Learn about a small modding group’s plan to bring off-screen gaming to more than one platform.
With the Nintendo Wii U, PlayStation Vita, and Nvida Shield, it seems the gaming industry’s latest fling is with playing big-box videogames in the palms of your hands. Personally, I’m totally down with the freedom of toilet gaming and wish to see its expansion. And, interestingly enough, the room for competition in the off-screen field is about to get even tighter.
An upstart business comprised of videogame console modders, called Advanced Gaming Innovations, have plans for their own game-streaming pad with a recent Kickstarter drive for the Cross Plan, which they quote is “the world’s first multi-platform wireless video interface gaming controller.” Did you get all that?
Basically, the Cross Plan is a tablet-like controller – much akin to the touch-screen focused layout of the Wii U’s gamepad, two-analog sticks, directional pad, and standard button arrangement – with a huge selling point being that it’s compatible with almost every current gaming platform. Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and even OUYA.
With the Cross Plan you’ll able to instantaneously and easily use it between gaming platforms, which uses a Wi-Fi connection to broadcast its signal to the controller’s 7” widescreen – that’s 720p to boot – from a small, box-like HDMI transmitter that conveniently connects to the HDMI-port of the system of your choosing.
Apparently, you can connect up to four gaming platforms with a HDMI splitter (they’re pretty cheap on Monoprice.com), but what’s extra neat in going this route is the novel means to do so; the Cross Plan uses individual assigned cartridges (that red block sticking from the back), say one for the 360 or PC, that plugs into the back of the gamepad and enables off-screen play.
Quite the retro-console twist on an idea, but I love it! Also, judging on a couple of images and video presentation below, the Cross Play seems to have a proper size and height to it; the handheld measures 1.5″ thick, 5.5″ tall, and 9.5″ wide.
AGI needs $350,000 USD to help make the Cross Play by the end of September 3. Hopefully, with your generous donation they can do just that. Be sure to visit their Kickstarter page to learn more about the Cross Play and the individual backer awards, and keep it here on Walyou.com for more geeky interests, like incredible Tomb Raider cosplay and 10 indie games you should be playing.
