This morning, the developers behind the upcoming GameStick Android-powered gaming dongle released an unboxing of the same packages that are being shipped out to Kickstarter backers. The units themselves are a little bit bigger than the finalized product, as these are prototype units, but they still have the same functionality. 

Not only do we get a brief unboxing, but they also take us on a little software tour and show a glimpse of Riptide GP running on the system. Looks pretty nice.

GameStick is still available for pre-order at $80.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via: GameStick

GameStick Dev Kit Unboxing Hits the Web, Also Gives a Software Tour is a post from: Droid Life

During a press event yesterday at GDC in San Francisco, GameStick developers announced the system’s first content partners and pre-installed launch titles. To kick it off, GameStick will be shipped to backers with Madfinger’s ShadowGun and Hutch’s Smash Cops. On top of that, GameStick owners will have access to a separate game store to make sure the games they download will be perfect for the portable unit. 

You can still pre-order these little guys for just $80, which also includes that neat looking controller.

GameStick Announces First Round of Content Partnerships and Pre-Install Titles at GDC

GameStick Prototype is demonstrated for the first time at GDC

Hundreds of indie developers register titles for launch of GameStick

GDC – San Francisco; March 28th, 2013; During an exclusive event at GDC yesterday for press, developers and investors GameStop, Adobe & Endeavour Ventures, Playjam unveiled the GameStick Storefront running on dev units due to ship out shortly to it´s Kickstarter backers and content partners.

To support this demonstration, which will be replicated for GDC attendees on the ARM booth at the exhibition today and tomorrow, Playjam showcased a number of launch titles and announced exciting deals with Madfinger and Hutch that will see both Shadowgun and Smash Cops pre-installed on the device ensuring GameStick users have free, quality content ready to go out of the box.

“GameStick offers a direct route to TV for our games”, says Marek Rabas, CEO at Madfinger. “The format lends itself perfectly to carrying many of our hit mobile titles, marrying portability with truly big screen entertainment. The prospect of this micro-console bringing a wide genre of games to TV is extremely exciting and one which we are keen to support fully.”

“It´s not often that we see new products emerge around games hardware capable of disrupting what has up until now been a relatively closed space”, says Shaun Rutland, CEO at Hutch Games. “GameStick is one such product and we´re excited at the opportunity to work with the PlayJam team in bringing our titles such as Smash Cops to their platform.”

Support for GameStick is quickly gaining momentum from the developer community with open recognition that the micro-console represents a significant opportunity to widen distribution of their content via a medium that until now had been closed to many – TV.

Says NiqueFajors, Co-founder at One Spear Entertainment, “What´s more exciting than industry disruption and delivering exceptional customer value? Nothing! And GameStick is nailing both”

Games will be available for purchase and download from within the GameStick UI via a dedicated store. The GameStick Developer program has over 500 participants from a broad cross-section of the developer community that will see games such as Riptide, R-Type, Another World, Raiden Legacy, Ski Safari, Meganoid, Ground Effect, CatchaCatcha Aliens, Gunslugs, AfterMath, Shaqdown, Towelfight 2, and Reckless Getaway feature at launch.

“We are thrilled to have some phenomenal titles to showcase what GameStick is all about – amazing games” says Charles Tigges, CCO at PlayJam. “I am delighted to see many of the top selling iOS and Android titles now finding their natural home on the big screen through GameStick. Stay tuned for more exciting announcements ofnew games coming to the platform ”

Additionally, at the opening of GDC this week, PlayJam announced a partnership with Pivos to bring official support for XBMC to GameStick thereby adding media servicesto the content mix.

Those wanting to see the demo in action are invited to visit the ARM booth (#1124 -South Hall) at GDC in San Francisco this week where the GameStick storefront, some launch titles and a dev prototype of the device will be on show.

Developers and Publishers – to publish a title please visit www.gamestick.tv/dev or email us at develop@gamestick.tv

To pre-order your GameStick go to www.gamestick.tv now.
To apply for access to the GameStick SDK, go to www.gamestick.tv/dev

Follow GameStick on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

GameStick to Launch Pre-loaded With ShadowGun and Smash Cops is a post from: Droid Life

GameStick, the newest overnight Kickstarter-inspired portable Android gaming system sensation, announced today that they have signed off on a new design with the help of feedback from backers. After the initial and much squarer design was received with mixed feelings, this new version of the GameStick looks much more appealing to average and advanced gamers – well, according to its creators. 

Here is what they had to say:

As you will see we have rounded the edges quite a bit so that our controller feels better in the hand. We then lost the groove between the middle section of the controller and the top deck so that it feels smooth all round…we extended the palm grips so that they feel more substantial and also changed the magic ratio between the top and bottom edges, adding 3mm to the leading edge so that the controller sits more naturally in your hand…

We made the D pad rubber so it feels nice to touch and provides good levels of grip. We changed the PLAY buttons to XBYA to make it as easy as possible for developers to port their games. We improved the analog sticks to use full multi-way + switch systems and rubberized the mushroom caps. We support a full a 45 degree tilt angle so that you can very accurately control the games you love to play…

Beyond buttons and rounded edges, the GameStick team is trying to futureproof the device for both Miracast and wireless charging:

We hated the idea of having to keep plugging your controller in to charge it up (although it supports around 40 hours of game play on a single charge) and so we wanted to add a contact based charging system and also to support a full wireless charging solution that could be built in to the GameStick Dock…

At the outset of this project we wanted to be able to power the GameStick from its controller so that you could stream games directly from the controller to any screen that was Miracast enabled…We have been pioneering this work and to lay the foundation we wanted to ensure that our controller was future proof…

So you have a fully revamped controller, one that should be futureproof with next-gen Miracast and wireless technologies. I know we don’t seem to be seeing much of a middle ground when it comes to loving or hating these affordable Android gaming systems, but the portability of this one, along with the early dedication from the team to listen to its customers is always a good sign.

New Design

Via:  Kickstarter

GameStick Unveils New Design With Help of Backers is a post from: Droid Life

Uh-oh. Looks like the GameStick could be in some trouble. According to emails that backers are beginning to receive this morning, the GameStick is the center of an intellectual property dispute, which has forced Kickstarter to remove the project from their site. The GameStick was fully funded just 30 hours into the campaign, so if they are unable to take care of this business within 30 days, they’re screwed. 

The message from Kickstarter below:

Hi there,

This is a message from Kickstarter Support. We’re writing to inform you that a project you backed, GameStick: The Most Portable TV Games Console Ever Created, is the subject of an intellectual property dispute.

The law requires that we remove the project from public view until the process is complete or the dispute is resolved. If we are not able to re-post it within 30 days, we will cancel the project, all pledge authorizations will expire, and the project will be permanently unavailable.

If you’d like to manage your pledge, you can do so through the project page:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/872297630/gamestick-the-most-portable-tv-games-console-ever?ref=email

If you have any questions, we encourage you to message the creator directly. You can also do this from the project page.

Thanks so much for your patience and cooperation,
Kickstarter

There seems to already be a few products out there that are similar to GameStick, but there is no telling which other company is calling foul. We shall await more details and update you all as more info comes to light.

Update: GameStick has released a statement which pretty much clears up the situation and it looks like everything will be fine once they simply edit a video containing a game that wasn’t supposed to be there. Good job, GameStick!

Dear backers,

I’m sure you’ve all noticed that we have been temporarily suspended due to a copyright infringement notice. This does NOT RELATE TO OUR DESIGN OR PRODUCT – this relates to one of the games that was exposed in our UI demonstration on our videi that we did not have permission to use.
We are working to quickly edit this video to comply with Kickstarter and we hope to be back up and running as soon as possible. We’re sorry for any confusion or worry this may have caused you but we want you to know that we are on it!

Thanks for understanding.

Love,

GameStick

Update 2:  Everything appears to be fixed and back up for backing.

Were you a backer?

Cheers Shane and Eric!

GameStick Pulled From Kickstarter Due to Intellectual Property Dispute (Updated) is a post from: Droid Life

Just a couple of days ago we wrote up that GameStick, an Android-powered portable gaming system, hit Kickstarter looking to help fund their project. In just 30 hours, they topped their $100,000 goal and are on their way to making the next big thing. 

To celebrate, the company has announced official support for XBMC and DLNA, which will turn your GameStick into an even more powerful tool while plugged into your HDTV. The two features will be pushed to the systems via firmware update sometime in September, but GameStick developers emphasized that the consoles will remain completely hackable.

Did you happen to pledge any money for one?

GAMESTICK REACHES KICKSTARTER FUNDING GOAL IN ONLY 30 HOURS

The Most Portable TV Games Console Confirms Support of XBMC And DLNA

GameStick Change Pledge Tiers to offer Developers Even More

London & San Francisco; January 4th, 2013; The team behind the GameStick raised a glass yesterday evening in thanks to the 1000+ Kickstarter backers that pushed them over their $100,000 funding goal in just 30 hours.

“The response from the Kickstarter community has been truly overwhelming. We are confident in our product and what we hope it will mean for gaming but we were taken aback at how quickly the message was adopted,” says Anthony Johnson, CMO, PlayJam.“There is no better feeling than having
hundreds if not thousands of people endorse your idea.”

The team has been busy keeping up with the hundreds of questions and requests that continue to come through the Kickstarter message boards and in response have today announced support for XBMC & DNLA, two of the most sought after features.

“While we are shipping as a dedicated games console, we are keen to ensure that users have the ability to hack the device if they so wish and will be providing support for XBMC & DNLA via an optional firmware update in September. We encourage users to hack the device – the time for
closed, proprietary systems is ending which bodes well for true innovation”, concluded Johnson.

GameStick is described as ‘The Most Portable TV games Console Ever Created’. The team behind the project are passionate about accelerating the race to change the face of big screen gaming with a product that will now, as promised, launch in April of this Year.

Supporters flooded to the Kickstarter page just moments after the campaign launched and began pledging. The ‘Early Bird’ pledge tier, giving backers the chance to grab themselves a GameStick at a discounted rate, proved so popular that it sold out in a matter of hours resulting in people moving in
droves to the next tier. At the time of writing, the average pledge towards GameStick was $98.

Interest from the developer community has been extremely strong with over 300 registrations on the www.gamestick.tv website and a new tier offering early access to the SDK and 30 days premium positioning within the games store having been added for $500.

GameStick will feature a purpose-built game store through which users will be able to browse and download content. The proposition will be powered by PlayJam’s existing Games Network for Smart TV which currently supports developers such as Relentless Software, First Star Software, and Disney.

To visit the Kickstarter page and pledge your support, please visit: http://kck.st/12SSvMO

GameStick Hits $100K Target in 30 Hours, Announces Support for XBMC and DLNA is a post from: Droid Life

The bigger consoles may soon be taking the backseat, as more affordable and pocketable gaming platforms are emerging with the help of Kickstarter. The newest Android-powered device is called GameStick, and it certainly is interesting.

Being designed with portability and power in mind, it runs off of a thumb drive that plugs directly into your HDTV. To keep size down, the drive fits perfectly right into the controller itself. The team has a way to go in terms of being fully funded, but getting your hands on a GameStick is incredibly cheap, with early bird specials going for just $69. 

If you are feeling especially generous, you can pledge all the way up to $5,000 and even land a spot on the company’s product development team and steer the direction this device takes.

Any takers?

Via: Kickstarter

GameStick Kickstarter Appears, Another Affordable Android Gaming System is a post from: Droid Life