Brazilian veteran gaming company Tec Toy today announced its new console called Zeebo, produced in a joint venture with Qualcomm. The new console's main characteristic is its gaming media distribution: all games are downloaded "over-the-air" via a 3G network called ZeeboNet3G directly to Zeebo's internal disk. Games are expected to cost about R$ 19,00 (less than US$ 10,00) and can be bought directly through the console's interface.



Among the games already announced are Quake, Crash Nitro Kart and Fifa 08, Need for Speed: Carbon and Prey. Besides ports from platforms including the PC, PSP and even Gizmondo, Tec Toy mentioned the interest of big companies like EA to develop specific games for the new platform. Graphic-wise, the console is somewhere between the PSOne and PS2. Tec Toy also promised a motion sensitive controller.

The console is primarily aimed at the Brazilian market (estimated release date is October 2009), but the company intends to release it abroad if it proves its worth. In a piracy-ridden country, the download distribution scheme aims to prevent great losses, but the console's initial cost doesn't seem very attractive: R$ 599,00 (circa US$ 260,00), about the same one could pay for a PS2, a much more well established platform.

http://www.zeebo.com.br/games.aspx

A "soccer" game with an obviously photoshopped FIFA cover art?

This does NOT bode well.

Some sites depict that game as FIFA 08, there are even some gameplay screenshots, but I guess they won't announce it officially as FIFA 08 because when the console is finally launched, we'll have FIFA 09 already.

That control pad look well archaic youd think the standard boomerang shape would have been a better idea.

What in the world? I have a feeling this is probably gonna bomb badly. It's kinda funny to me that it's named after Robin Williams' character from the movie Toys.

Looks better than the Polystation, the scourge of Brazilian kids with clueless parents.

They could have at least made the controller match the console so it looks like they are supposed to go together.

Man this looks lame. A console with no actual physical games ?

Yeah, no disc swapping required to play anything, how lame is that...

What would really suck if you had to delete a game that you have purchased to make room you a new game. How much room on the the Hard Drive?

Well, that's what I was going to say right now. The console has two big flaws in my opinion: the starting price and the space issue. It has only 1GB of flash memory, and yes, you have to delete games to make room for new ones. The good thing is that the larger games are around 50MB, according to some sources. That sounds pretty strange as they intend to release a port of Resident Evil 4 (you have to register to see the link), for instance. Now for the bad thing: players will have to pay again for deleted games. Not the whole price, but about 10% for the bandwidth usage.

As the console will be released only in 2009 I guess they still have time to correct both problems. As for the console capacities, well, it has the same processor as a Nokia N95, and having a composite video output with a 640x480 resolution people shouldn't really expect much of it. Here you can have a taste of Qualcomm's Adreno technology (in which Zeebo is based). You can even see the motion sensitive feature in action (in this case in a cell phone). Ah, and the controller fits well the console, the console is whiter than the picture shows.

All in all, this is a gaming cell phone to be plugged on TV. They say they're aiming at countries such as those in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China), "developing countries" in which piracy is the law (or lack of it =P) and in which the three big platforms can't penetrate that well (legally, it is).

I don't get why people whine about that. It takes like 1 minute out your life, so what's the big deal ?

Germany 101 with FrakesJoe: Whining is not only a national sport here, but also serious business.

This could actually work. Remember how the original XBOX was bashed to death and XP gaming was nearly impossible? If MS could polish a turd into something useful I'm sure this thing here would be no different.

Hired, not bought. More DRM craplets.

I think you meant "rented".

I think both mean same :-O

You can't hire a game, you hire workers. :P