Wireless Console for the Developing World
A startup electronics company plans to roll out a bold new console for the developing world. The Zeebo is meant to be a cheap, wireless game system for people who can’t afford current-gen consoles or cable-based broadband access. American telecom giant Qualcomm has partnered with the makers of Zeebo to provide wireless game downloads over their cellular network, which potentially reaches far more of the world than any other kind of distribution service.
The whole concept behind the Zeebo makes so much sense, it’s kind of amazing no one thought of it sooner. Most of the developing world is at least a couple of gaming generations behind North America, Western Europe, and Eastern Asia, so underpowered graphics aren’t really an issue. The Sega Mega Drive (a.k.a. the Genesis) and its various generic ripoffs still sell well in many countries, including Brazil, where the Zeebo plans to launch for $199 U.S. dollars (still cheaper than a current-gen system there). So the fact that the Zeebo’s graphics power places it somewhere between a PlayStation One and a PS2 should be more than enough to impress the target audience.
By distributing games solely through a non-subscription-based cellular network, the Zeebo will simultaneously be able to offer games much more cheaply than consoles with optical media in addition to cutting down drastically on profit-killing piracy.
Of course, the success or failure of the system largely depends on the number and quality of the games available. EA, THQ, and Activision Blizzard have all signed on to deliver games to the Zeebo, but there’s no word yet on which games those might be.
Also, it’s worth noting that the company making the Zeebo only has five full-time employees, and they’ve never launched a product on this scale before. Here’s hoping the whole thing doesn’t go the way of countless other failed game systems before all is said and done.
(NOTE: Be careful with the source link, as something on that page has made my version of Firefox crash three times now. I’m assuming it’s some kind of Internet demon that loves e-finance news.)
Source: E-Commerce Times
Let’s just hope this isn’t like the Phantom.