Originally expected to arrive in the winter of 2013, it now looks like the BlueStacks GamePop console will not be available until sometime in late Q2 2014. BlueStacks is still accepting pre-orders for the console, though judging from what we saw last week, and coming out of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) — it appears they are in somewhat of a transitional phase.
While news of the delay is not going to be appreciated by those who have already moved forward with a pre-order, there is a tiny bit of a silver lining. BlueStacks has apparently signed a few new game partners. To be specific, three new game partners including Warner Brothers, UbiSoft and Gree. Previous partner announcements included Glu Mobile and Halfbrick.
There are now several other Android-based game consoles. To name a few, there is the OUYA and also the Mad Catz MOJO. Coincidentally, the MOJO recently announced they will soon be offering OUYA games by way of the OUYA Everywhere initiative. One big difference between the GamePop and those other consoles comes in with buying games.
In the case of the GamePop, BlueStacks has opted for a Netflix-style all you can play setup. Those purchasing a GamePop will be committing to a monthly subscription fee. Early adopters were able to get a free console when they agreed to pre-pay for a year long subscription. Aside from that early adopter deal, the GamePop was priced at $99.99 and paired with a $6.99 month subscription price.
As we recently saw from TechCrunch, the console has changed quite a bit from when it was first announced. The controller also doesn’t look all that great. To that point, as the hardware has changed, we suspect there could also be some changes in terms of the pricing as well. Time will tell how that plays out, but for now, it seems those early adopters now have several more months of waiting.
VIA: CNET
