GameStop unveils Android gaming tablet

PCMag.

Tony Bartel, president of GameStop, said in April the company was striving to meet the changing needs of consumers who “consume games in a hybrid manner”, and was looking at a distribution model along the lines of Apple's App Store and iTunes properties, which deliver apps and content through the iOS platform on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

The company revealed it has already begun testing the tablet, which it plans to release next year, writes ZDNet.

The tablet will not actually be a new device, but will instead be current hardware. However, GameStop is not saying on which tablet it is testing its service.

The company says the device will come bundled with a number of simple mobile games, but will also offer more advanced titles, like the ones found on consoles, in future.

According to Venture Beat, GameStop picked up its digital distribution technology when it acquired game-streaming service Spawn Labs and online storefront Impulse earlier this year. A full rollout of the GameStop service is not expected until next year.

Bartel said the company has the advantage of knowing the playing tastes of 13 million gamers through its rewards programme, which tracks 150 million games played by the members. It can thus recommend games that they are more likely to buy.