Google Working on Android Console Too
A Nexus gaming console will likely arrive in the fall to combat Apple's own iOS gaming console.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is developing its own Android gaming console, a smartwatch which we already knew about, and the second generation Nexus Q streaming media player. The paper reports that the former two devices are in response to similar devices in the works over at iPhone giant, Apple.
Does that mean an iOS gaming console is in the works too? Sources told the paper that Apple is expected to launch such a device as part of its next Apple TV product release. That's likely in the September/October window, and is a good reason why Google is shooting to release one of its three reported gadgets by the fall.
That said, all bets are on the Android console, as five third-party solutions are already slated to arrive this year, including the currently sold out OUYA, Nvidia's Shield which was delayed to July, and the upcoming GameStick, GamePop and Mad Catz's M.O.J.O. consoles. Knowing Google, it believes a Nexus-flavored console needs to show competitors how it's done and trump whatever Apple has in its cards for Fall 2013.
Sources said that Google has been keeping a close eye on OUYA, a startup funded by Kickstarter that launched its Android console this week and sold out in mere hours. It's powered by Nvidia's older Tegra 3 SoC, but the pricetag is a mere $99, making it cheaper than a tablet for customers who only want Android gaming in the living room. Its biggest roadblock is its own walled garden; games cannot be imported from Google Play and Amazon Appstore.
Google has reportedly wrapped up development of Android 4.3 "Jelly Bean," and is expected to be distributed this fall. That means there is a good chance Google's gaming console will have Android 4.3 out of the box and heavily rely on the new gaming platform launched last month featuring matchmaking, leaderboards and more.
The paper also discussed Google's plan for Android 5.0 "Key Lime Pie," saying that the company is giving ODMs like Samsung greater freedom to use Android in form factors other than smartphones and tablets. That includes appliances and wearable devices, the latter of which Samsung is already developing using Android. Previously, device makers weren't allowed to promote the Android brand outside smartphones and tablets.
As for the next-generation Nexus Q, it will be less expensive than the former media player. It's also expected to help sell more movies and music through Google Play. Just recently Google launched Music All Access, a subscription service that seemingly paves the way for Google's media streaming player. There's a good chance this device will sport Android 5.0 "Key Lime Pie" as well, but we'll see.
I hope they don't do to games what Apple has done to programs, or as they are called now apps.
I hope they don't do to games what Apple has done to programs, or as they are called now apps.
You need to watch a hawken video I guess...LOL. That's really the first game aimed more at the next gen socs (T4/S800 etc, though this is T4 exclusive). Everything previously was aimed at T3/T2 etc. But even they are quite good. ON top of that they are all under $20 vs. what $60-70 for next gen? Rumor is they're going up to $70 this time! Unreal 3 is starting to hit mobile, and that engine will lead to some great games. It's still being used you know, IE Bioshock Infinite etc on PC. You're wrong. Check out these games, watch the gameplay vids and I've left off all sports games, etc, these are just what I want to play (asphalt 8 coming shortly too):
Demon Score (square enix)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.square_enix.demonsgp&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5zcXVhcmVfZW5peC5kZW1vbnNncCJd
Wild Blood
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftWBHM&feature=related_apps
Real Boxing (based on unreal...LOL):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vividgames.realboxing&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS52aXZpZGdhbWVzLnJlYWxib3hpbmciXQ..
Modern Combat 1-4:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftM4HM&feature=more_from_developer
Make sure you up the video to 1080p... It rocks. This is PRE-T4. These are made for current crap T3 etc...OLD, some even T2 games below.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftM3HM&feature=related_apps#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwOSwiY29tLmdhbWVsb2Z0LmFuZHJvaWQuQU5NUC5HbG9mdE0zSE0iXQ..
Eternity Warriors 2 (1-5mil installs in the last 30 days...wow):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.glu.ewarriors2&feature=more_from_developer#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwMiwiY29tLmdsdS5ld2FycmlvcnMyIl0.
WOW, no, there will be no good games on tablets/phones etc.
Iron Man 3 (impressive to say the least)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftIMHM&feature=related_apps
Frontline Commando
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.glu.flcn_new&feature=more_from_developer#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwMiwiY29tLmdsdS5mbGNuX25ldyJd
Nova 3 (nova 1 & 2 aren't bad either)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftN3HM&feature=more_from_developer
Dark Knight Rises:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftKRHM&feature=more_from_developer
Gangstar Rio
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftG4HM&feature=related_apps
Shadowgun (still think tablets are crap?)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.madfingergames.shadowgun_thd&feature=related_apps
Bard's Tale (hey, isn't this a CONSOLE game...LOL)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.inxile.BardTale&feature=related_apps
ArmA2: Firing Range (not impressive, but this was 2011...LOL)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bistudio.a2fr&feature=more_from_developer#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwMiwiY29tLmJpc3R1ZGlvLmEyZnIiXQ..
Again for Tegra2...
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.slitherine.gbm&feature=also_installed#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwNCwiY29tLnNsaXRoZXJpbmUuZ2JtIl0.
Renaissance Blood
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Bridea.NC.THD.RenaissanceBlood&feature=related_apps
Zombie Driver THD
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.exor.ZombieDriver&feature=also_installed#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwNCwiY29tLmV4b3IuWm9tYmllRHJpdmVyIl0.
Chaos Rings 1 & 2:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.square_enix.chaosrings2gp&feature=related_apps#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwOSwiY29tLnNxdWFyZV9lbml4LmNoYW9zcmluZ3MyZ3AiXQ..
Please realize it's in english when you buy it...LOL
Blazing Souls Accelate:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hyperdevbox.blazingsouls&feature=more_from_developer#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwMiwiY29tLmh5cGVyZGV2Ym94LmJsYXppbmdzb3VscyJd
Final Fantasy 3 in 3d (2006 game but on current handhelds)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.square_enix.android_googleplay.FFIII_GP&feature=more_from_developer#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwMiwiY29tLnNxdWFyZV9lbml4LmFuZHJvaWRfZ29vZ2xlcGxheS5GRklJSV9HUCJd
Amazing Spiderman:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftAMHM&feature=related_apps#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwOSwiY29tLmdhbWVsb2Z0LmFuZHJvaWQuQU5NUC5HbG9mdEFNSE0iXQ..
Need for Speed Most Wanted:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ea.games.nfs13_row&feature=related_apps#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwOSwiY29tLmVhLmdhbWVzLm5mczEzX3JvdyJd
Asphalt 7
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftA7HM&feature=more_from_developer#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwMiwiY29tLmdhbWVsb2Z0LmFuZHJvaWQuQU5NUC5HbG9mdEE3SE0iXQ..
COD Black Ops Zombie game...Who knew?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.atv.blackops&feature=related_apps#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwOSwiY29tLmF0di5ibGFja29wcyJd
This is quite ironic that the closed system has "open standard", an open system has become more "proprietary".
This is quite ironic that the closed system has "open standard", an open system has become more "proprietary".
Who gives a f**k about graphics!? It will not catch up with PC. UE3 being on mobile means absolutely nothing, except it is optimized at settings level, so it can actually disable most of the effect or greatly reduce quality for it to run on mobile. It's same as to say that i5 in laptop is the same as i5 in desktop. Anyone with basic skills to read benchmarks will know that i5 on desktop easily reaches performance or outperforms i7 on laptop (same gen I mind). So then nonsense about graphic is out of the way, lets take a look at real problem.
Gameplay, or better to say lack of it! I personally haven't seen original game on Android (remakes and ports from decade ago doesn't mean much) that has great, deep and long gameplay. And there are two good reasons for that: no precise controller and games should be pick and play because they are on mobile (on the move!).
So right now the only hope is more good ports (XCOM: Enemy Unknown sadly is coming to iOS only) to fill android market with REAL games. If that kicks off, loads of people buy android consoles, indie developers will join in I would think. AAA developers?! It will take time for them to understand that with digital publishing it doesn't matter if you sell $60x100 or $6x1000. Plus if it is really cheap but have great production value, everyone will just buy it without second thought, just take a look at Steam! Games like Amnesia gives constant revenue long after release. And it is single-player only game!
Who gives a f**k about graphics!? It will not catch up with PC. UE3 being on mobile means absolutely nothing, except it is optimized at settings level, so it can actually disable most of the effect or greatly reduce quality for it to run on mobile. It's same as to say that i5 in laptop is the same as i5 in desktop. Anyone with basic skills to read benchmarks will know that i5 on desktop easily reaches performance or outperforms i7 on laptop (same gen I mind). So then nonsense about graphic is out of the way, lets take a look at real problem.
Gameplay, or better to say lack of it! I personally haven't seen original game on Android (remakes and ports from decade ago doesn't mean much) that has great, deep and long gameplay. And there are two good reasons for that: no precise controller and games should be pick and play because they are on mobile (on the move!).
So right now the only hope is more good ports (XCOM: Enemy Unknown sadly is coming to iOS only) to fill android market with REAL games. If that kicks off, loads of people buy android consoles, indie developers will join in I would think. AAA developers?! It will take time for them to understand that with digital publishing it doesn't matter if you sell $60x100 or $6x1000. Plus if it is really cheap but have great production value, everyone will just buy it without second thought, just take a look at Steam! Games like Amnesia gives constant revenue long after release. And it is single-player only game!
Next gen consoles won't catch a PC either and 1080p@30fps is the goal of all devs, Id (carmack), Epic, EA etc have all said it. I don't understand your point. I never said ANY thing about these replacing your PC...ROFLMAO. The point of a google CONSOLE is not to replace your pc. Did you catch that word CONSOLE? The point is to kill the consoles and in turn make a huge dent in DirectX/MS thereby kicking in better alternatives (eventually that is-that are easily ported between platforms and easily scaled between thm). OpenGL, Html5, OpenCL, WebGL. Unreal 3 was ported to firefox in 4 days. This is the point. Cheaper development costs and porting will lead to better games. If a dev can count on selling their game to every device on the planet (easily scaled to said platforms cpu/gpu power), they can put a LOT more into said games rather than into the porting costs knowing they'll easily recoup the cost of a BETTER game. While getting a better game maybe I'll only have to pay $20-30 instead of $60-70 and they'd still make a killing because of the exponential size of the audience vs. say a console game ported to PC (which is how 90% of the games are made today). I would rather have them all MADE for PC in opengl/html5 etc and ported elsewhere. MOBILE will bring this, and directX dying speeds this up. The fact that KEPLER will be in T5 etc soon (next May/June) means devs will have an easier time making a PC GAME first and port it to the billion unit mobile market easily. You don't seem to understand what is going on or why. You are making my point with unreal 3, as features can be turned off easily but running the same engine or game basically on PC and mobile (just scaled down some) without major coding needed to accomplish this feat.
Your IOS game example is exactly why I'd rather NEVER have another game made on directX. It's too much effort for most devs to convert to every other platform. A game made for OpenGL or HTML5 pretty much runs on anything with minimal effort. BTW battlefield 3 on Kepler mobile looks as good as xbox360 etc (of course not as good as PC...LOL). If you want PC's to dictate the future of gaming you'd better start praying Google/NV/Apple etc are successful in MOBILE. Otherwise we'll get another 8yrs of console ports stuck on DirectX and tied to windows requiring a lot of work and in most cases not worth it for a dev so far. The next gen makes porting easier, but I'd still rather avoid DirectX whenever possible from here on out and being tied to 1080p for the next 8+yrs.
Before the next gen consoles are dead SOCS will have embedded dram, stacked crap, volta type gpus, multiple die shrinks etc helping them smash a console's 1080p res @30fps not to mention 2.5B units+ to sell games to making even a small success make a dev millions. A great AAA title at even $10 should make a dev multiples more than a console title at $60 with a shrinking audience. Consoles basically sell 10mil each per year for 7 yrs (roughly 30-35mil/year total for all 3, nin/sony/ms). That is dwarfed by the current billion unit mobile market and the coming 2.5B by 2017 merely 1/2 through consoles lifespans which will have only sold ~90mil total if they're lucky this time and you have to dev for each of the 3 no game runs out of the box on all 3.
Pick and play, on the move? Gamepop, Ouya, and this google box etc are NOT ON THE MOVE. They are below your TV and all 3 work with precise controllers. I'm sure Apple's will work the same (assuming rumors of their own box are true, a console is in the works from them too). 4K gaming will be 8yrs+ away if mobile gaming doesn't help to kill of consoles. Which I say is already done, MS/Sony/Nintendo just don't know yet (or maybe they do...LOL).
You are explaining the domino effect that will happen, yet you don't seem to get your own message. Hawken is a NEW game not a port of an old game BTW. It wasn't conceived on some old console and ported to android. Also with 60% of the 2500 developers that were at GDC 2013 making games for mobile I expect we'll be seeing a LOT more games that are original, especially now that everyone has gamepad support built in (ios and android). With only 40% planning PC games and less than 13% planning anything for ANY other device (consoles/handhelds), clearly that means there are some ORIGINAL experiences coming to mobile. Also even phones/tablets are not ALWAYS on the move. What the heck do you think the HDMI out is for on all these? Do you carry a 24in monitor or 60in TV in your pocket?
Your xcom example is assuming they won't develop it for android (a MUCH larger audience at ~5x larger and I think I'm being generous, ios owns ~17% market share) after IOS. Why wouldn't they? Unless apple pays for exclusivity, it's a no brainer to make everything for android that is available for ios eventually. It's the single largest group of people to port your game to. That's a "well duh" moment for a game dev
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7076/msi-gt70-dragon-edition-notebook-review-haswell-and-the-gtx-780m
Today's top end notebooks approach a desktop and MSI chose a crap cpu.
https://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-18/pd.aspx
Overclocked to 4.3ghz with haswell...LOL. i7-4930MX - Rethink what you said. It may be 12lbs, but this ain't your momma's notebook...ROFL. 32GB, 780m SLI (full 1536 cuda cores)...Your comparison may have been accurate a few years ago, but not today. This thing has a 330w AC adapter and I'm sure the parts are cherry picked for ULV without lighting on fire in a notebook...LOL.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7003/the-haswell-review-intel-core-i74770k-i54560k-tested/6
i7-4770k virtual tie with i7-4930mx right, in pcmark cinebench etc?
http://www.computershopper.com/laptops/reviews/msi-gt70-extreme-edition-core-i7-4930mx/%28page%29/5#review-body
Cinebench etc losses in cpu with the overclocking (and it's a mobile chip that is unlocked for more than they got possibly).
What benchmarks are you looking at? Desktop cpu's don't embarrass their notebook counterparts today. They are no longer surrounded by crap either. DDR3-1600, 780M etc surrounds them if you put up enough money. But again, this wasn't the point of the article or post. This is a CONSOLE article, not PC competition.