Archos GamePad 2 Confirmed for $200, £170 in the UK

[JMcEntegart]

Archos is already updating the six-month-old GamePad.

Archos GamePad 2 Confirmed for $200, £170 in the UK : Read more

 

[el33t]

Seriously, why do they even bother with these things?

 

[infernocy]

Seriously, why do they even bother with these things?

because they sell ?

 

[ragenalien]

Not in high volume, but they sell enough. From what I've heard they got bought up by a lot of day care centers and pre-schools.

 

[Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer]

"Seriously, why do they even bother with these things?"

I considered buying the first one, but it was pretty much universally panned (for the implementation, not the concept). If they've learned from their mistakes--and it appears that they've at least tried to--I'm sure I'm not the only person who will be giving it a look.

Just from looking at the article picture: the D-pad is now one piece, instead of four separate buttons; the analog sticks are different, with a more rounded shape; and there seem to be two shoulder buttons per side (instead of one shoulder button and one button that should be on the shoulder but is awkwardly placed on the face). 1280x800 is a perfectly fine resolution for a 7" gaming device and allows for unscaled 720p video content (seriously, who even thought up 1024x600 originally, anyway?).

If the reviews are generally positive, I might just get one.

 

[wemakeourfuture]

Horrible display, won't sell, another flop

 

[Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer]

"Horrible display, won't sell, another flop"

Yes, "horrible" is definitely the word I would have chosen for an IPS display with higher resolution and pixel density than the iPad mini, which as we all know is languishing on store shelves.

It may well be "another flop", for whatever reason, but it won't be because it couldn't push a bunch of useless extra pixels that will have basically no positive impact on the gaming experience.

 

[wemakeourfuture]

@Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer

next iPad mini's display is going to be updated massively, so this just came out and is +1 year behind the times.

And YES PPI makes a huge difference, hence why every selling smartphone/tablet MUST have a high PPI, its people's basic expectation with mobile devices

 

[hardrock40]

On a whole people are like sheep & in this case they all followed Apple when they started the whole PPI craze. Before that everyone was happy with whatever resolution a device came with now we got crazy high resolution's on our devices. look at Apples first iDevices they all had crappy resolutions & fairly crappy screens & everyone bought them up because Apple said hey these are the future they are the best they will change your life & like sheep everyone flocked to these devices. Then Apple said oh low res screens suck now the only good screens to get are retina displays with at least 326 PPI because anything other than that is crap. Again people flocked to the new idevice because Apple said the old ones sucked. iSheep or Android sheep or WIn phone sheep we are all the same we flock to whatever they say we should myself included I guess.

 

[wemakeourfuture]

@hardrock40: it's called progress.
Things improve and become standard.

Would you buy a computer if it struggled to have a few programs opened?
Should cell phone carriers stop at 3G Data because that's good enough? Are people sheep for wanting 4G or better displays? I want a 4K tv, so I'm a sheep, no industry is finally giving what people want for the cost. That's why people are "flocking" to these devices, not because someone is telling them to like it, but companies are producing what people WANT.

PPI has changed the game, we've been so used to the PC industry giving us crappy PPI and just increasing real-estate with higher and higher resolution without addressing pixel density.

 

[Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer]

"next iPad mini's display is going to be updated massively"

So what? The bottom line is, right now, a tablet with a 1024x768 display is selling like hotcakes.

Look, this device absolutely does not need a higher resolution. Let's assume for a minute that I'm familiar with the whole high-PPI discussion and have a pretty good idea what the pros and cons are there (because I am). I get it. More is better. Except when more isn't better, and on a $200 gaming tablet doohickey, it's not.

Suppose you jumped up to 1920x1200. Now you're pushing 2.25 times as many pixels, pixels that most people aren't going to be able to see at the distance you're going to be holding this at. So you need at least twice the graphics power. You need a stronger backlight, because high-PPI displays block more light. Now you need a bigger battery, to power the backlight and GPU. You sure as heck aren't gonna be paying $200 for that.

And really, why are people buying it? To play emulated console games. That's right, games that were designed to run at 240p or 480i. And what's it competing with? The 3DS/2DS (one screen at 400/800x240 and one at 320x240) and the Vita (one screen at 960x544). 1280x800 is more than good enough for what this is.

If you wanna buy a device that displays impossibly crisp, sharp text for reading books and webpages, why are you gonna buy this device anyway? Wait for the iPad mini 2 with it's hypothetical Retina display and be happy with your purchase. If you want a cheap game system with a huge catalog of games to play (if you don't care about issues of legality), this is the place to start looking. The reason people won't buy this will be if the controls suck (like they apparently did on the last one). It won't be because the resolution is "only" 1280x800.

 

[Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer]

Oh, and you might wanna sit down for this one...the new Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 have fewer pixels per inch than the Archos Gamepad 2. Even the Retina iPad has fewer than 50% more pixels per given area of the display.

You're buying this because a) it's cheap b) it has an incredibly deep back catalog of games if you're not opposed to emulation and c) what the heck else do you want? You can play FFVII on it. Or Sonic. Or a whole bunch of Zelda games. Or f--king Ristar. It's an Android tablet with game controls. Do whatever you want.

 

[wemakeourfuture]

just because Apple can sell a smaller tablet with not a great screen doesn't mean other competitors can. Because Apple provides something different than those competitors which makes up for the lack of display quality in the mini. Hence the push to produce a far better display for the next mini.

If this was sub-$100 then I wouldn't have an issue. But when its priced to compete with Amazon's latest offerings, Google Nexus then you got a big, big problem with its lack of display. At the end of the day it is very, very clear with the massive decline of Sony's and Nintendo's handheld devices.

People want a mobile device that does more than just play games. In the market someone wants to know how will video, other Android apps look and feel with this device. Is it geared towards more gaming sure, and guess what, someone buying a tablet or any mobile device for just pure gaming is small and shrinking segment of the market.

This is a DOA product. Either you price it to get marketshare and change the landscape, or provide equal or better quality performance and display than your competitors.

At the end of the day this does neither and will gain zero traction in the market.

Archos has for a very long time been making handheld fringe products many years, more than most other companies. They still amaze me on how they do not understand how to make a complete product. Nor how to push the market by producing something people really, really want at a good price. They make something on the surface looks like a good product but once you actually use it or see what other alternatives exist its not a viable option for the consumer market, hence there failures to become a large company and brand outside of a tiny niche circle of customers.

 

[Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer]

@wemakeourfuture

The reality is, if Archos don't mess up the controls, this is going to sell. If your standard for success is "outsells the iPad mini", then sure, it's going to be a failure. On the other hand, if your standard for success is (more reasonably) "sells enough to turn a profit while serving a unique niche in the market", then it will succeed.

I was going to attempt a point-by-point rebuttal of your claims, but let's be honest, when you state that "Nintendo's handheld devices" are undergoing a "massive decline", you're clearly not letting any pesky "facts" get in the way of your "argument". The 3DS is doing fine. Obviously people want portable gaming devices. If the Gamepad 2 ends up being a decent portable gaming device, people will buy it.

 

[wemakeourfuture]

Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer
The reality is, if Archos don't mess up the controls, this is going to sell. If your standard for success is "outsells the iPad mini", then sure, it's going to be a failure. On the other hand, if your standard for success is (more reasonably) "sells enough to turn a profit while serving a unique niche in the market", then it will succeed.

I was going to attempt a point-by-point rebuttal of your claims, but let's be honest, when you state that "Nintendo's handheld devices" are undergoing a "massive decline", you're clearly not letting any pesky "facts" get in the way of your "argument". The 3DS is doing fine. Obviously people want portable gaming devices. If the Gamepad 2 ends up being a decent portable gaming device, people will buy it.

First, my measure is not the iPad mini, where on Earth did you get that?

Second, I am comparing to comparable devices in its price range, you know its competition, substitute devices. It will not sell a FRACTION of what they have.

Third, if you know ANYTHING about Archos' product history, you'll know this will be a complete flop.

Forth, are you kidding about Nintendo 3DS? Nintendo has shed not just marketshare but actual marketcap and viability as a company the past 4-5 years. Their handheld revenue and profit is leading this company down to near financial collapse. Which facts do you have? Don't you follow Nintendo's financial reports and market analysis on their handheld units? You'd clearly know they are dying in this market segment,

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Nintendo-claims-the-iPhone-killed-the-handheld-game-console_id29533

Fifth, this won't sell. It is not a decent portable gaming device to begin with. A second pure portable gaming devices sales have decline what 50-75% from what it used to be. Its also a shrinking market, so gross sales and growth rate have MASSIVE negative rates of growth.

You're talking about facts? You don't have any, don't know any.

As an investor, I pick and choose my company based on their balance sheets, core business growth and future releases. Nintendo both in console and handheld is on a MASSIVE decline in every segment, and has had their first yearly loss after what 25 years. Its a continual trend not an anomaly. This is a dying company and the pure handheld video game market is a dead one. Hence why this product, produce by Archos will be a complete and utter failure.

At the highest the may get a niche but won't make a profit. The substitute goods are so much better than this, and the marginal utility from a customer market point of view is way too low.

 

[lordsniper]

Go check 01net (use google translate if you're not familiar with Victor Hugo's language) The device is already considered as an EDITOR choice : IPS display , big battery, high-endish look, and FINALLY : good conrtol with ameliorated buttons and latency fix. Add to that a correct CPU/GPU : 600mhz maliMP4 (improved : 28nm + 600mhz vs 400mhz on other mali devices) and dual band wifi compatible with Miracast Tvs (2.4ghz+5.8ghz).

Now You just talk rubbish : archos has changed, their share is skyrocketting, their new smartphone is a success in France for both reviewers and consumers. And NO GOD NO, we don't need a 1080P screen ! For what ? it's already very beautiful with a 1280*800 screen why ruin the performance and increase the prix ? Just because Apple do ? (and not even on their Ipad mini) .


Look at the Ipad mini/Kobo/nexus 7 with a smaller or equal resolution there are all a success speaking for the screen : everyone seems happy about the combination of 7" and 1280*800.

 

[CLAMSHOW]

So what other gaming consoles out there have this one beat? I'm thinking of buying something like this for my kids as xmas gifts. They all have Nintendo DSi's now and love them. I'm looking to get them something better. So what other choices are out there that I should consider. They will be using them mainly for gaming.

 

[caj5888]

This device really appeals to me. If the thing runs well and the controls are good then I'll probably get one.

I want a device to play emulated snes, gba, megadrive games on without running my fingers over the screen. Something to watch films on and sometime to browse the net with. There really doesn't seem to be much more out there except some chinese JXD devices. Shame. Wish gamepads would really kick off.

 

[RaoulAngel]

So... Where is it? It is December 2 and I don't see it for sale anywhere