However, it seems that XBMC will be available on the GameStick right at launch. Previously, it was said that the console wouldn’t be seeing XBMC support until later in September, but it looks like the partnership with Pivos will eradicate the need to wait, allowing gamers and home entertainment junkies access to XMBC right away.

XBMC stands for “Xbox Media Center,” and it was essentially created for the original Xbox, but has sense been released as an open-source media center platform. It’s available on a wide range of devices, and it can run on Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, and iOS. It’s also available on a handful of set-top boxes like the Boxee Box.

Of course, PlayJam says that the GameStick will still primarily be a portable gaming console, but the added functionality of a home theater media center will no doubt attract a larger niche of users, especially at a price of only $79, which comes with the HDMI dongle and a nifty game controller to go along with it. Developer units will begin shipping out very soon, and the console will be available to the public next month.

It’s good to know that pricing seemed to be the only barrier stopping gamers from buying the device rather than the PS Vita software itself. It would be terrible to see the PS Vita suffer the same horrible sales as its predecessor, the PSP Go. The sales for the PS Vita should equal around 44,000 this week, considering two weeks ago the PS Vita sold somewhere around 11,000 copies. The official sales number won’t be released until tomorrow.

Sony stated that the United States won’t be receiving the same sales cut treatment for its PS Vita systems. Maybe after seeing the success rate that the PS Vita can achieve with a price cut, Sony will change its mind. However, it did state that one of the major reasons for reducing the price of its Japanese PS Vitas was due to Japan’s “current exchange rate”.

Now more Japanese gamers can enjoy the wonders of PlayStation 4 cloud-gaming with their new PS Vita devices. The PlayStation 4 will allow gamers to access all of their games remotely through the PS Vita. So if you’re in a situation where you can’t play your PlayStation 4 in peace, you can just enable remote play for your PS Vita and run off to a different room. Sony is redefining the way games are meant to be played.

[via Gematsu]

While pre-orders are processed on the GameStick website, they’re powered by Amazon, so assuming you already have an Amazon account like everyone else, the checkout process should be rather simple and quick. Aside from the console and the controller, you can also pre-order a dock or a case for $24.99 and $9.99, respectively.

As far as availability is concerned, it seems like we’re looking at a release date of April 30, which is revealed during the checkout process. PlayJam itself says that “pre-ordered devices will ship immediately after fulfillment of the initial Kickstarter run in April,” so the date at checkout seems to be accurate at this point.

However, PlayJam has also noted that Kickstarter backers will receive their units first, so those pre-ordering right now will be placed at the end of the line, so it could be several weeks to several months before pre-orderers receive their consoles. The only question remaining is, will the GameStick outdo the OUYA? Or will it be the other way around?

[via Android Community]

Uhrman said that the updated yearly consoles will “take advantage of faster, better processors,” thanks to the decline of component prices every year. However, it seems that the yearly console will get a naming scheme instead of simply remaining the “OUYA.” Uhrman says that each new console will be the “OUYA 2,” OUYA 3,” and so on.

However, Uhrman assures gamers that all games will be compatible with all the consoles, meaning that you don’t have to worry about an older game not working on a newer console. This is certainly great news for gamers, but since the OUYA won’t see a release cycle like all the other gaming consoles, one may worry about futureproofing, and the minute they buy an OUYA, it’ll be obsolete within a year, something that other console gamers don’t need to worry about.

In any case, the OUYA should be a huge it when it release to the public in a few months. In fact, it’s already been a huge hit. The Kickstarter campaign collected almost $8.6 million, absolutely shattering its original goal. This first OUYA comes with a quad-core A9 Tegra 3 clocked at 1.6GHz, so if the company sticks with NVIDIA for future consoles, we could see them move to the Tegra 4 chip that we’ve been hearing a lot about recently.

[via Engadget]

The console will also be available online at the company’s website and on Amazon. Of course, though, Kickstarter backers will be the first to get their units. Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman says that Kickstarter backers will receive their consoles in March, while orders from the OUYA website will go out in April, and retail stores will begin selling them in June. You can pre-order the console now through Amazon, Best Buy, or Target.

The console will sell for $99.99, and it’ll come with one controller. An extra controller will cost you $49.99 in retail stores, while getting one on OUYA’s website will only cost $40 shipped. Paying $50 for a controller certainly isn’t outrageous, but it raises some concerns when a controller costs half the price of the console itself. Uhrman says that $49.99 is a “premium price” for a controller, indeed, but she says that the touchpad built into the controller makes up for the cost.

The OUYA console raised more than $8.5 million on Kickstarter and has been taking pre-orders for the consoles on its website. There are over 68,000 consoles that need to be shipped out so far, with potentially even more orders to come no doubt. The tiny Android-powered gaming console is already a huge hit, and we’re pretty excited to see how the OUYA community will grow once the consoles start selling.

[via WSJ]

The GameStick is expected to ship to all of its customers by April, and the company just got done making final revisions to the portable gaming console, making the controller a bit more rounded, and adding a microSD card slot to the HDMI dongle. If everything goes as planned, the company expects to ship out its first commercial run by next month.

If you’re still not familiar with GameStick, it’s essentially a game controller with an Android-powered gaming console that’s essentially a HDMI dongle. You plug the dongle into your HDTV and start gaming away. It’s novel concept, and its looking to take on the other Android-powered portable gaming console, the OUYA.

Furthermore, GameStick can also act as a media center of sorts, thanks to XBMC and DLNA support. It’ll be interesting to see how well the little dongle can handle 1080p HD video, but if it does, we’re looking at quite a game-changer for not just the portable gaming market, but also the media center business.

The design of the HDMI dongle itself has stayed the same, but the controller underwent some changes based on feedback from the Kickstarter backers. The controller features a more curvy design, and the HDMI stick now sits at the back of the controller instead of sliding in on top. The GameStick also got an expendable microSD card slot on the stick itself, which was a huge request from the backers.

The new docking station charges up the controller wirelessly using electromagnetic coils, and it can also support peripheral hardware such as mice, keyboards, etc. for use with the GameStick. The docking station also has a memory card slot compatible with up to 64GB, boosting the GameStick’s total capacity to 104GB potentially.

At the time of this writing, the GameStick has received over $515,000 in funding, which surpasses the company’s initial goal of $100,000. The campaign has just under 70 hours remaining, so there’s still time to contribute and get on the list to receive a GameStick console if you’re still interested.

GameStick added a new $250 tier, which offers indie game developers a six-month window of 100% revenue on any games they release before July 2013. Indie game devs who buy into the $250 tier will receive these benefits, as well as a GameStick console for their contribution. GameStick hopes this will ramp up the number of new games that release for the console once launch day hits.

Sadly, though, devs who buy into this tier won’t get the GameStick console any earlier than everyone else, but we have to say the benefits are probably worth it in the long run. Also, the new tier is only available to 250 developers, so if you’re at all interested in making 100% revenue on your game, you may want to act swiftly.

GameStick was first announced earlier this month and it hit its $100,000 funding goal within 30 hours of launch. As of this writing, over $460,000 has been pledged, thanks to the contributions of over 4,250 backers so far. Furthermore, stretch goals were also announced this week, including black and red controller options (for those who don’t like white), microSD support, and an additional color to be decided on within the GameStick Facebook page.

The only catch is that you’ll have to wait a few months before you can get XBMC or DLNA support on your GameStick. The company will be releasing an optional firmware update in September 2013 that will include both of these features. The portable gaming console isn’t expected to ship until April 2013, so gamers will have to make do for several months.

GameStick is the latest Kickstarter success story, and the team quickly reached their $100,000 funding goal in only 30 hours, leaving 28 days left over to raise even more money. At the time of this writing, the GameStick has reached $144,350 in funding from 1,473 backers with 27 days left to go.

If you haven’t been keeping with the goings-on at Kickstarter, the GameStick is essentially a $79 portable gaming console powered by Android. It’s an HDMI dongle that you can plug into any HDTV, and when not in use, the dongle easily snaps into an accompanying controller. It’s currently taking on the OUYA gaming console, which has just recently began shipping out to developers.

The premise behind GameStick is similar to that of the OUYA console, a breakout Kickstarter success that’s currently shipping out to developers. The Gamestick is cheaper and less powerful than the OUYA, which runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with an Amlogic 8726-MX processor, 1GB of RAM, and a cloud storage system for the games.

The biggest difference, however, is the form factor: OUYA is a small box that fits in the palm of your hand, while the GameStick is essentially a HDMI dongle that plugs into any HDTV and snaps into an accompanying game controller when not in use. It’s a pretty novel concept, and at only $79, it’s practically an easy buy.

Of course, you can still contribute to the Kickstarter project, and the company will still be taking contributions up until the very last second of the campaign, so while they have reached $100,000 in funding, it’s likely the company will end up with a lot of cash when it’s all over with a month from now.

Perhaps that’s why distributor Tommo has decided to offer a standalone Neo Geo X handheld for $129.99. Obviously, this won’t come with the dock or the joystick, but those 20 classic Neo Geo games still come pre-installed. As if that wasn’t enough, Japanese gaming site Insider-Gaming has revealed that the handheld will land in Japan on December 6 (the same day it arrives in North America and Europe) and has shared a list of specs for the Neo Geo X.

Apparently, the Neo Geo X is packing a 1GHz processor working with 128MB of RAM under the hood. The handheld is running Linux, and comes with 2GB of flash storage on board, though that can be expanded with an 8GB SD card. On the outside, we have a 4.3-inch LCD screen running at 480 x 272 resolution. The whole unit is powered by a 2200mAh battery that should provide around 6 hours of gameplay, and will take roughly three hours to recharge.

It isn’t too bad a handheld, to be honest, and will be especially appreciated by those who fancy themselves “retro gamers” and wouldn’t be caught dead playing games on a smartphone or tablet. The Neo Geo X is still a few months off, but it will be here just in time for the holidays. What do you think of this latest handheld offering – are you in, or do your get your handheld gaming kicks elsewhere these days?

[via Neo Geo X]

Hardware

Take the 3DS, swap some ports around, and make everything a little big bigger. That’s a gross generalization, but also the core of what Nintendo has done with the console. The reason for the supersizing simply seems to be ease of access: children and elderly gamers will be able to grip the console with ease, and the larger screens also makes things easier to see. Nintendo has made some tweaks to the design, though, with the glossy plastic of the 3DS being sidelined, and corners appearing more rounded and less angular.

As a result, the console is much easier to grip than its predecessor, and is generally more comfortable to use in operation. The physical controls of the device are a joy to use as well, wth the joystick swiftly moving around its axis without sticking at all, and the quartet of buttons on the right hand side giving great feedback. The same can’t quite be said about the L and R buttons, which don’t quite have enough feedback and feel a little loose. Nintendo has also tweaked the Select, Home, and Start buttons found below the bottom screen: the large, chunky, plastic buttons are far easier to press on the 3DS XL compared to the 3DS.

Going around the device, you’ll find that the 3.5mm headphone jack has been repositioned from center bottom to the far bottom left, a curious decision considering it’s where part of your hand will rest while holding the XL. The SD card slot has also been relocated to the right hand side, next to the stylus holder, and the sliders for the volume, wireless, and 3D switches have all been tweaked ever so slightly.

There’s no denying, however, that this is a chunky and heavy device at 22mm and 336g. The XL may only be 1mm thicker compared to the 3DS, but it’s also 100g heavier. Carrying it around in a jacket pocket or the back of your jeans can be somewhat laboriously, although we’ll commend Nintendo on getting the balance of the device correct when the screen has been flipped open.

Speaking of those screens, they’ve both increased dramatically in size. The top screen has been increased to 4.88-inches, up from 3.53-inches, while the bottom screen has jumped to 4.18-inches, coming in at 3.02-inches on the original 3DS. What hasn’t changed, however, is the resolution, with 800×240 and 320×240 respectively. Both have low pixel densities, resulting in a generally unpleasant experience even from a normal viewing distance, something which we can’t show you thanks to a close-up photography ban by Nintendo. The fact that the company is restricting close-up videos and photos of the handheld while it’s turned on should give you an idea of the screen quality. The viewing angles aren’t great either, so you’ll need to click the top half of the screen in just the right position to get the best image.

The system is still charged using Nintendo’s proprietary charger, but here’s the kicker: you don’t even get one in the box anymore. Nintendo claims that in order to keep costs on the console low, it’s had to forgo including a charger in the retail package, a move which is bonkers. No doubt there will be those who are moving up from a previous Nintendo handheld who will have the necessary charger, but is the company seriously going to neglect first time buyers? Both the front and back of the box do warn customers about the lack of charger, but it leaves a sour taste in the mouth nonetheless.

3D

The first time we witnessed the three-dimensional powers of the 3DS was through a demo given by an employee in a retail store briefly after the handheld launched. A quick fondle showed that while the effect did work, it wasn’t particularly immersive, and the effect could be broken far too easily. The same is true of the 3DS XL, and in our several days of usage we pretty much always had the 3D effect turned off.

The fundamental problem with the 3D on Nintendo’s handhelds is that it’s far too finicky to set up and maintain. The slider needs to be adjusted into just the right position; you need to be directly facing the console, with any kind of off-angle ruining the effect; if you finally manage to get a satisfactory depth to the image in your game (which can be highly dependant on how the game was designed in the first place), you need to remain perfectly still in order to maintain the illusion. Any movement at all, and you’ll shatter the effect. Maybe we’re cynical about the idea of 3D in general, but after extended use it’s clear that Nintendo has tried to shoehorn the idea into a portable console and served up average results at best.

Games

Nintendo provided up with one game for review, Kid Icarus Uprising, although the platform has amassed a healthy collection of titles since its launch last year. As is increasingly the case these days, if you’re buying into a Nintendo ecosystem you’re doing so for the first-party games, with the company offering classics such as Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and new reimaginings such as Super Mario Bros 2.

As for Kid Icarus, it’s a mixed bag. Levels in the game split different styles of gameplay, with the first five minutes dedicated to an on-rails shooting section that sees Pit guided by the goddess Palutena. This handles pretty much exactly as you would expect, with you moving Pit around the screen using the circle pad to control the character while the L and A buttons handle firing duties. Taking out every enemy on the screen is the name of the game as you avoid obstacles and collect power ups, and the level design can occasionally make great use of the 3D capabilities. For the most part though, you’re better off sticking to 2D.

Palutena can only sustain Pit for five minutes of flight. After that, you’re directed to the ground for the second part of the level, giving you full running control and allow you to explore 360 degree environment. The problem comes with the control scheme: while you can make Pit run with the circle pad and fire with L or A as normal, you have to change his orientation using the stylus on the bottom screen.

It’s an awkward and convoluted control scheme that handles poorly, to say the least. You’ll be left gripping and supporting the full weight of the console in your left hand while trying to turn Pit with the stylus in your right hand. Trying to turn the character is a tedious affair, requiring hefty drags across the screen that also require a firm press thanks to the resistive technology. Resting the console on a flat surface helps immensely, and the game is even supposed to come with a stand that helps make it easier to play, although we didn’t receive one with our review unit. Both the control scheme and dedicated stand directly contradict the portability of the console, and we really have to wonder why Nintendo and the developers opted for such a janky and overall poor experience.

The game has a certain visual charm to it, featuring bright colors, cartoonish designs, and a dash of 2D animation on the bottom screen for character interactions, but the ridiculously aliased graphics during gameplay can’t go without mention. We realize that the Nintendo experience has never been about top of the line graphics, but there needs to be some sort of visual polish in a world dominated by high-end smartphones and tablets.

Battery

Nintendo say that the 3DS XL’s battery life should be much improved over the previous offering, sitting between 3 and 6.5 hours of gameplay depending on your settings. DS titles should last a little longer thanks to their more modest graphics, eeking out between 5 and 8 hours of gameplay.

In our test, we put the screen brightness to maximum, turned WiFi off, set to the volume of the speakers to 50%, and made sure our 3D slider was firmly in the 2D position. A quick marathon session of Kid Icarus saw the console lasting around 4 hours and 40 minutes before switching off automatically. That falls in line with Nintendo’s expectations, and you can expect to squeeze a bit more out of the battery should you drop the screen brightness.

Wrap-Up

The 3DS XL brings small improvements over the 3DS, but they all add up to a better handheld overall. It may be heavier, but the screens make for a more impressive experience, the console is easier to handle, and the battery has seen a much needed improvement. If you own a 3DS that’s starting to look a little old, then it’s worth jumping up to the 3DS XL for the better screens and battery life. If you’re on one of Nintendo’s older handhelds and have been hesitant about making the jump, the 3DS XL proves that the water is fine and that it’s time to jump in.

The handheld makes sense if you’ve already bought into Nintendo’s ecosystem, but it’s a hard sell for first time buyers. Nintendo has a fundamental problem on its hands, and it’s this: the 3DS XL and its games don’t exist in a vacuum. Smartphones and tablets offer cheaper games that can distract you just as well as titles from first-party developers fronted by Nintendo or Sony. The former company is hoping that its all star heros and franchises can continue to prop up revenue, while the latter is focused on specs and the merging of physical and touch controls. Neither realize that the game has changed, and that the world doesn’t necessarily need yet another device for portable gaming anymore.

The flipside of the argument is that iOS and Android games don’t have the immersive stories or strong characters and franchises that a company like Nintendo can offer. There is no Zelda or Mario equivalent on mobile devices, sure, but the company can’t ignore the looming threat of smartphones and tablets forever. Nintendo’s inability to adapt and tap into such a vast market is frustrating, and the 3DS XL is the physical representation of its archaic view of the mobile gaming landscape. There may be one or two games that will entice you to the platform, but why reward a company that’s stuck in the past?

The Neo Geo X will feature a 3.5-inch LCD display of unknown resolution, an A/V output if you want to throw some classics up on the big screen, and have an SD card slot too. Presumably you’ll be able to load more games in the future using SD cards.

Blaze say the limited edition handheld will be released sometime during Q2, although no pricing has been confirmed. If you do decide to pick one up, you’ll find 20 games preloaded on the device, including titles like Metal Slug, Fatal Fury, and The King of Fighters ‘94.

Although Blaze didn’t confirm pricing, MCV believe the price may be as high as £500 (~$786) for one of these bad boys. Blaze’s definition of “affordable”, then, seems to be a little different to ours. There were also 158 games released in total for the Neo Geo, so it still remains to be seem how Blaze plan to handle offering more than the initial 20 in the future.

[via Geek]

It appears that other markets are embracing the PS Vita with more love than its home country since Sony sold 578,812 units total in Japan since its launch last December, but has already sold more than 620,000 units abroad within the last two weeks. However, the recent February launch does include US, Europe, and Australia, so we would hope the figures would be positive in these large markets.

Now Sony will have to maintain the momentum, something it failed miserably at with the PS Vita in Japan. The company admits to having learned its lesson and has scheduled a staggered release of major game titles that should keep consumers interested in the months following the initial launch. Much anticipated titles in the coming months include those from major franchises, such as Call of Duty, Mortal Kombat, and Assassin’s Creed.

The PS Vita is available in either a WiFi-only or a WiFi plus 3G model, for which you’ll have to subscribe to a 3G data plan from AT&T. The units are priced at $249 and $$299, respectively. If you’re still on the fence about picking up the PS Vita, then make sure to check out our full review of this next-gen portable.

[via Forbes]