Remember Ouya? The Android gaming console funded by Kickstarter? How about a smaller, low-powered version of it? Something that looks like a WiFi dongle but with all the trappings of Android inside.
GameStick is a project by PlayJam looking for crowdfunding via KickStarter. If you don’t know PlayJam, they’re the ones responsible for the largest games network on Smart TV and this time, they’re delving into the hardware gaming side.
Back to GameStick. It’s essentially a small stick equipped with minimal hardware to run on Android Jelly Bean and powered by a TV’s HDMI port. The processor of choice is a 1GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 Amlogic 8726-MX, same as that of those Chinese-made Novo tablets. Simply plug it to your TV’s HDMI port, grab the controller and play away.
Memory is at 1GB but internal flash storage is only at 8GB, with games and content hosted on a cloud storage. The GameStick is also powerful enough to output Full 1080p HD video and comes with WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0.
PlayJam is currently working with popular game studios including Madfinger, Hutch, Disney to bring the Android game titles that are perfect for a controller right off the gates. Initial game lineup consists of Shadowgun, Dead Trigger, Cannabalt, SmashCops, Boulder Dash XL, Hungry Shark, Grabatron, and Pool Bar.
The GameStick package costs $79 at KickStarter and comes with a Bluetooth controller where you can also house the stick if you want to bring it elsewhere. I’m quite leery with the shape of that controller fearing it’s not ergonomic enough for gaming.
Interested in being one of the first owners of a GameStick? Head over to their Kickstarter page to pledge.
[via Engadget]