Console Battle 2013 Part 1: Gamestick – Are you game?

Gamestick, the latest breakthrough in home video-gaming technology!

Last year I did an article on the Oyua, why it was a big deal, and why everyone should be paying attention to it. Well this year there are a lot of interesting developments coming in the way of new console technology; and I’ll do my best to keep you in the know every step of the way.

The first up is the Gamestick. Gamestick is another Kickstarter project using based on Android that uses your TV, and was fully funded earlier this month. This little bundle of joy no bigger then your hand but the kicker is that you will be able to plug into any monitor with an HDMI port and away you go. Talk about portable! Now if phones can just steal this feature they could be in for some trouble but it’s a great idea and at their 79$ price point they could have a lot of success especially in a retail and online environment. The real key to their success is their ability to get the word out and getting the product into enough people’s hands to try it out and decide they want one before another company scoops in and figures out a way to do what they are doing better.

The low price-point is attractive and I know I for one will be picking one up and trying it out. If I like it I’m sure I’ll tell all my friends and encourage them to support it. A lot of people will be willing to adopt it just to try it out or even an impulse buy. Nintendo has shown us over the years that pricing your products so that it’s affordable to most is critical to doing high volume. This seems to be the goal of Gamestick as well.

Their simple and fun sliding website is great looking and will fill you in with all you need to know. It’s got a nice video about their vision. To sum it up, it’s going to be affordable, it’s going to be fun, it’s going to be portable and because it’s open source running Android Jelly Bean you will most likely see free and cheap games. If you’re a fan of the types of games you can play on your phone and want to play those types of games on your TV this console is going to be perfect for you.

Here are the Technical Specifications:

Processor – Amlogic 8726-MX
Memory – 1GB DDR3 / 8GB FLASH
Content Download Manager w/ cloud storage for games.
WiFi – 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth – LE 4.0
O/S – Android Jelly Bean
Controller – Bluetooth, 3 mode controller: gamepad, mouse and keyboard with support for up to 4 controllers.
Full 1080p HD video decoding
Support for XBMC & DLNA from Sept via optional firmware update.
Support for iOS and Android mobile devices to be used as controllers

So, internet, are you as excited as I am for this year and all the breakthrough technologies poised to invade our living rooms and deplete our wallets? Check back soon for part two of my Console Battle 2013 edition. In Part Two I’ll be telling you everything you need to know about “Project Shield”