Zeebo: Upcoming

Zeebo Inc. are set to launch their new console in Brazil next month and in other countries later this year, although it’s probably a much bigger deal to our South American counterparts, as the unit only possesses the power of somewhere between the PlayStation and the PlayStation 2. While that won’t get many of us excited, it’s pretty big news considering that the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis still sell pretty well there. The console is powered by cell-phone technology developed by Qualcomm Inc., the San Diego company who are best known for their mobile-phone chips.

They will use digitally downloaded games that are distributed through cell-phone networks, which gamers won’t have to subscribe to. This method should be ideal as cell-phone services are generally more readily available and cheaper in targeted countries, mainly India, China and Brazil. This will also help piracy issues, with Brazil in particular suffering from the illegal distribution of physical software. Zeebo are offering games for just a fraction more than the typical price of pirated software, and with the added bonus of being able to download them from the comfort of your own home; it’s looking set to become a huge success.

Zeebo, whose company only has five actual full-time employees, are very adamant in the fact that their console is not designed to compete with the powerhouses that are Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. Their target audience is very much exclusive to those who generally can’t afford the latest consoles, or the games that are published for them.

The console will cost $199 on launch in Brazil and in other countries closer to $179. Although plans to drop the price to a more comfortable $149 next year are already in place.

Craig Bryan, NoobFeed