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G1 Google Phone Could End Up the Most Popular Console Ever

Posted by Soulskill on from the except-in-america dept.

Jon Jordan writes "Pocket Gamer has been getting its fingers inside the unique new Zeebo console — a sub $200 system designed for emerging markets — to discover it's based on a hacked version of the T-Mobile G1 Google phone. It effectively consists of the chipset from the HTC Dream/G1 Android phone, plus some extra I/O to deal with TV screens, controllers and the like. If this gaming, entertainment and educational console for the billion-strong middle classes in emerging economies such as Brazil and India catches on, HTC could become a serious global gaming force. Qualcomm's Mike Yuen said in an interview, 'We have this mass market chipset, and our next-generation chipset is getting faster. What we announced, [Qualcomm's] Snapdragon [chipset], is going to netbooks; it bumps it a few notches above that. The cell phone business, including us, is never going to build a processor that's going to match or surpass what the video game guys do. So, why chase that?'"

5 of 116 comments (clear)

  1. Not in Brazil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    This Zeebo tyhing won't emerge in Brazil for the simple fact that a PSP2 is cheaper than this Zeebo, and it has tons of games and it can be hacked.

  2. Misleading article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    The article mentions that it's powered by a Qualcomm chipset (as are many phones by HTC and others) and makes the leap that it's identical to the HTC Dream. This is an unsourced claim by TFA. It does not follow from the fact that Qualcomm is involved.

    I see somebody has already edited the Wikipedia article on "Zeebo" to say it is a T-Mobile G1.

    1. Re:Misleading article by Sockatume · · Score: 2, Informative

      Even if it was identical to the HTC Dream in hardware, that wouldn't mean HTC would make any money off it. Nobody's going out and buying G1s to get those chipsets, if it's true, they're just buying them from Qualcomm. It's a really bizarre statement.

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      No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
  3. At the risk of modding... by iluvcapra · · Score: 4, Informative

    I know it's not a particularly popular observation, but generally the success or failure of a console generally depends on the branded content that gets developed for it. What games does the system have? Does the system manufacturer have good relations with the major publishers? Does it have good tools? People buy consoles, particularly plug-into-the-wall systems, for the games. Without support of developers, it just turns into one of those Wall-Mart knockoffs.

    It seems sorta premature (and logically peculiar) to declare the G1 to be possibly "the most popular console evar!" It's a bit like seeing a slashdot story 15 years ago about how the Mac will possibly become the most popular console evar! because someone took apart a Pippin and discovered it had a abunch of Apple ICs in it.

    As far as the success or failure of a particular game platform is, the actual hardware, once exceeding a certain minimum threshold of performance, is basically redundant.

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    Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
  4. Games will be too expensive by mangu · · Score: 5, Informative

    This Zeebo tyhing won't emerge in Brazil for the simple fact that a PSP2 is cheaper than this

    Also, TFA says "it's expected in Brazil that Zeebo games will be available for around $12". Since PS2 games in Brazil typically cost R$10 (around US$5), Zeebo games at $12 are too expensive.