When is a handheld games console not a handheld games console? When, like the Wikipad, it’s too big to be taken on the train. Nintendo’s trying to enter this new space with the Wii U by letting users play serious console games at home on their own screen, but now the Wii U not the only player in the game, and Nintendo should be very worried…

The Wikipad was unveiled at CES to a mixed reaction. Some were suitably impressed, but others were sure it’d end up being relegated to the expo’s vaporware history books. Only it hasn’t. The Wikipad has evolved and now has a set of proper, locked-in specs. and they’re very decent, even if it has lost its glasses-free 3D powers.

OUYA Android console: A game-changer?

So what is it? The Wikipad is a gaming tablet with a full smattering of gaming controls nestled around the sides of a 10.1-inch display. Inside, the engine-room’s been granted an NVIDIA Tegra 3 T30 quad-core 1.4GHz processor backed up by 1GB of RAM and a starting point of 16GB in storage.

Impressively, it’ll come packing Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and a partnership with the Gaikai game streaming service.

The future of home gaming?

And that last part’s what the Wikipad an exciting prospect. We’re not talking about Angry Birds and Where’s My Water? Here; the Wikipad will be able to run proper games like FIFA 12, Mass Effect 3 and Darksiders, all whilst whoever’s in the living room with you can watch what they want on the TV.

Now, let’s steady ourselves. We’re not about to crown this one device as a revolution in gaming, but this tablet-based core gaming is definitely a new idea in the market. You probably wouldn’t want to take the Wikipad with you when out and about, and you certainly can’t take the Wii U’s gamepad out of the house, but independent, full-scale gaming at home could very well be the next logical step for home gaming devices.

A device like the Wikipad marries the best of consoles with the freedom of tablets. A bit like a glued-together version of this £200 gaming super-team. Unfortunately, the Wikipad still doesn’t have a price or release date as yet. Any potential takers? Let us know below.

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  • Anonymous

    Streaming is the thing. Certainly a large part of the future of gaming, if not the whole future. No reason why the Wii U can’t do this too?

    • HardcoreNintyFan

      Sorry, streaming is not the current future… People are getting their panties in a bunch thinking that Cloud based gaming is the way to go next generation. HELLO! Most of the US (a huge player in the world of gaming) still has pretty slow internet. I don’t think most people want a system where you only download games and what not. I looked into Steam and TF2, 10 hours just to download… Uh… no thank you. In my town theres only two ISP (Qwest and Comcast) both which don’t provide super fast connections. It’s not the consumers fault for bad speeds, no it’s up to the ISPs to put into place the infrastructure for better internet (i.e. Fiber Optics). But that takes, time and money to do. The average speed here in the US is about 5 Mbps. Yeah, now tell me that this is still plausible in the next generation of game consoles.

      • Anonymous

        I agree that unless more people get better speed, streaming will not achieve market domination anytime soon. But so what? Streaming is doing okay right now and as more people get faster connections, which is inevitable, if hard to set to a solid timetable, then it will eventually dominate. Will that happen within the lifetime of the Wii U? Maybe not, but streaming use will expand and there is no reason that Nintendo’s new machine cannot stream too.

        • http://twitter.com/superbenA2002 Ben Arrowood

          No good speeds here in Baltimore. Verizon is redlining Baltimore City when it comes down to Fios expansion. I am able to get faster speeds by plugging my Sprint/Boost Mobile 4G prepaid Wimax phone into my laptop’s USB port than I was getting from Comcast or my old DSL connection. 14 megabits per second from my cell over the USB port when compared to 9 megabits per second from Comcast and 5.5 megabits per second over DSL. My dad gets 20 megabits per second speed in his townhouse in Baltimore County, MD. Comcast stinks in Baltimore City because they are using the old 1990s cable line network leftover from bankrupt TCI Cable of Baltimore, repairing/replacing parts of the network when needed. Comcast took over TCI Cable of Baltimore’s Metro Drive office and network back in 2001. Sprint invested $65 million to upgrade their infrastructure in Baltimore City to high grade 4G and Wimax back in 2008, but the 4G side wasn’t flipped on until this year. Verizon actually leases 4G access from Sprint in Baltimore City.

  • Stretch90

    LOL, this has nothing on the Wii U. The Wii U is a full home gaming console with the addition of a tablet controller, not just some tablet-console hybrid like this article is making it appear to be. And on top of everything, the Wii U has the top game developer in the world making their 1st party titles ;)

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