Pocket-sized Android console GameStick delayed a bit
"We have created something that quite literally could help re-shape the games console industry."
Pocket-sized Android gaming console GameStick has been delayed. The end-of-April original release date has now become end-of-June.
The delay is a result of the GameStick's unexpected popularity. It raised six-times its $100,000 goal on Kickstarter, and that surge in orders meant the production process had to be changed.
Instead of a main production run of few thousand units, GameStick will now be made to the tune of tens of thousands of units.
"When we started this project we were unsure how successful it would be," wrote PlayJam, the GameStick maker, on Kickstarter. "Our expectation was that we would do an initial run of a few thousand units and then go from there.
"What happened next was a whirlwind. We've now got 27 retailers around the world engaged and placing orders for our micro-console. We have GameStop in the US and GAME in the UK as our lead retail partners, but with over 5000 stores between them we are in a remarkable position to scale this project.
"With your support and backing we have created something that quite literally could help re-shape the games console industry. Quite a feat if we get it right."
A victim of its own success, wrote PlayJam.
More than 600 developers, both major and minor, have signed up for a GameStick dev kit. Those kits are shipping this week and next.
GameStick is a $79 console-and-controller that plugs into your TV. The console itself is the size of a USB memory stick and comes apart from the controller and into the HDMI slot on a telly when you want to use it.
It's all very nifty.