Slashdot Mirror
G1 Google Phone Could End Up the Most Popular Console Ever
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?'"
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.
Why do they assume that that Zeebo thing is just going to be so popular? I mean I wish them to be successful, but realistically when you're not an industry giant you can hardly hope to sell 100,000 units.
You just got troll'd!
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.
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.
Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
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.
"emerging markets"
Translation: "We have no idea who's going to buy this."
I rarely hear manufacturers say 'Yeah, we'll be lucky to push 100 units'. Wild speculation on the fact that based on price this will sell massively is, well, wild speculation. Getting a dominant platform is complex and requires a lot of work, as seen by the fact that many years later, we're still waiting on the Year Of The Linux Desktop.
I'm really tired of the overuse, especially in the news media, of the words "could" and "might". What's often lacking when they are used is any sense of how probable the outcome might (!) be. Perhaps I'm just overly sensitive to it now, but the NY Times seems to be particularly prone to this type of reporting, stating a supposition but failing to adequately describe the probability that the supposition is closer to true than false.
"G1 Google Phone Could End Up the Most Popular Console Ever"
No, it couldn't. You're wrong, and stupidly wrong at that. Next story please!
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
And the iPhone is going to be competitive gaming platform too!
People.
Look at the fucking sales for the Nintendo DS.
Look at them. 103 million Nintendo DSs have been sold without contracts, for use as a game system.
Then look at the software sales.
The DS has well over 400 million software sales under it's belt. Keep in mind these games typically sell for $39.95.
Fighting against Nintendo in handheld games is a fool's errand.
Why would someone buy a console with no titles, regardless of price?
Apparently it runs titles for Qualcomm BREW. You might recognize BREW from Verizon Wireless in the United States. From the article: "They submit their games to Qualcomm as they would any other BREW application, and they get paid in the same way." But I've read that BREW is even more closed and painful than the iPhone SDK.
Where are the games? They're going to have to cost a lot less than $12 for what you'll be able to play on that device. It almost would have made more sense just to go back to selling the original Playstation or something.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
The photo at the top of the article makes it clear that the PROTOTYPE for the Zeebo is a TMobile G1 attached to a miniPCI video in/video out card and apparently another miniPCI 802.11g wireless card. This is definitely not going into production.
Will the Zeebo take off? Definitely not.
The developers seem to forget that there IS a very popular low-cost console sold in emerging markets, the PS2. The PS2 has VASTLY more capabilities than the Zeebo will have, has thousands of games, and it's cheaper. New games are being released for the PS2, at a rate that will almost certainly beat Zeebo. Did I mention the games are vastly superior on the PS2?