GameStick - The Other Failed Kickstarter Console

[@TripleEye_Josh]

Hey everyone, I tried a few new things with the editing this time around. It meant the video took longer than expected to put together, but in the end, I think it was worth it. This might be my best edited video in a while. What do you think?

[@qwerty_artist]

Improvement is all about trying new things- the chapter split up was interesting, but I'm going to be honest and say that I listen to most things, not watch them, so as long as your audio is as good as it's been, I'll be happy.

[@verficationaccount]

Loved the written little jokes in the video, keep up the good work!

[@SomeDude0881]

I really enjoyed your video but I wanted to make a few comments. I own a game stick and it had officially supported custom roms and home brew. It was a really nice well supported for how poorly it sold. Most people that bought it used it to emulate games which it did a great job of emulating up to psx. The controller is pretty high quality as is the device itself. Honestly it’s just a product nobody wanted. It was well made, well designed and had several good games for it on release as well as its own version of Minecraft. They were very active in their community and it’s really clear they made a product they really cared about. It sucks they crashed and burned but I’ll give credit where credit is due.

[@2Pyroz]

I own one of these. It was very much lower performing than the Ouya and the store had NOTHING on it. You had under 50 titles total to choose from at best.

[@Bassotronics]

Thanks for the awesome information regarding this console thingamajigger

[@onewaytriggames8832]

"Consoles" like these that play mobile games DO have a niche.....instead of making hardcore gamers their demographic they should have focused on "the kids who take their parents phones to play games because they're too young to have their own phone" demographic. Drop the price the and market it more towards kids and they would do at least better than they did.

[@onewaytriggames8832]

@Marco Zepeda yuuuuuup, just like that:

[@zeroDFound]

It could be sold as the successor of those plug and play consoles they used to make years ago which were just a controller connected to the TV and they had like 4 games on them, sometimes a PC or a Switch aren't accesible enough for what parents look for (Nintendo themselves tend to advertise for a 16-20s demographic nowadays), I guess it gets enough short term cash with the "casual games for non casuals" business model so they don't care about making something that makes more sense.

[@onewaytriggames8832]

@@zeroDFound right, yes!! The niche is smaller than their original target demographic, but probably not as small as you would think. Especially worldwide, where they can't afford an actual console, or there are so many laws in place that concoles might as well be banned

[@blupandax7902]

That product did exist, it was called the PlayMG, an android gaming device that was marketed towards parents who didn’t want to give kids their phones. What happened to PlayMG? They failed to achieve their Kickstarter funding.

[@aledwards6787]

Galaxy s21 with dex and a controller is the best. It would be nice to have an android tv box capable of playing games though

[@raycearcher5794]

The problem with all these "play mobile games on your TV" consoles is that they all ignore the fundamental truth - most mobile games aren't worth playing on a TV, those that are will inevitably be ported to various consoles' electronic markets, and you can already play mobile games on your TV with a USBx to HDMI cable, meaning your product will be competing, right out of the gate, with a piece of wire. The reason all these devices do so well on Kickstarter is that people want to use them as emulation boxes, but for legal reasons most of them make this way harder than it needs to be - not to mention that, if you're handy, a million different factories in China will sell you compact microcomputers that can run actual Windows or Linux. And that's not even getting into the Raspberry Pi, a device whose whole gimmick is "here is the cheapest actual computer you can buy, go nuts."

[@jondeth298]

Originally it was assumed by these companies and even NVIDIA that the major game developers would be willing to license the games to Android and these Android based systems. Sony and Xbox put a stop to that. They would have been destroyed 10 years ago when you could buy a high end off-brand Android for a hundred bucks! *Then all these systems had to offer was shitty mobile games and were ruined.*

[@stewbanker]

You can't really use your phone on your TV if it doesn't support HDMI alt mode.

[@jondeth298]

@@stewbanker as my post said, it was heavily assumed the game developers would license mainstream platform games to Android, but none would. I've had a lot of cheap Chinese tablets with HDMI sockets on them that would have ran PS3 games ported for ARM/Android. Almost every major game developer uses Unity to create console and PC games, and when you start the build as well as complete and export it, you can set it up for every system including Android. So, the ability to put the games on Android was never an issue. I think the dirt-cheap hardware caused the console companies to strike deals with the game developers.

[@stewbanker]

@@jondeth298 yeah well, the issue doesn't even come up to be hardware, I mean, yeah it could be an issue but, the mobile market is not suited for paid games, thus no profit

[@jondeth298]

@@stewbanker they would just run it on Steam. Paid downloads etc. The issue seems to have been that a console was $500, an Android a hundred bucks.

[@TaxOwlbear]

I had never even heard of this thing. Anyway, well done with the research.

[@TommyDeonauthsArchives]

"It was a war that no one would win." It was also a war that nobody asked for.

[@taylorester2658]

So every war since ww2

[@bigstupidgrin]

War, war never changes...

[@linkadez3373]

Wtf?? The editing and commentary skills had me sure this channel had millions of subs . Hope yall explode in the next few years

[@fuzzzywan]

"Despite running Android TV, it never had the Google Play Store" I believe that's against the Android TV developer TOS.

[@DreddLypso]

Why?

[@porridgeramen7220]

That's a mistake, it runs regular Android, it came out before Android TV was being licensed to third parties.

[@avatarofwoo]

I bought one and used it to emulate front mission 3 and collect dust

[@rolando8708]

Bold of you to assume I can’t fit a switch in my pocket.

[@Katie-eg3oi]

You deserve so many more subs! It's great and honestly refreshing to see consistent, quality videos from someone who really knows their stuff.

[@orangeapples]

My brother had a gamestick, an ouya and some other Android based gaming machine. He was certain they were gonna be the next big thing in gaming.

[@kira-dk2mx]

He still preaching that they're the future?

[@Moritz19081980]

The "PlayJam" logo almost looks like the "Unity" logo...

[@TheFatestPat]

Oh yes, the mini consoles of the 2010's. Addressing a problem that...didn't really exist. But man were there plenty of companies trying to make a solution.

[@boblowes]

I seem to remember these being heavily promoted in GAME stores the UK. And then being in the bargain bin about a year later. Controller looks incredibly uncomfortable too. I mean, people slag off the Atari Jaguar controller and the Ouya controller, but at least they weren't a flat piece of crap. They actually fitted in your hands comfortably.

[@grumpycat1178]

“Who played for 87 teams in the NBA”. Idk why that hit my funny bone so bad 😂

[@admiralfrosty3495]

Nice, love this kind of research

[@bryantan492]

I still play with my game stick every night. It helps me clear my mind and fall asleep.

[@keviolaf01]

I smell 🧢🧢

[@u0aol1]

The algorithm shined upon you this day. I subscribed. All hail the algorithm.

[@willyates2787]

Really great video keep on truckin dude!

[@SewerTapes]

I'm an idiot when it comes to business, but I could have told Play Jam this would blow up in their face.

[@braija]

Meanwhile ten idiots would tell you to stop being negative and that it was a great idea.

[@leifleoden5464]

I'd never heard of it and I actually bought an Ouya.

[@channel5980]

Bruh moment

[@leifleoden5464]

@@channel5980 Raspberry Pi gave me everything I wanted from Ouya and more. Ouya could have been good, they shipped out a Beta system that just sucked.

[@SHGames97]

I got one of these for $9.99 at GameStop like a week after it came out.

[@zzcolby27]

I loved those Dish Network PlayJam games when I was little. My first ever gaming experiences.

[@FYCY]

I slightly remember this at least hearing about it

[@LayneHarris]

I have the special 'Kickstarter' edition, in black & Kickstater green. Mint condition. Think it's worth anything? (LOL) (Also worth noting - while you can fit it in your pocket...you still have to drag the cables and power adapter around with it, which pretty much eliminates the idea that it was all snugly fit inside the controller.)

[@Swordart2022]

You make great content insta subbed you deserve more subs good to listening on background while doing something else.

[@luigimaster111]

In theory these consoles had the power behind them for some amazing gaming experiences, I mean the hardware was outdated but still, the outdated hardware was far more powerful than a PS2 at least in theory. However that available power could only shine with the development backing of AAA developers, and what Triple A developer in their right mind would develop games for systems with such little market share and with specs worse than even a Wii console. Obviously playing mobile games on a TV was never a good idea, but these consoles weren't really aiming for that, those mobile games were just to hold us over until "real" games were ported or developed for their platform, they were aiming to be the goto platforms for indie and AA studios. I feel like these kind of products just might have a chance to succeed, or at least a greater chance, if they were to become x86 based. If they could cram enough power into a mini console to run most 2D PC indie games, and mainstream games from the early mid 2000s and earlier, for around the same $80 price point. that'd probably be a lot more appealing to customers, especially if they made it really easy for the consumer and they streamlined a lot of the faff involved with running PC games, like instead of creating their own storefront they could instead make a steam frontend that only showed manually curated games known to function seamlessly on the platform, maybe the front-end could be something akin to Lutris and be community driven. All that said though, I'm slowly realizing all I'm really suggesting is a low end laptop without a screen or a keyboard, such a product in bound to fail without an exceedingly low price point and damn good software.

[@sevenape]

Using a 2015 nvidia shield to play assassins creed Valhalla. I think they won!

[@CubicAvenger]

A friend of mine convinced me to back this with him. It sat for 4 years before I used it as a ROM machine. Great for that, but nothing else

[@MINKIN2]

It's a shame that most of the games more suited for TV never got over the "mobile game" stigma. There was some really good titles that would have made great budget releases on the big consoles.

[@KROMO50]

Your video's are great sir!!!

[@biospark4758]

I really don’t get the appeal of a portable console that you need a TV to use. Unless you travel a lot, is there really a need to have a console you can carry but not play if it isn’t hooked up to a TV?

[@arthursharrard]

I still have a Gamestick, almost new in the box!!

[@BlueBARv5]

I use mine all the time... I'm playing CyberPunk on it right now..

[@TheRageLivesOn]

@Astropathix XIII guitar hero controllers are actually selling for a pretty penny depending on the model

[@dougsteel7414]

Having worked with a lot of these people and failed an interview there, I enjoy the schadenfreude

[@SuperNuclearUnicorn]

Do you think the game stick would be a better idea now with legit console games like GTA Vice City and San Andreas, Final Fantasy 9, Fortnite, KOTOR and so many others available? Back then it was like Jetpack Joyride or whatever. Maybe it's worth revisiting the idea

[@detectivescrotes]

Open TV actually created firmware for set top boxes, Sky used Open TV for their set top boxes, and I believe they eventually bought them. So they don't really exist anymore, as a separate company at least.

[@greybush38]

I own both the Gamestick & Ouya and both purchased at a BestBuy . They should not be discounted in game history, there are many Android platforms in 2021, so these devices were the forefathers of Android TV gaming.

[@totallynoteverything1.]

I remember CGR making a good review of the gamestick

[@kubaglogowski4260]

A great video! I enjoyed watching it

[@heggy_69]

Playjam was my childhood, I don't think it was over Internet because my parents never had an internet connection when I was younger

[@jondeth298]

*You were wrong about why they failed though.* Originally, it was assumed by everyone including NVIDIA that all the major game developers would license the same games on console to Android and these Android based systems. *The consoles stood to lose too much money and in concert with the major game developers, created the cross platform online services like Steam, Xbox live etc.* 9 or 10 years ago just as now, you could buy a high spec off-brand Chinese Android for $100. Sony and Xbox would have taken a vicious beating. *So these systems didn't fail because nobody wanted them, they failed because all of the software developers refused to license games to Android.*

[@Real3doPlayer]

Years ago I was at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo and Game Stick had a demo booth. I actually got to play one. I thought it was neat but I asked if they had one for sale and they just said it was coming soon. Never heard of it after that.

[@LOC-Ness]

The Nvidia Shield isn't a failure, not only is it the only one of the listed pieces of hardware that is still being made (albiet now sold as a Roku-style Streaming Box), but it's processor is the same one being used on the wildly popular Nintendo Switch. Nvidia technically won the war.

[@duddyfacial3827]

I remember buying one and being so disappointed. The games were garbage, it lagged, and after two years it flat out stopped working. It’d overheat after being on for about 5 minutes. I threw it away.

[@Dampfish]

Speaking of sketchy gaming consoles, have you ever heard of the Gizmondo?

[@FunkyPixie]

wow i remember playjam back when i was young but i didn’t know they made this

[@elishmittywerminghanjensen1264]

I even bought the Kickstarter exclusive colorway. It bricked itself mid-update a few months later 😢

[@Thatonedude917]

Thing's gonna be worth a fortune to collectors in 20 years

[@MattyB456channel]

We had some PlayJam games in South Africa on DStv too

[@jreds79]

I've never watched this channel, but I found numerous reviews on KZbin.

[@Milacan]

My Ouya Consoles were only beaten by the Nvidia Shield TV, which still runs my living room TV. Absolutely futureproof the Shield TV is. RIP Ouya

[@micderper]

Ah yes, I played the crap out of this lol. Good memories!

[@krazproductions]

Do you still have your Gamestick? Working on a preservation project and would be very interested in collaborating with you

[@desklaser]

I bought one of these and its dock when GameStop all of a sudden put them on a deep clearance one random Sunday morning.

[@maples328]

The fact it took them 12 months 🤓 to come to the conclusion dealing with dozens of different TV manufacturers would be difficult pretty much says it all !

[@Z64sports]

Why are there R & L1 buttons but not any R & L2 buttons?

[@DubstepCherry]

I do NOT understand why this channel only has 3k subs. It is so sad to see that someone who puts so much effort into their videos does not get the recognition they deserve. Well fucking done mate.

[@Kilocron]

I definitely never heard of this thing before, but it's fascinating to learn about. I'll say this for it though, I DO like the form factor of it. I think it might be pretty cool if you can get a Retropie inside of it.

[@ed7002]

Ive played games for over 30 years and never heard of the gamestick

[@YusuphYT]

First time playing roulette on sky tv, age 9 betting my birthday only to win nothing is one of my best memories of childhood 😭

[@penatio]

I actually knew about this thing from Scott the Woz's video on microconsoles.

[@Funem]

A war nobody would win..... except NVidia as the shield is still going strong, has had multiple revisions, supports the Google Play Store, Geforce Now and other cloud streaming platforms, has had games written directly for it like Tomb Raider and Resident Evil as well as the Half Life and Portal games (all running on Android and available on the Play Store). Its also proably one of the longest supported Android Devices I have ever seen. It came out in 2015 and still recieves updates, in 2021. It was so well made and thought out, that the Switch is basically a Sheild TV with a screen on it. NIntendo even futher support it in China by running Twilight Princess, New Super Mario Bros Wii and Super Mario Galaxy as well as some other titles on it.

[@woogha]

I bought three different ones on clearance from work. And they were all broken out of the box.

[@EeveeFromAlmia]

I feel like tv consoles like this and Stadia are close enough related that they would produce a mule.

[@Notfallkaramell]

A micro console that also offers a Stadia service?

[@wesleythomas7125]

If they HAD included its own screen, they might've had a product. But I'd have just left it plugged into my TV if I'd gotten it.

[@safebox36]

Oddly enough, it's still sold in my local GAME in the UK.

[@chumpyman]

Yea, my local game had a few for £5. Its a worthless thing to buy

[@memesistolefromifunny9165]

I bought one of these from gamestop on clearance years ago for $30. Hooked it up played 3 games and never touched it again. Most games had a 3-8 second input delay. It varied on game but they all did, even the menus.

[@SegaCDUniverse]

I still have mine. I hacked it with custom firmware, it's slow but decent. Runs a kinda stock Android.

[@dun0790]

On sky in the uk some of there games were broadcast not streamed over the internet i used to play them pre internet but out of like 5 or 10 games i think you could only play 1 or 2 without internet

[@DetectiveStablerSVU]

Omg I forgot I played video games through my satellite tv service until just now.

[@robbyrobot3303]

Ive had a boxed gamestick additional controller in my attic for maybe 10 years now, and I didn't know what the fuck it was until now that I've seen this video

[@MYSEGAISBROKEN]

I think my satellite box had a lot of those cheap kind of games on them before google play store or the internet was widely available.

[@Donutearthpodcast]

I was so close to buying one of these but I bought a ouya!! Still works

[@flyingninja1234]

I remember seeing this at Game Stop years ago. I never wanted one.

[@Iheartdog666]

I can fit my switch in my inner jacket pocket.

[@siskavard]

I remember this, almost backed it, dodged a bullet there!

[@Lazlowinthehouse]

Thank you for these videos, always a fascinating to see people try to make their own consoles. Btw what ever happen to play date? Wasn’t it going to be release this year??

[@Husain5XG]

Why do the controller remind me of the evercade

[@mikadeca4031]

So I don't have to carry a console.... But the monitor.

[@colinmurphy2127]

I bought one through kickstarter. It is now locked in a cupboard. 😪

[@poeskey]

Something like this wouldn't be too bad these days with game streaming becoming more prevalent. I imagine that the nvidia shield would be. Pretty nice streaming machine for xbox, stadia, and geforce.

[@tye9713]

I'm starting to hate KZbin with all these ads n the 1's that's on forever without u noticing

[@DonaldVale]

Almost everybody pretended the gamestick didn’t exist

[@CarlolucaS]

It seems that trying to make consoles is kind of a meaningless pursuit. Big companies lose money on their consoles and win due to exclusives. Why do people try to do it over and over again? That is an actual question I want to be answered. Maybe a video idea :) Edit: Also why do these consoles try to use Android? Smartphones exist, why would anyone interested in games buy a console based on a system that doesn't have a system seller. Quick name me an Android game that everybody knows?... I can wait... No hurry... Yeah, even though I am not a business expert I am pretty sure that it is a bad idea from the start.

[@Liam_Kelk]

Nvidia shield has done pretty well for itself. You have to remember that back in 2012 the landscape for home media consoles was very different. A lot of companies won't have seen the shortfalls of using android as their operating system. I clearly see why they did choose the OS though. I've written two games for OUYA and it's a real treat to develop for. It's extremely easy to get your game on the TV for thousands of people to play.

[@CarlolucaS]

@@Liam_Kelk Ahm, hey that makes sense. I can see why developers would like it if it is easy to use.

[@TobyEarnscliffe]

@@Liam_Kelk yeah this was before PS4 and XB1 were announced, people were desperate for some new tech!

[@Birdie_1991]

A mobile game that everyone's know I gotcha ya buddy "Raid shadow legends" 🤣

[@CarlolucaS]

@@Birdie_1991 Yeah, Indie Game that is owned by a gambling machine manufacturer. I made a video about it but you can just look into Plarium Games and Aristocrat Leisure Lmt. and you will find it.

[@TheCbrdriver]

Can it Play doom?

[@1SouthernRaj]

Lol I remember the gamestick, actually wanted one at one point

[@ryandetty4035]

I bought one on clearance just out of curiosity. I think I paid $19 for it. MAYBE plugged it in twice. Pretty sure I shipped it off to Goodwill/Salvation Army at some point

[@LoganHunter82]

I've actually heard about this console, thanks to Classic Game Room

[@riot-gamez8995]

Can you use this with a laptop?

[@Liam_Kelk]

No

[@HoChiMints2007]

This thing is actually a media console with a HDMI output so it needs to be connected TO a display such as a monitor or a TV. A laptop does not have a HDMI input, so no it can't be used with a Gamestick

[@WhyteLis21]

Moral of the story is, don't over sell and don't be too ambitious. Lol.

[@dqham]

I got one from games top for $5. The battery life was terrible on the controller

[@b.turner9181]

the dude ribbon dancing looks like zlatan ibrahimovic lol

[@davidt-rex2062]

Ahhhh sky digital... Opentv was the platform that ran the sky os. It was a sky subsidiary I believe

[@symbiote1982pk]

Did you even actually try to find info on Open TV? Cos it took literally seconds to pull up plenty of into on them for me. Lazy chuff.

[@DamonAkuma92]

Did anyone else first learn about the oyua from ashens reviewing it after he bought it from a used store like a week after it came out lol.

[@OuchMyHooves]

The only reason why I remember the gamestick is because vsauce featured it at one point.

[@omarguerrero6417]

I had the fire stick and the issue wasn't the games but the devices them self they were slow and very laggy and buggy

[@zupergodo1]

Uno o mejor dicho el único video que encontré ( aparte de las publicidades) sobre esta consola

[@SamoyedSagas]

Thats obviously an iPhone 6 or 6S. It's way bigger than a 5 and doesn't have the flat sharp edges.

[@andrewosborne7544]

Oh man I use a shield everyday for streaming, I've played games on it but it's not really good for it. I also have a gamestick loaded with software