Tectoy Zeebo is 3G-based gaming console

The Brazilian company Tectoy presented this Wednesday (12) its videogame Zeebo, which is expected to reach shelves of the country in July 2009. He will be produced at the factory in Manaus Tectoy. Then, will be offered for licensing in other countries, especially in emerging markets.

"The Zeebo is toward the middle class, it means the last generation of consoles that for them, are still inaccessible," said the director-president of Tec Toy, Fernando Fischer.

The platform affixed to the end of physical media: all your games are stored in the memory of the console and available from downloads made by the network ZeeboNet3G.

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According to TecToy, which closed partnership with Sure to provide the data-only 3G network, the user is always connected to the wireless network and not pay anything for it. Costs will be purchasing the console, released today by the price of $ 599, and games, which will vary between $ 10 and U.S. $ 30, depending on where catalog or release.

Thus, the company hopes to prevent piracy, since the original games, in theory, can not be recorded or transferred to other devices or media.

The development of the new console is a partnership with 12 companies in the world, with the main one is the U.S. company Qualcomm, which holds 43% of Tectoy in the United States and will be named Zeebo Inc. - the other 57% belong the Brazilian group.

According to Fischer, the Zeebo already consumed about $ 17 million in investments, with U.S. $ 5 million of equity and other Brazilian Tectoy U.S. $ 12 million from Qualcomm.

According to the company, Zeebo the name was chosen from 70 options and no registration of the trademark in other countries. "It's a brand that does not mean anything anywhere," said the director-president of the company.

Games

In Brazil, the Zeebo will be launched with six games installed - two games from EA (Electronic Arts) (racing and soccer), Action Hero 3D, Brain Training, Evil Prey and Quake, all in Portuguese. In addition to these titles, the catalog's home Zeebo has more than ten games, all developed for this platform. By the end of 2009 in anticipation of Tectoy is that the quantity of titles comes at 51 games.

The company has a partnership of major companies worldwide developer of games such as EA, Namco, Capcom, Sega, Activision and ID. It is also planned for next year the launch of the "Acelerômetro," accessory like the Wii Remote, Nintendo's.

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Quality

The game used by Tectoy the presentation today was the Quake, launched in the past decade. The graphics and how to play and not impressed even come close to recent market launches in the world of games.

Therefore, the director-president of Tectoy rushed to reiterate Zeebo that is not focused on the "gamers" from last generation, but for the middle class that has no access to brand consoles like the Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft. "The Quake is an old game for us but new to our target audience," said one of the developers of the company.

According to Tec Toy, the share of graphical display of the game will come "very close" to what exists today in the PS2. Asked about the price of Zeebo, Fischer shuffle, saying that the company will appeal to the communication, distribution and legalization of products with its brand in the country.

the Zeebo will be released in Brazil later next July before making its way to other markets in the following months. Being connected to a 3G network, you will be able to pay and download games as well as content from the said network, helping (in theory, at least) cut down on piracy while lowering costs for consumers (no manuals to print, no shipping costs, etc).

The Zeebo is meant to compete in emerging gaming markets and not mature ones that are saturated with the Wii, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Hopefully the games will be engaging enough to warrant a purchase. Word has it that the Zeebo will cost $258 in Brazil when released.

Zeebo this morning unveiled a self-titled console which it says could bring video gaming and other Internet features to countries that previously haven't had widespread access to the technology. The system combines a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM processor with a free, 3G link over HSPA that lets the console perpetually remain connected to the Internet without requiring a hardwired connection. Users can buy and download games anywhere the console gets coverage; the cellular link will also allow frequent system updates and, eventually, the ability to share the Zeebo's connection with computers or other devices that might be relegated to dial-up in developing areas.

The hardware will primarily focus on mobile-class 3D games and already has the support of Capcom, EA, Gameloft and other significant developers. About 1GB of flash memory provides the permanent storage, while an SD card slot lets owners add more. Control is more like a traditional TV-attached console with three full-size USB ports and one mini allowing multiple dual-analog gamepads and other peripherals.

Reflecting its attention on the developing world, Zeebo the company says its system will first be available in Brazil when it ships next month. Although early pricing in the South American country is set at the equivalent of $199, other countries should get the system for $179. Zeebo hopes that economies of scale will let it push the system price down to $149 by 2010.