GameGadget: The iPod of retro gaming

“We’re looking at all the ways of making sure the ROM has some value, rather than it just being a straight-ripped ROM that someone’s uploaded and you’re left on your own,” says Garrett. Beyond these initial ideas, Garrett is firm that the platform will be aiming to significantly expand beyond even its current lofty aims. While an as-yet-unrevealed loadout of 8-bit and 16-bit generation titles are due for inclusion in the console’s pre-Christmas launch (you’ll know by now if that goal was met), the selection of what will undoubtedly, taking in mind Blaze’s past work, be Atari and Mega Drive games will eventually, plans the company, be expanded to take on the 32-bit generation. The hardware is powerful enough to support the likes of PlayStation and Saturn – it’s just a question of writing the emulators to join those that are already built stably into the unit.

It’s certainly a well-planned selection of features for what sounds like it could blossom – after the planned January launch of the cloud download service – into a unique service. However, there are significant concerns on the horizon for anybody attempting to launch a new handheld in the current gaming climate. Does Garrett see problems marketing a dedicated gaming machine when even Nintendo’s having trouble convincing people to invest in its wares right now?

“I think with Nintendo trying to achieve a £30 price point for a game, that’s a worry, when you can pay £2.50 and have Sonic,” asserts Garrett. “Our model is to deliver people games as cheaply as possible, that they can play on a quality handheld device. That’s kind of what people want, isn’t it?” In addition, Garrett likes to view the increasing popularity of smartphones as an indicator of what’s possible for Blaze, as opposed to an obstruction.

“I think that smartphones demonstrate the potential for casual gaming, the mass market appeal that casual gaming has, but doesn’t necessarily engage with people and enable them to play games. First and foremost it’s a phone, and the key thing for any developer is, in order to port their content onto iPhone, it’s going to cost a certain investment. What we’re offering here is a zero investment model. Someone’s already done the work for you in creating the ROM. We will then do everything that’s necessary to make sure it lives up to the standard you expect as a developer. We put it onto the website, we operate on a revenue share, everybody’s happy. And I think that’s a far more powerful proposition to the developers, and delivers us better content, than trying to put it through iTunes and competing with the other stuff that’s out there.”

While this doesn’t address the crucial factor – actually getting people to go out and buy the GameGadget, and invest in software with its system of microtransactions – it appears that Blaze’s goal is the classic ‘if you build it, they will come’ approach; get the licensees on board, and GameGadget should take shape as an utterly irresistible format for anybody with even a passing interest in past consoles and cheap gaming. Time will tell, of course, but it’s undeniable that Blaze has produced a device that has the potential to revolutionise the way we buy and play retro games.

For further information on GameGadget see Blaze’s official website.

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