The Wikipad was first announced way back in January and yesterday the gaming Tablet got a release date and price point. The Wikipad will be available for $499 on October 31. Preorders will be taken starting today. With so many options of Tablets will the Wikipad standout from the rest
Wikipad is part of a growing trend of independently developed game consoles outside of the major Sony/Nintendo/Microsoft axis. Ouya, an Android-powered set-top box, recently made a big splash on Kickstarter, raising millions of dollars from individual gamers, while streaming-game service OnLive released a set-top box last year, and used a standalone Android app to bring its games to handheld devices.
Powered by an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, the Wikipad can download games from Nvidia’s Tegra Zone store, Google Play, and the PlayStation Mobile platform. Unlike other Android tablets that can also play a wide variety of games, the Wikipad’s unique feature is its custom handheld controller dock, which adds two analog sticks, a directional pad, and four buttons — all of which makes it look a lot like a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 controller.
Both Apple’s iPad and Amazon’s 9-inch 4G Kindle Fire HD also cost $499, but the three major living-room consoles, as well as Sony’s PlayStation Vita and Nintendo’s 3DS, all cost less (as will Nintendo’s Wii U when its price is announced next week). The Wikipad is an interesting concept, and its physical game controller add-on is something long overdue, but the system will have to offer a lot to convince gamers to spend that much.
[cnet]
