Zeebo

[Overload]

A new system called "Zeebo" is coming out. It will be available in countries where piracy is high and prices for current gen systems are around $1000. Here is a link for more info on it http://news.vgchartz.com/news.php?id=3236 and the zeebo in action

[miked]

I think thats very cool of them to give these countries an affordable game console, and nice work of publishers too if games will be $10. Some decent game selection too. I also dig that controller design but lets be honest, that name is fucking stupid.

[superlarz]

The box itself is a pretty cool design.. People in love with blue LEDs will probably love the glowing Zeebo letters

[CaptainWeasel]

Hm. Looks really promising. Who here would import one if it turns out to be really good?

[Pullmyfinger]

Don't expect much, I saw two prototypes, it's pretty much a cell phone and the controllers are crap.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

I'm starting to have mid 90's flashbacks that predict that this and the OnLive (AKA Phantom 2) are going to begin and end very badly.

[jfrost]

It's gonna be crap. The starting price in Brazil is supposed to be around R$500 (about US$225) and the console is not even as powerful as the PS2. Also, the machine is going to receive a ridiculous lineup of launching titles, consisting of very late ports of old games. The console comes with "Super Action Hero 3D", "Treino Cerebral" (some Brain Age-like game) and, according to the official website, "a soccer game".

The other incredible titles available as soon as the console hits the shelves are Street Fighter Alpha (the first one), Tekken 2, Ridge Racer (also the first) and Quake (the first, I'm seeing a pattern here).

It's not gonna be worth it. I don't believe it's even possible to import the console to places where it isn't launched, since it is going to use a dedicated network of its own called "ZeeboNet". So you'd be stuck with a shitty console that wouldn't be able to download more games.

Sure, it's a good thing that someone worries about markets other than America, Japan and Europe. But this is not the treatment I think gamers of underdeveloped countries deserve.

TecToy is betting on the fact that people prefer to buy legitimate games if they have the choice. However, they are forgetting that when people buy legit games, they also get a disc, a box art and other goodies. With Zeebo, you're paying R$19,90 (about 7 dollars) for a crappy old game that you have to wait to download (I'm skeptical about the downloading speed; internet infrastructure in Brazil - and I think that's also the case in the other countries where Zeebo is heading to - is not that well developed in many places) and store in your console. They also think people are not going to find a way to mod Zeebo and pirate games. Seeing 360s and Wiis are sold in every store around already modded to play pirate games, I wouldn't believe in it so much.

There's no real benefit of buying a Zeebo. I mean, R$500 is a lot of money and PS2s sell for R$400 or even R$300 already modded. The PS2 also has killer games, of which pirate copies are sold at every street corner for about R$5 (2 dollars). I don't think the console has any advantage.

[Peffico]

Is it just me or does this remind anyone of the Phantom? The phantom was supposed to do this exact same thing but was never released.

Also the controller looks like a rip off of the dualshock or the classic controller.

It might work but sigh I doubt it.

[superlarz]

This one seems a little less phantom-ish than the other one we all just discussed. I guess its all the same though. At least this box looks nice.

[Cronson]

I think this is a great idea. I lived in Guatemala for awhile back in 2005/2006 and I've been all over Central America. The video game market in these countries is pretty terrible; it costs a fortune to buy from only a handful of new titles. I was in Guate when the PSP launched and I paid $60 for games and right under $300 for the system. The governments down there have insane taxing on any electronics.

So, for anyone who wants to debate whether this system will offer anything to us who live in first world countries: it won't. Look, its a cool idea, but the Zeebo is designed for a completely different market, specifically one where video games are absent.