The nD

[Exophase]

$55 is way more than we're talking about here.. you're already looking at nearly what Dingoo costs. I wouldn't have a problem with the suggestion that they can do it for $60, per se. $10 or $20 is a much different story.


For a games console you still need a case and buttons, which cost at least tens of thousands of dollars to create molds for. I'm assuming that when they say "at cost" they mean strictly BOM cost, and they're probably not accounting for PCB costs (both fixed and per-unit) at anything below huge volume that's well out of their reach. Sure, for stuff like this dev board you can get some existing hobby boxes but that won't work for a custom gaming handheld. Then there's the battery.. it's just not doable.

 

[maiden]

i think that its not impossible to get to between 20 and 40$


less then 50$ is easy. there are hundreds of different cheap handheld consoles here in china.


a example:


http://www.dhgate.com/4gb-pmp-game-console-portable-multimedia/p-ff808081304592d001304d8d011a22a9.html

 

[Exophase]

~$50 is still a far cry from $20. Although this does have camera and TV-out it lacks wifi, which has not exactly been one of the cheapest components on a handheld (hence why Dingoo doesn't have it and Caanoo didn't come with it built in)


The cheapest I could find on that site was this:


http://www.dhgate.com/new-pvp-station-light-pmp-1000-games-built/p-ff8080812d3be05e012d4f8c94867668.html


But most bottomed out above $30. I have to wonder if this particular one isn't being sold below cost in an effort to dump existing supply. Of course, I'm sure Bob will struggle to get access to the same pricing outside of China (even when buying Chinese components)

 

[Stradian]

To Pull this off he will need:

• BULK: This is part of the formula that allows our electronics manufacturers to reap profits and place moderate prices.
  
  
• HIS OWN PCB RIG: I Don't think he is going to get that "system on a chip" (he used the term like an idiot from marketing) cheaply, unless he did it on site completely, Shipping would drastically raise the price.
  
  
• WORKERS: For the scale he wants, he is going to need a lot of workers. If he was going to the most cheap method, the "Workers" would still need food and board at the very least, that adds cost.
  
  
• EXTENSIVE MARKETING: A project at this scale will not work if it not marketed correctly, or not even know what it is and take it as a cheap toy.
  
  

I don't think this guy knows the scale of the operation he is dealing with.

 

[kloplop321]

I think you are failing to realize this is part of his alternate reality game to market the game he's making, titled, "Bob's Game". [EDIT: which he has yet to release]


I've been watching him for 4 years, he's done several stunts like this.

 

[maiden]

taobao is chinas ebay.


what you can't buy on taobao, you can't buy in china. well i have bought stuff fram taobao that is not for sell in china.. like the Asus eeeNote. but to the point:


for 20rmb = 3 usd


you can get a: snes like console with 2 controllers.


http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=10526082714


found at least 4 different consoles for the same price.


will update this with more info:


about 15$ handheld.


http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=4789785275


about 13$ handheld. (almost the same design as the nD)


http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=10379961099


about 10.9$ handheld


http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=10631323092


Thats how low china can bring it without going monochrome. (if you want to go monochrome it will be almost free )

 

[Exophase]

I still want to see that these are at-cost and not volume dumps. I can't fathom how that console can cost $3 in parts. And are these really sales "buy it now" auction prices? That $13 one doesn't have an embedded battery, and I'm sure it's deficient vs what nD claims in other ways..


At the very least Robert Pelloni has outright declared that this is a real handheld and not a stunt for his game. If it turns out otherwise people are probably going to be even more annoyed with him.

 

[maiden]

taobao only have fixed prices, its like ebay in size (if not bigger).


regarding the 3$ price, well a lot of plastic and a ASIC and it can become quite cheap.

 

[Jourdy288]

I read this as "end" rather than "indie".

 

[cinaed666]

I read this as "end" rather than "indie".

I read it as 'the D' (as in the band tenacious D and hoped the n was a typo )

 

[Batou456]

He's a dreamer with a poor grasp of grammar, and little indication he has the slightest clue what would really be involved in pulling his dream off. Seems as how he has an investor link, etc. he's liable to end up in a good bit of trouble.

 

[PokeParadox]

The way I see it... if he can provide a nice little handheld for dirt cheap and it's good enough to port my software to it, I'll grab one and port my software to it... *shrugs*

 

[Exophase]

Then there's this..


http://the-nd.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=4&pid=207#pid207


Are indie developers really that interested in making games specifically for 6 year olds? Anyway, I don't think what he says is accurate, I'd be very surprised if the median even for DS was anywhere near 6, it's probably at least past 10.

 

[Jourdy288]

Hahaha, games for 6 year olds. What a joke. Seriously, they don't deserve games until they're older.

 

[Prometheus]

^ If that was so, I suspect an awful lot of us wouldn't be here on this forum today.

 

[Blue Protoman]

Well, this is the 21st century; these days, kids are playing Call of Duty or Halo at six, and their parents are none the wiser. Ages around here vary, but when I was six, I was playing Paper Mario.

 

[Prometheus]

When I was five or six, I got my Commodore 64. Never could get my head around programming, but loading games and the word-processing program that I liked to use (Tasword 64, if memory serves) from the command line was never a problem.

 

[Jourdy288]

^ If that was so, I suspect an awful lot of us wouldn't be here on this forum today.

You just walked into the internet with your sarcasm detector off. Tut tut, bad form, :lol:


Although I wouldn't let my kids play CoD... Halo, perhaps, but seriously, I remember going to a school and seeing some kid wrote that he loves CoD in crayon 0_o.

 

[Blue Protoman]

Rated "M" for Middle School!

 

[Exophase]

Of course 6 year olds play games, but they're at the lowest end of the age range.. not the target you should be shooting for.