We’ve been asked quite a few times why we made AirConsole this way and what are the real advantages of a web-based consoles such as AirConsole in comparison to traditional consoles. AirConsole is not better or worse than any gaming platform available; it’s simply different.
Local multiplayer games and party games are becoming hard to find on traditional consoles. You only have to look at the gaming industry for a second to realize that large developers are laser-focused on hyper-realistic graphics and single player narratives that stretch for dozens of hours. These gaming experiences are immersive, and often a spectacle to behold--but at the end of the day, modern gaming has become lonely.
With AirConsole, we try to bring back that social casual gaming experience. Less than a decade ago, playing games was a normal part of many homes and social life. Casual games were also a great social instrument in university campuses and clubs. Later on, the expansion of personal electronics curtailed game nights. Console and computer games held more entertainment value, and once traditional console companies introduced online social networks to gaming, the last unique aspect of casual gaming was lost.
Modern consoles are expensive, and it’s an issue when someone brings over a console, and often only one person can play at a time. Most of the time, this party game experience has only a couple of people playing a game while others drift off to eat snacks and forget about the game. Also, to play on traditional consoles, users must invest a considerable amount of money only for the hardware, excluding games. A $50 controller for every additional player whenever you want to play local multiplayer games.
Playing AirConsole is free and only requires a smartphone as a controller, which almost everybody already owns. Since you can access AirConsole inside a mobile internet browser, it’s really easy to load up the console from a variety of different smartphones. AirConsole works both on iPhone and Android devices with Windows Phone (10) support coming soon.
In the last decades, video games have been gaining momentum and now that the gaming market has opened up (even in China), more people are interested in playing games. The problem is that many people get intimidated by games that aren’t very easy to learn. Sometimes games are so complex that new gamers who might grow to love a game are turned off and chose more passive means of entertainment instead - like watching movies and TV shows on Netflix. Many new gamers have trouble handling a complex controller or even navigating a keyboard.
We tried to design AirConsole in a way that everyone can jump in and play. Your smartphone is the controller, and getting into AirConsole is as simple as entering a code then diving into the game selection. With our growing game selection and the addition of third party games, we try to offer a variety of games that suits most types of casual gamers.
You’d be hard pressed to find a console specifically designed for local multiplayer gaming. Even some of the newer takes on gaming consoles like the new Apple TV only have a few multiplayer games--and most of these games only provide a shallow multiplayer experience. AirConsole is the first online cloud-based console system that is specifically made for local multiplayer gaming. Our current library feature games such as QuickMinds (Trivia), Silly Run Valley, YouTube Jukebox Party App, Tower of Babel, Cards Against Humanity and many more.
We hope you’ll find use of AirConsole on your next gaming party or get together. Feel free to let us know your thoughts on the comments below.
