Suvudu Universe

Written By: Jessica “Allahweh” Brown

My very good friend, and owner of this site, Warren, brought to my attention a series of articles about “microconsoles” that were written on the site What Games Are. The site talks about how 2013 seems to be the year of these microconsoles and the various articles in the series examine the types of devices and what the supposed target audiences are.

The big one to attract a lot of attention earlier this year was the Ouya, an Android-powered home console that has an awful lot of promise to it. NVidia‘s Shield (released on July 31) has already hit the market, offering streaming of major PC titles as well as the ability to play Android games on a 720p Tegra-4 powered device. Then, we have the planned “Steam Box” (targeted for a late-2013 release), the upcoming Steam OS, and the localization of the popular Japanese console PlayStation Vita TV.

For some reason, a lot of people like to claim that these devices are aimed at a more casually-focused gaming audience. One article on What Games Are talks about games for gamers not wanting to make a serious commitment or “join a cult” and how devices like these suit that need. Others say that there is no possible way for other companies to have a chance to encroach on markets established by giants like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo.

So, I have to wonder: is it fair to write off these “other devices” so easily? Is it right to assume that they won’t ever amount to much more than an experimental fad?

First, I have to think that anyone that rules out the market for the “Steam Box” isn’t really thinking that one through. A lot of people like to play PC games, but a lot of people also like to play games on their TV with their friends. A device like this allows the best of both worlds without having to output stuff from your computer all the time. In this case, ease of use actually is the name of the game, but it sounds like something that is an actually good idea!

The PlayStation Vita TV makes even more sense to me. The device will play Vita titles, cross-platform games, be able to stream PSP titles, PlayStation titles, PC Engine games, and much more, and do all of this in full 1080p while connected to your TV. And for, supposedly, just $100. Since a lot of my handheld gaming is actually done from the comfort of home anyway, this device makes perfect sense to me.

Still, it is something that probably deserves some discussion…What do you guys think?