The Ouya Android gaming console is already out, but its competitor from BlueStacks is picking up steam in the development phase. The subscription-based GamePop and GamePop Mini will have titles from five top new developers at launch, the company announced today. Those include TinyCo, Animoca, Game Circus, Creative Mobile and Nevosoft, and together they represent over 340 million downloads on the Google Play store as of right now.
GamePop’s entire value proposition is dependent on the fact that it can offer gamers access to a rolling catalogue of 500 premium games for a monthly subscription price of just $6.99, so being able to sign up devs with big-name hits is a key success factor for BlueStacks. And according to BlueStacks and its partners, this is also an opportunity for previously mobile-only game makers to explore the TV and home console market, which is a potentially lucrative shift.
“Support from the developer community is like air,” BlueStacks CEO Rosen Sharma explained in a email to TechCrunch. “Without it, you can’t get users, as people will have never heard of the apps. We feel very fortunate the community is lining up behind GamePop so strongly.”
Previously, the GamePop team announced that HalfBrick, Glu, COM2US and OutFit7 would be offering titles on its platform, locking down some of the most successful mobile games and apps available on Android. There still hasn’t been a major studio like EA or Gameloft announced as a partner, however, which could hurt its chances of being taken seriously by the gaming community.
As my sometime partner in crime Chris Velazco pointed out on yesterday’s TechCrunch Droidcast, game library is a key concern for any device, and the Nvidia Shield, which in some ways competes with the GamePop and the Ouya thanks to TV-out capabilities, faces problems in that regard despite major publisher backing.
There’s no question that game choice will be key to the GamePop’s ability to woo customers, especially when asking for a regular, monthly commitment. A stable of solid Android developers who’ve proven their ability to attract downloads can help, so today’s announcement is good news for those rooting for the concept, but true marquee titles are going to be the key to success here, since the entire concept is based around turning casual gamers into something a little less casual and a little more invested.
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