the company, especially considering that the console is still in its early stages. She also notes that the number of developers signing on “continues to grow at such a rapid pace.”
Santiago notes that partnerships with larger developers and publishers will be coming up in the next few months, which means we could be seeing some triple-A titles make their way to the OUYA console at some point. However, Santiago says that the competition between triple-A games and indie games is dying, and gamers will simply play games that have quality, whether it’s a triple-A title or an indie title.
The OUYA has been hit with some criticism as of late, when review of the portable gaming console began pouring out, most of which rated the new console bad or mediocre. However, OUYA has reiterated that the console is still in its early stages and isn’t ready for prime time quite yet, but Santiago assures us that the team is working on improving the console.
[via Gamesindustry.biz]
OUYA hits 10,000 developers worldwide is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
PlayJam has announced that GameStick shipments will be facing a delay and that customers can expect the device to ship to them by the end of June. The main reason for the delay is due to the huge demand for the device. PlayJam only planned for the demand to be around 1,000 units, however they were extremely surprised when orders began reaching the tens of thousands of units.
In order to keep up with the demand for the product, PlayJam has to opt for much more higher-end tools. It says that the tools will take around 3 months to create, and that it has been in progress for a while. The expected completion date for these tools is the end of May. PlayJam states that it can have all the GameStick units assembled and shipped around June 10th, however they will have to use sea freight to ship them instead of air freight. The process can take two weeks.
After the shipments have arrived, it can take around 1-5 days for it to reach your homes, so PlayJam is estimating the arrival date to be within the last week of June. It is quite disappointing to the backers, but it’s inevitable for a product with such high-demand. We have also stated that 84% of Kickstarter projects miss their expected ship dates. On the bright side, PlayJam is making many modifications to the GameStick thanks to the feedback its backers have given them.
GameStick is an Android-based gaming console looking to take on the Ouya. It plugs into the HDMI slot in your HDTV, and lets you play your favorite Google Play games on your controller. There are currently over 600 developers, from both indie companies and major companies, developing games for the device. GameStick will also have XBMC integrated into it at launch. You will be able to purchase the device for $79 if you haven’t already.
[via Kickstarter]
GameStick shipments delayed until the end of June is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
We already knew that the GameStick would be supporting XBMC, but PlayJam has announced that they’re partnering up with Pivos to bring the XBMC integration to the portable gaming console. Pivos is an industry player in home entertainment and media products, and PlayJam says that the partnership is good news for both the GameStick and the gamers who will be using it.
However, it seems that XBMC will be available on the GameStick right at launch. Previously, it was said that the console wouldn’t be seeing XBMC support until later in September, but it looks like the partnership with Pivos will eradicate the need to wait, allowing gamers and home entertainment junkies access to XMBC right away.
XBMC stands for “Xbox Media Center,” and it was essentially created for the original Xbox, but has sense been released as an open-source media center platform. It’s available on a wide range of devices, and it can run on Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, and iOS. It’s also available on a handful of set-top boxes like the Boxee Box.
Of course, PlayJam says that the GameStick will still primarily be a portable gaming console, but the added functionality of a home theater media center will no doubt attract a larger niche of users, especially at a price of only $79, which comes with the HDMI dongle and a nifty game controller to go along with it. Developer units will begin shipping out very soon, and the console will be available to the public next month.
GameStick announces partnership with Pivos for XBMC integration is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
It’s been over a month since we last heard from PlayJam on their new GameStick portable gaming console. However, the team definitely hasn’t been sleeping, as they announced today that developer units of the new console will be shipping out later this month. The company also had a few other announcements, including controller production, partnerships, and the SDK.
The developer unit itself is slightly larger than what the normal units will be, mostly because the dev units have a Type A USB slot for keyboard and mouse input that will be necessary for developers. The developer units will also include a few different components from the normal units that will be meant for de-bugging and loading apps.
As for the controller, PlayJam says that it’s “nearing readiness for production now.” The company says that “making this controller almost gave the lead mechanical engineer a heart attack,” noting that the controller has a very intricate design, and PlayJam says that the engineer “has worked wonders to fit everything in to such a small space.”
Furthermore, the company has announced that over 500 developers have signed up for, or are in the process of signing up to make GameStick games, and they also said that they have some partnerships in the pipeline with “major corporations,” hinting that ARM may be one of them. As for the SDK, it will be released to game developers later this week. PlayJam will be at GDC 2013 next week to announce even more news, so be sure to stay tuned!
GameStick developer units shipping later this month is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
It looks like Sony slashing the prices of its PS Vita systems have done it wonders. Sony had cut the price of its PS Vita down to 19,980 yen from 24,980 yen due to its struggling sales. It looked like the 30% price cut worked because Sony saw sales quadruple for the device compared to two weeks ago. The announcement was made by Hiroshi Kawano, President of Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan, while he was doing a presentation for One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2.
It’s good to know that pricing seemed to be the only barrier stopping gamers from buying the device rather than the PS Vita software itself. It would be terrible to see the PS Vita suffer the same horrible sales as its predecessor, the PSP Go. The sales for the PS Vita should equal around 44,000 this week, considering two weeks ago the PS Vita sold somewhere around 11,000 copies. The official sales number won’t be released until tomorrow.
Sony stated that the United States won’t be receiving the same sales cut treatment for its PS Vita systems. Maybe after seeing the success rate that the PS Vita can achieve with a price cut, Sony will change its mind. However, it did state that one of the major reasons for reducing the price of its Japanese PS Vitas was due to Japan’s “current exchange rate”.
Now more Japanese gamers can enjoy the wonders of PlayStation 4 cloud-gaming with their new PS Vita devices. The PlayStation 4 will allow gamers to access all of their games remotely through the PS Vita. So if you’re in a situation where you can’t play your PlayStation 4 in peace, you can just enable remote play for your PS Vita and run off to a different room. Sony is redefining the way games are meant to be played.
[via Gematsu]
PS Vita price cut results in sales quadrupling is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
After a long wait for consumers, OUYA has announced that it will begin shipping their gaming consoles to Kickstarter backers starting on March 28, which is exactly one month from now. OUYA says that a full launch of the console is still on schedule for sometime in June. This is when the OUYA console will be available in stores for anyone to purchase.
OUYA says that Kickstarter backers will be receiving shipping information in an email within a few weeks, and assembly lines are “buzzing” with the sound of tens of thousands of OUYA consoles being manufactured — we can smell the Android-powered portable gaming goodness already, and we’re pretty excited to see how the OUYA will shape the gaming industry.
Developer console began shipping back in December, so some people have already been playing around with the OUYA for a couple months now. OUYA mentioned that a load of new indie games will be making their way to the console, as well as games from popular developing studios and individual developers, like Tripwire Interactive and Kim Swift from Portal and Left 4 Dead.
If you didn’t back OUYA on Kickstarter, but want a piece of the pie, Best Buy, Target, and GameStop will sell the OUYA console for $99 starting sometime in June, which is the same price that Kickstarter backers paid for the device during the console’s fundraising campaign. The console wil also be available for purchase on OUYA’s website and Amazon.com.
OUYA to ship consoles starting March 28 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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