The Video Game Kickstarter Thread of the Future of Passing the Risk to the Consumer

AshburnerX

AshburnerX

100 grand? From a Kickstarter? In less than a month? Not gonna happen.

I'm still pissed that Haunts is seemingly stuck in limbo.
 
Frank

Frank

I love Pathfinder.

Love it.

I will not be pledging shit for that. I hope it fails and they close up shop on that nonsense before it drags Paizo down into financial ruin.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Wow... nicely done. I've been underestimating Kickstarts all month. First the Duane and BrandO one (which got more than -10 grand- during their all day telethon) and this one. But you know what? It's okay to be wrong about something when it means something awesome happens instead!

Looks like the Pathfinder one is almost half way too with 29 days left.
 
Jay

Jay

now looking for new projects to fund

but fuck that molyneux guy tho, bastard shouldnt be on this thing
 
Hylian

Hylian

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gcw/gcw-zero-open-source-gaming-handheld






An Open Source Gaming Console Built by Gamers for Gamers...

Open Source Software Is Awesome
We here at Game Consoles Worldwide believe that a company should not just capitalize and consumers should be allowed to do more than consume. Too many devices today are walled gardens, designed solely for consumption. Not ours! The GCW Zero gives you full control of your handheld. Install any application you want to run, change the operating system in any way you want. We won't fight you; in fact we'll encourage you.
Because the Zero runs Linux, a huge library of excellent, free, open source software can run on it. Our core development team is hard at work porting popular applications to provide a strong launch day lineup and we're sure many more will follow from us and from our community.

Specifications
CPU: Ingenic JZ4770 1 GHz MIPS processor
GPU: Vivante GC860, capable of OpenGL ES 2.0
Display: 3.5 inch LCD with 320x240 pixels; 4:3 aspect ratio is ideal for retro gaming
Memory: 256 MB DDR2
Internal storage: 8 GB, most of which is available for applications and data
External storage: micro SDHC up to 32 GB or micro SDXC of 64 GB (SDXC cards must be reformatted before use)
Mini USB 2.0 OTG
Mini HDMI 1.3 out
3.5 mm (mini jack) A/V port for earphone and analog TV-out
Stereo speakers, mono microphone
Accelerometer (g-sensor) and vibration motors
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz, can connect to access point or direct device-to-device
Dimensions: 143 * 70 * 18 mm
Weight: 8 oz / 225 g
Battery: 2800 mAh
 
strawman

strawman

Hylian said:
Display: 3.5 inch LCD with 320x240 pixels; 4:3 aspect ratio is ideal for retro gaming
Click to expand...
Seriously? That's a horrible design decision! It's 1/4 the resolution of old TV sets. And they're selling it for $135 as the early adopter price?

No wonder it's failing. It's not even raised 20% of its goal and it's halfway through its funding phase.

You can get 720P HD screens from asia for cheap. They really should have put one in, even if it raised the cost of the device by $10.

Might as well add multitouch input as well.

Either way, too high a cost for too little hardware. I suppose they think that people want an open source gameboy, but all the previous ones failed in the marketplace, and they aren't doing anything revolutionary here.

If they had gone with Android they would have gotten more interest, due to the existing huge library of android games.
 
Hylian

Hylian

stienman said:
Seriously? That's a horrible design decision! It's 1/4 the resolution of old TV sets. And they're selling it for $135 as the early adopter price?

No wonder it's failing. It's not even raised 20% of its goal and it's halfway through its funding phase.

You can get 720P HD screens from asia for cheap. They really should have put one in, even if it raised the cost of the device by $10.

Might as well add multitouch input as well.

Either way, too high a cost for too little hardware. I suppose they think that people want an open source gameboy, but all the previous ones failed in the marketplace, and they aren't doing anything revolutionary here.

If they had gone with Android they would have gotten more interest, due to the existing huge library of android games.
Click to expand...

While I will give you that the specs could be nicer and the price seems a little high. But compared to the other open source handhelds on the market the specs are not that bad. I must admit I would have probably preferred if it was running android but from the videos I have seen on YouTube it looks like it will perform quite nicely. I still am backing it because I want to back open source systems with indie developers. Now I must admit that one of my reasons for backing it will be to have a nice handheld that can emulate most any classic game system I can throw at it. Now granted my phone and tablet can play those as well but they also have their battery life drain a lot faster as well when I do so. Plus not having to sync a Bluetooth controller to the system is nice.
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

You could buy a used Android smartphone for cheaper, root it, and have a better open source platform than what they're offering, with better specs to boot.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

It's going to bomb hard unless they can get Monster Hunter back from the 3DS and onto the Vita. Monster Hunter basically carried the PSP for years.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Quotemander Prime said:
I've never played a Monster Hunter game before, but I admit the 3DS one coming out soon looks pretty nice.
Click to expand...
Perhaps I should reiterate: Monster Hunter carried the PSP for years in Japan. Outside of Japan, we only got like 1-2 of the games. Most of the Western fans would import it, set up an ad-hock wi-fi spot, then play on the Japanese servers.

Really, Sony has shown a shocking inability to work the PSP and Vita. A lot of people are clamoring for certain titles but we never hear a detail about a potential release. The system's bombing because the Western titles are awful and the ones that are actually good never see release outside of Japan. It's bewildering.
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

If the vita bombs (and it probably will) Sony has only themselves to blame. I have one, and it's an amazing little machine. The ease of online connectivity, the wealth if classic Sony games on the online market, the power of the handheld itself, it is a piece of hardware that gamers should want and love, but somehow they are failing to both take advantage of those strengths, and properly market them.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Nintendo was failing in the same way for the 3DS at first. They've started to get their act together lately. Sony probably needs some time to do the same. Vita's only been out a few months.
 
strawman

strawman

I think there's a fundamental disconnect for the vita though.

What market wants console quality games in a portable system for console prices?

This is where smart phones are killing - short bus rides, waiting for a class or meeting, killing time in a doctor's office. The games are short style games that don't require an hour of intense concentration.

Gamers that want console quality games and are willing to to pay $60 a pop don't want to play them on a tiny screen unless they have no choice.

The vita is probably successful in the japanese market, but I don't think it has a strong niche here. It's a great machine, and if it only cost $180, it would probably be successful because you get console quality at a reduced price. But selling it for the same cost as a console doesn't make much sense here.
 
SpecialKO

SpecialKO

There's also a clear lack of killer must-get-a-Vita-to-play titles. Uncharted and AC are great, IMO, but I wouldn't rec them to someone who didn't already love both series and I wouldn't rec anyone getting a Vita just to play them.

All of their other good titles in the West are all ports with no real benefit to the Vita besides the "keep playing on the go" thing which is pretty much murdered by having to buy the game at full price twice.

All that's left is stuff like P4 and the Tales games, and not only are those games ports of older games, but the audiences for those in the US is really small.
 
strawman

strawman

That's true. If the vita had two or three must-have games that simply didn't exist anywhere else, gamers might latch onto it.

That's true for most new consoles as well.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

The price tag for games isn't too bad. It's the same as Nintendo's and they are doing pretty well. It's really just the price of the system and the lack of quality games.
 
Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

3DS survives because they release Nintendo First Party games on it. Sony has nothing that has that kind of draw for the mass public. Even Uncharted can't hold a candle to a Mario game.
 
Hylian

Hylian

The GCW Zero open source handheld I mentioned earlier has announced that due to concerns people have issued they are upgrading the specs a bit. The system will now have 512MB of RAM instead of 256MB. They are also increasing the internal storage from 8GB to 16GB.



http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gcw/gcw-zero-open-source-gaming-handheld

After some serious debate in the comments section here on our Kick Starter page and other forums, we have decided to upgrade the RAM from 256MB to 512MB.
We have also decided to upgrade the internal storage capacity from 8GB to 16GB on the console.
We think both of these upgrades will provide more value for the money you are pledging to get this great gaming console we call The GCW-Zero.
Click to expand...
 
strawman

strawman

http://dx.com/p/yinlips-g17-4-3-lcd...console-w-tf-mini-usb-hdmi-white-512mb-179486

http://dx.com/p/5-0-resistive-touch...sole-w-wi-fi-dual-camera-tf-hdmi-black-164613

I dunno. It seems like they are aiming far below the bar for these types of systems. They could just repackage one of the above, build a dev kit and gamer community around it, and still make a lot of money on a system with far superior specifications to what they're currently offering.

I applaud what they're trying to do - be the ouyo of handheld systems - but they simply aren't rising to the occasion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top