GameGadget希望能够在DS、3DS、PSP、PS Vita、苹果数码产品以及安卓系统设备等游戏设备竞争加剧的今天推出一个新的游戏平台。英国一家名叫GameGadget的公司日前正式推出了他们研发的新型便携式同名游戏机。
GameGadget看上去就像是一个大号的Game Boy Micro，系统为Linux，宣称可以运行任何时代、任何平台的游戏。售价99.99英镑（约160美元），预定将于明年初上市。GameGadget的特色功能是通过专门打造的游戏平台（类似APP Store），玩家可以免费或是付费下载到任何心仪的作品。而这款产品运行游戏的方式其实等同于模拟器。
“就像iPod永久的改变了唱片业一样，我们要用GameGadget深远的影响游戏业。成千上万的游戏作品和玩家存档都可以通过GameGadget打造的硬件和平台提供给消费者，所有的在线服务就像苹果的应用商店一样方便。”官方说明中介绍道。
GameGadget的另一项主打功能是开源分享，任何人都可以独立开发出游戏，并通过平台发布后享受到收益分成。GameGadget要将独立开发者、小型开发商和大型发行商在内的业界链条进行整合，改变游戏业。
译文来自电玩海域
原文：
Anyone who wants to game on the go has a number of choices. There’s the Nintendo DS and 3DS, the PSP or the upcoming PS Vita, and then the growing competition from App Store and Android Market games running on smartphones or media players. Is there room for yet another platform? GameGadget hopes there is.
GameGadget is a portable gaming device that looks a lot like the Game Boy Micro or GP2X Wiz. Other than that we know very little beyond an interesting take on attracting games to its service.
The creator of GameGadget, Jason Cooper, has decided to setup a service a lot like the App Store, where games are offered for download directly to the device. But there is no emphasis on creating games specifically for the hardware platform. Instead, the GameGadget will run games from a range of now defunct consoles. We have to assume the hardware runs emulators from many older platforms.
Cooper is inviting owners of older games to allow them to be sold on the GameGadget online store, known as the GameGadgetGames platform. The desirable bit for game rights holders is they need do nothing to the original games. They will be sold and run just like they did on the original platform, so this could be easy money for them.
There is a big IF to this equation, though. It doesn’t matter how many games you offer for a device if no one buys the hardware to play them on. The GameGadget is set to be released in January next year and will cost around $160. That’s only slightly less than you’ll pay for a 3DS, and more than a DS. There’s no information yet on how much the games will cost.
Aside from offering a new lease of life for older games, Cooper also intends to make developing directly for the platform as easy as possible. The GameGadget runs a Linux OS, and can therefore be developed for using the same libraries including the very popular Simple Directmedia Layer (SDL).
Can an unknown platform with no real guarantee of a healthy gaming library break into a market dominated by Nintendo, Sony, and increasingly Apple? It’s doubtful, but a very strong line up of classic games running as they were intended on their original systems may gain a few sales. I’d much rather see the cost of the hardware below $100, though.
