PlayJam has just announced that the highly anticipated, Kickstarter-backed, platform Gamestick is now available for pre-order. The anti-console, as I like to call it, retails at a measly $79 with a wide variety of accessories (i.e. two) to choose from to make your experience even more awesome; one is a charging station for $24.99 that allows you to wirelessly charge the Gamestick’s controller, expand your memory from 8GB to a maximum of 32GB via micro SD, and add a slew of USB peripherals to further your gaming experience. The other accessory is a sleek case for $9.99 that looks like a great way to display such a well-designed console.
For those who haven’t heard, Gamestick is a small, flash drive-like device that plugs directly into your TV’s HDMI port allowing you to play without any cords or bulky equipment; best of all, you can simply unplug it when you’re done, pop it back into the miniscule controller, and shove it in your pocket to take with you.
Much like its inevitable competitor Ouya, Gamestick is a completely open, android-based platform which allows many start-ups, hobbyists, and indie developers a low risk option to bring their labors of love to the masses, and hopefully see some monetary return as well. Interested in developing for Gamestick? Then head on over to their website and sign up for a software development kit; who knows, if Gamestick makes as big of a splash as many analysts think it will, it might not be a bad idea to toss your hat in with them as early as possible.
As of right now, Gamestick doesn’t have an official release date, however, to quote the press release: “Pre-ordered devices will ship immediately after fulfillment of the initial Kickstarter run in April and will maintain the $79 price point.” The press release goes on to say that the Kickstarter and Pre-ordered production runs will be shipped to consumers “months” before it will be available from global retail outlets. If you want to learn more, or wish to throw some cash down for a pre-order, you can do so here.
Source: Engadget
