The Android game console market seems to have several players at the moment. Perhaps the best know is OUYA, but there is also the GameStick, GamePop, GamePop Mini and others. Th GamePop is from BlueStacks, the same company that has been allowing users to run Android apps on a Mac or Windows computer. That aside, it looks like the folks at BlueStacks have recently announced five new developer partners.
This latest round of partners includes TinyCo, Animoca, Game Circus, Creative Mobile and Nevosoft. While any game console needs developer support, this seems especially important for the GamePop consoles as this is where the value comes in. You see, unlike some of the other consoles that have you buying the console and buying any games — this one is all subscription based.
BlueStacks is offering an all-you-can-play subscription for $6.99 per month. Sort of like Netflix, but for games instead of movies. The GamePop is still only available for pre-order and is not expected to ship until later this year. Previous timelines had the release pegged for some time in the winter. The GamePop is $129 and the GamePop Mini is free (with subscription commitment).
Both setups ship with the console and controller as well as an HDMI cable and power supply. At present there is the promise of the system shipping with “500+” games with those being “updated constantly.” Looking back and we remember previous developer partners including HalfBrick, Glu, COM2US and OutFit7.
Aside from playing Android games on the console, there had also been talk of being able to play iOS games as well. The iOS game support news didn’t include much in the way of specifics, however Subatomic Studios was announced as a partner at that same time. One bit we did learn was that the iOS support would be for specific titles and not access to the iOS App Store as a whole.
SOURCE: TechCrunch
I think the Nvidia shield is more popular than the Ouya out whatever it’s called, I haven’t seen the sales numbers but the Shield was selling out just two weeks ago and the Ouya was having some issues and had to make some partial refunds. Nvidia is a pretty well known name in the gaming world and the Shield is a powerful android gaming device with more capabilities, I don’t see how anyone else putting out an android game system can compete with them without bringing some new capabilities to the table. Personally I would take the money and get a Nexus 7 or use it towards a PS4 or Xbox 1 but whatever.