This is Jungle . It ’s the first portable gambling console designed only for on-line gaming and MMORPGs . And it ’s from the ship’s company who gave us the 3DO about 20 years ago .
certain , the PSP and Nintendo DS have on-line multiplayer play , but it ’s not the core of what they do . That ’s why Jungle seems more like a diminutive PC , with a full QWERTY keyboard and a touchpad along with the d - launch pad and shoulder buttons you ’d expect in a tiny gaming console table — so you may take online games from the microcomputer with you .
In case you ’re not getting it , let me write out the voltage of this twist : It could enable MMORPG addict provide their apartment for the first meter in age . So get ready to see that cousin-german of yours . Might need to have some sunscreen hold back for him .
The Jungle looks like almost like the original Game Boy Advance , but bulky and more rugged , design to withstand a hail of gunshot . And turned into a grapple . It is not a dainty machine . The heftiness is cradle a high definition screen so unspoiled , a mental test gamer who got to see it at PAX told us , “ The screen resolution is banana . Everyone was freak out out about it . ” It ’s not confirmed what sort of guts are powering it , but it follows that the silicon ’s catch ta be substantial to push decent - looking games on that kind of screen . ( And push video out through the HDMI embrasure that the twist is rumour to have . ) Wi - Fi is obvious , but if it ’s going to be unfeignedly work anywhere , it ’s hopefully got some kind of 3 G powers too .
Also unconfirmed , we hear that Jungle runs a Linux OS . Which could make contentedness tricky , since it means games will have to be port over — you wo n’t be able to just load up World of Warcraft and be on your way , goldfarming while you ’re in line at Starbucks , since WoW does n’t run on Linux . It ’s gon na require partnerships and port , to say the least , and this thing is plump to live and kick the bucket on the content it ’s arrive . Or , it ’s got ta track down games in a internet browser .
The screen door and central processor point to something dear , as eminent as $ 400 depending on what other potentiality it has , but it wo n’t sell unless it ’s around $ 200 or down — which is where a carrier partnership , delivering 3 G and subsidized pricing would make pricing interesting .
It would take a slightly crazy fellowship to plunge something this ballsy — a not - twee , dedicated online gaming machine in a world where you could dally a damn good rendition Street Fighter IV on an iPhone — so it ’s being designed by Panasonic Cloud Entertainment , a tiny(ish ) startup company uber - Nipponese mega - corporation Panasonic ’s planted in Silicon Valley . But if online gaming titanZynga and its ripoffwarescan come forth as its own steamroller from under the teet of Facebook , perhaps this affair can sour too . count on how much it costs and what kind of games it ’s got , anyway .
How FarmVille Got So Great
in person , I ’d love to act some Team Fortress 2 while sitting in the park , watching dogs take a hop themselves stunned in the dogrun .
Update : For more ( faint ) information about the Jungle , tick outits site .
Daily Newsletter
Get the good tech , science , and culture news in your inbox daily .
word from the time to come , extradite to your present .
