GameStick: The Most Portable TV Games Console

Interesting device on Kickstarter. Looks like "Android" will rule the TV soon

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/872297630/gamestick-the-most-portable-tv-games-console-ever

 

Interesting - Might have to jump on this!

 

It seems as if the Ouya has caused a surge in the Android console market. It's a perfect example of how people like to jump on the success bandwagon. Though I don't necessarily like this in software because of the number of copycat games, in hardware this adds a good element of creative competition as those who are developing the hardware are the few who have the skill to do so compared to the games market.

 

It's using the Google Play store which means that there's likely going to be vast incompatibility issues at launch. I'll pass.

 

I don't know... I got a crazy strange vibe from the guys on this video.... and only 100k pledge gaol? That's all they need? VERY strange...

 

I actually ponder about that, Google does not license the store that easily. You must do a device they will certify as Android for it to work, and so far that only means Tablets or smartphones, with the occasional smartphone-styled MP3 Player.

You can't just say you going to do an entirely incompatible piece of hardware, stick it on a TV dongle and force touch apps to work. Google should not license their store for such a thing...

 

100k is the new one million.

 

I thought the billion was the new million.... when did economy start to deflate?

 

Google's licensing requirements are not strict at all. It's pretty much just a lower-level hardware requirement and the rest is barely considered at all.

 

That's not my understanding. Android off itself is plainly open and anyone can use it for anything, but for you to add Google services (Play store or any other Google branded app) you must be able to join the Open Handset Alliance, and for that you must meet requirements like being a touch-screen device, for one, being compatible second.

Members of the alliance have also been threatened with being expelled and lose certification on any current and future products simply by joining a non-compatible project (happened recently with a manufacturing deal an Arabic company had with, I think, LG or Asus.)

 

That's only if you want it on a mobile phone or tablet. There are different certification requirements for different types of devices, all you have to do is email them to work something out.

 

So far they've identified 200 games that work with it and there working with 250 developers.
Seems like it could be a good thing, and looking at how it can handle a game like shadowgun in that small thing
is amazing.

 

Don't believe any showcase you saw on their video. They also showcased a frigging XBox dashboard with some video magic changing the header.

 

Even more curious is the $5000 discrepancy and the missing 221 backers from my quick math. A lot of this is really... curious. It's also near spec-for-spec the exact same product as the Droid Stick A2, but with Bluetooth.

 

Form what I saw on there video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uw9YJIIw1e8
Looked like it was running on Android tech, as the taskbar on the bottom I've seen
on a few android tablets. But we'll know if it actually works like they say later.

 

I gotta agree, I love my Gears of War and Battlefield 3, these devices will never replace consoles anytime soon, if at all, this is just another way to play android games and its quite moronic.. if you cant afford a console or an android device then you should not have an alternative.. Playing android games on a TV wont make much difference...

Anyone else notice they had the xbox dashboard or what looked like it. Also the video says just a model it does not work.. just saying..

he has an xbox controller in his hand... also listen for the sounds the controller makes, if you ever played xbox you'll recognize them..


I honestly feel like this is a scam, and all those people who donated will be ripped off..

 

I really like the design. Why even bother designing a console when you can make it as the gamepad/joypad. Its incredibly portable.

I think for that alone, its already better than Ouya. Imagine if you just bring your gamepad/joypad to your friends house and start playing.

 

The part I don't get is how the images get onto the screen. Surely most of the processing is inside of the controller, not inside that tiny hdmi receiver thing? So it broadcasts the screen to the receiver or something?

 

It said that the hdmi receiver communicates through bluetooth.

 

I guess you missed the news about the USB stick computer craze last year...
The famous MK802

And the new noname brand

https://www.miniand.com/products/MK802 Android Mini PC
http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/07/mk802-android-4-0-mini-pc-hands-on-impressions/
http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/89-dual-core-android-stick-pc-leaves-mk802-in-the-dust-20120814/

There are quite a few of those around now - costing no more than $89 dollars - basically Android-based HDMI stick PCs.

"This new stick made its debut on YouTube yesterday, and it’s packing a Rockchip RK3066 dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor clocked at 1.6GHz and 1GB of DDR3 RAM. That’s a big improvement over the MK802, which offers a single-core 1.5GHz ARM Cortex A-8 processor. It’s also significantly better than the Z902, which just appeared last week."

So yeh, everything is processed inside that USB stick.

What I would like to see though, is to get rid of the stick. Why bother with it. Just integrate the stick into the gamepad/joypad. Now there is more room to pack more silicons in it (or simply more room for cooling those hot mobile GPUs)

I doubt bluetooth has enough bandwidth to transmit full HD resolution video at 30 fps. Bluetooth 2.0 only had 2.1 Mbit/s data rate. Their Kickstarter page stated they will be using Bluetooth v4.0 LE (Low Energy), which means it will be using 1 Mbit/s transmission rate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth_low_energy) which makes it high unlikely.

They will have to use the wifi to have sufficient bandwidth to transmit the video to TV.

 

Odd nitpicking about that video: just saw it without audio (to look again at the XBox dashboard, and seems they simply made their own 100% clone in flash or something) and I was not able to stop looking at the guys hands...

See... Apple videos have popularized the act of expressing emotion with your hands while delivering a message, something I always found a bit cute... why cute? Well, I'm Puerto Rican and we are the masters of expressing conversation with our hands. We are very conscious of it, because everyone that is not a Puerto Rican makes us very aware of how unusual it is.

Anyways, by doing it all your life you sort of get to figure out when someone does it right, and when someone is just waving their hands around like an epileptic mime.

Apple guys are very subtle with their hand movements; they are just trying to convey an emotion of soft passion and cockiness. The guy in this video... he looks like he is trying to milk a bull by the testicles. He keeps just groping some imaginary balls midair... either just random movements or he is thinking about something entirely inappropriate to do once filming is over.

 

Once you prove you can raise 100k... you can turn to an investor and ask for 1 million.

 

There are android/google sticks out there already:
http://www.amazon.com/Generation-Android-Google-Internet-Player/dp/B0095RI5QK/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_3

You need to plug in the HDMI to the tv (it's not over the air).

 

No doubt they've successfully funded the project. Every 10 minutes or so you see the numbers go up.

 

Are you sure it's not over the air? Why would they have that dongle thing to plug into the TV's hdmi port if all it needed was an HDMI cable? It sure looks like a wireless device to me.

 

Honestly I find this more appealing than the Ouya, to try. The design is a bit bad tho, I mean, whats wrong with having your analog sticks parallel? some people just want to watch the world burn.

The Ouya controller is nice, very nice in fact, one of my favorite android related designs.

This.

 

It’s on the video. They showed a large motherboard and then said they wanted it to make it small enough to fit inside the dongle. The controller is just that, a controller.

 

There is a lot more to controller design than just looks.


Design is never as simple as it looks.

 

Agree, but to me I like to design consoles as well. Which of course I created my own 2 designs and definitely isn't easy as said, but I don't think I would be doing anything kickstarter related at this point. Besides that, we have 2 new android consoles who have successfully funded. Don't think we need a new console anytime soon. Plus to add to that, the new Sony and Microsoft consoles will be releasing within the next 12-24 months. We already know that the WiI U is already out, and we can't forget about our beloved PC's.

 

One thing to consider is that people like solid tangible objects, and the game stick thing largely removes the main bulk of the console, so it leaves you perhaps feeling like `where's the console?`... and that can give an impression that something is lacking or it is less of a machine. I think Ouya doesn't really need to be inside a cube, or doesn't NEED a larger handheld controller, but perceptibly it presents the product as being more tangible and hands-on and you can grab it and touch it etc... that's a marketing thing, which the game stick is perhaps not in such a great position for. Like "is that all I get, a controller and a little stick thing?"

 

That "dongle" is the main unit, the controller is bigger than the main unit but it is just a controller, the controller communicates with the dongle via Bluetooth, everythings are processing by the dongle.

 

One thing which bugs me about this (other than the pitch which sounded far too similar Ouya's) was them talking about how console controllers are far too big and bulky when their controller design doesn't look much smaller than a 360 pad, in fact it looks about the same size as a 360 pad would be if it's ergonomics were removed. A PS3 pad looks smaller than it too, though obviously thicker. They invalidated the key point to their pitch with their controller design which doesn't instill much faith that the rest of their pitch is entirely accurate rather than just hyping with buzz-phrases.

This is, of course, also ignoring the fact a thin rectangle is not a comfortable shape for a gaming controller. Mainstream consoles left that design in the 80's for good reason.

 

It would be cool if it was a reverse Wi-u like you can play on the controller but then plug the HDMI connector in and transmit the image to the TV.

 

wait your telling me them sticks work like a mobile computer?

 

It would seem so.

 

You can run Ubuntu on the MK802: http://liliputing.com/2012/06/how-to-run-ubuntu-linux-on-the-mk802-74-pc-on-a-stick.html

 

Did some research into the GameStick a while back.

>horrible specs
>no expandable memory
>disgustingly designed controller

 

Reminds me more of the Ouya interface. I'm just guessing the control isn't finalized yet.

 

If this product does actually come to market, I'd be interested in developing for it. We are already writing games that will be played on the android platform, and making a version that would work with a game pad instead of touch control is -not- a daunting task for us. Heck, in many ways it might be easier to code. In either case it would be an easy way to expand the market for our games, and wouldn't even require getting into a new distribution channel. If it happens, I see nothing but upside for developers.

 

Still say this is the best controller ever

 

Looks like there is some trouble related to the GameStick:

"The Most Portable TV Games Console Ever Created is the subject of an intellectual property dispute and currently unavailable."


http://www.kickstarter.com/projects...-most-portable-tv-games-console-ever?ref=live

 

I wonder what intellectual property they were infringing on. Possibly the name "GameStick?"

 

source

So, seems they showcased a game in their video that did not like being associated with the project. Not shocked, if I was showcased and also had reasons to believe the thing was a bit scammy, I would take action too.

 

In that case I am sure it will be back up soon. On a side note, whoever made such a wave about the game footage should perhaps just have asked nicely? Oh well, I don't know the details but I sure hope to see this Kickstarter back up soon as I find it rather interesting.

 

Perhaps, but we don't know if they actually did, or perhaps attempted to but were not able to get a hold of anyone. I'm sure these guys will be able to use the controversy to ride on a wave of free publicity, though.

 

It seems fine now I dont see any notice about intellectual property dispute

 

Hmmm... cant access the video.... is it gone? I see an embeded youtube vid bellow (youtube is blocked at work) but the Upper Logo video that is on every kickstarter seems to be gone... I thought that was required to avoid bait-n-switch tactics.

 

They took the video down as part of the copyright thing. There'll probably be a bit of time before a new one.

 

Huh... I thought Kickstarter had very strict rules about requiring the video in place. I thought it would remain offline until a video addressing the "issues" was uploaded.

 

I've seen them let it slide under a few circumstances. They tend to give a bit more leniency toward projects making them thousands of dollars, I find.