Mojo (microconsole)

Last updated

Mojo
Mad Catz M.O.J.O.jpg
The M.O.J.O controller and console
Manufacturer Mad Catz
Type Microconsole
Release date
  • USA|UK: December 10, 2013

  • EU: Released, but unknown date, probably either 2014 or 2015
Introductory price$249.99 USD
Operating system Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
System on a chip Nvidia Tegra 4 T40S [1]
CPU 1.8 GHz Quad-Core ARM Cortex-A15
Memory2  GiB DDR3 SDRAM
Storage16  GB internal flash memory
Display HDMI
1080p, 720p
GraphicsNvidia GeForce ULP GPU
Connectivity
  • Wi-Fi a/b/g/n
  • Ethernet
  • USB 3.0
Website madcatz.com/mojo/

MOJO, stylized as M.O.J.O., is an Android-based video game microconsole manufactured by Mad Catz. [2]

Contents

The system runs unmodified Android and connects directly to the Google Play online store. [3] As such, it can play any game designed or previously purchased for Android instead of those specifically designed for the console. [3] The console was released on December 10, 2013, in the United States and United Kingdom. [4] [5]

Development

The console was announced as "Project Mojo" in a Mad Catz's June 6, 2013, investor release. [2] The company revealed the system and its new name, MOJO, at E3 2013. [3] Mad Catz CEO Darren Richardson described the console as the "keystone product" in their GameSmart initiative, [2] a series of mobile gaming accessories for smartphones that can work with a variety of devices and platforms with Bluetooth. [6] The announcement stressed hardware performance and an open platform. [7] Mad Catz said that the console would be released in holiday 2013. [8] In early October 2013, they announced that the console would be released on December 10, 2013, and would be available for 249 USD although it would be available only in limited quantities at launch. They also revealed the hardware specifications of the console. [9]

Post-release development

In January 2014, rooting the console was made available by MoDaCo mod and rooting the console was supported by Mad Catz. [10] In March 2014, Mad Catz announced a price drop for the console after which the console cost $199.99 in USA and £179 in UK. Additionally, as part of the Ouya Everywhere deal, Mad Catz announced that all of Ouya's gaming content would be available in spring 2014. [11] In June 2014, streaming OnLive games was made available through an app that allowed players to stream OnLive's games and their own games using the OnLive's CloudLift feature. [12] On June 30, 2014, an update added the Ouya Everywhere feature allowing players to play OUYA games on MOJO. The update also added 4K UHD output for games and videos. [13] On January 22, 2015, the price of the console was further dropped to $149.99 in USA, £119 in UK and €149 across Europe. [14]

The M.O.J.O. Game Store was shut down on June 25, 2019. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mad Catz</span> Chinese interactive entertainment company

Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. was an American company that provided interactive entertainment products marketed under the Mad Catz, GameShark and TRITTON brands. Mad Catz also distributed video game products for third-party partners. Following a 2017 bankruptcy, Mad Catz Global Limited acquired the trademarks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OnLive</span> Company offering cloud gaming platform and a cloud desktop system

OnLive was a provider of cloud virtualization technologies based in Mountain View, California. OnLive's flagship product was its cloud gaming service, which allowed subscribers to rent or demo computer games without installing them on their device. Games were delivered to OnLive's client software as streaming video rendered by the service's servers, rather than rendered locally by the device.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samsung Galaxy</span> Series of Android smartphones, mobile computing device and Android applications

Samsung Galaxy is a series of computing and mobile computing devices that are designed, manufactured and marketed by Samsung Electronics. The product line includes the Samsung Galaxy S series of high-end smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy Tab series of tablets, the Samsung Galaxy Note series of tablets and phablets with the added functionality of a stylus, the foldable Samsung Galaxy Z series, and smartwatches including the first version of the Samsung Galaxy Gear, with later versions dropping the Galaxy branding, until the release of the Samsung Galaxy Watch in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xperia Play</span> Sony smartphone

The Xperia Play is a smartphone with elements of a handheld game console produced by Sony Ericsson. With the marketshare for dedicated handheld game consoles diminishing into the 2010s due to the rapid expansion of smartphones with cheap downloadable games, Sony attempted to tackle the issue with two separate devices; a dedicated video game console with elements of a smartphone, called the PlayStation Vita, and a smartphone with elements of a handheld console, the Xperia Play. Originally rumored to be a "PlayStation Phone", the device shed the "PlayStation" branding in favor of the Xperia brand, running on the Android operating system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sony Tablet</span>

Xperia Tablet, formerly known as Sony Tablet, is the brand name of a series of tablet computers. The first models originally ran Google's operating system Android 3.1 Honeycomb, but more recent models operate on the Android 4.1.2 system. The first models were informally announced on 26 April 2011, using the code names, by the Sony Corporation in the Sony IT Mobile Meeting. They featured touchscreens, two cameras, infrared sensor, Wi-Fi. Also, they support PlayStation Suite, DLNA, and are 3G/4G compatible. The retail price in the U.S at the time of release was US$499–599. In Europe, prices were at €499. To increase the number of apps available and provide marketing support for both tablets, Sony and Adobe Systems will hold a $200,000 competition targeting app developers. The series was formally launched in Berlin and Tokyo on 31 August 2011. The latest in the series is the Xperia Z4 Tablet.

<i>Terraria</i> 2011 video game

Terraria is an action-adventure sandbox game developed by Re-Logic. The game was first released for Windows on May 16, 2011, and has since been ported to several other platforms. The game features exploration, crafting, building, painting, and combat with a variety of creatures in a procedurally generated 2D world. Terraria received generally positive reviews and sold over 44 million copies by 2022, making it one of the top ten best-selling video games.

The eighth generation of video game consoles began in 2012, and consists of four home video game consoles: the Wii U released in 2012, the PlayStation 4 family in 2013, the Xbox One family in 2013, and the Nintendo Switch family in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google Play</span> Digital distribution service by Google

Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating system and its derivatives, as well as ChromeOS, allowing users to browse and download applications developed with the Android software development kit (SDK) and published through Google. Google Play has also served as a digital media store, offering games, music, books, movies, and television programs. Content that has been purchased on Google Play Movies & TV and Google Play Books can be accessed on a web browser and through the Android and iOS apps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PlayStation 4</span> Sonys fourth home video game console

The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in Europe, South America and Australia, and on February 22, 2014 in Japan. A console of the eighth generation, it competes with Microsoft's Xbox One and Nintendo's Wii U and Switch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xbox (app)</span> Software

The Xbox app is an app for Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11, Android, iOS and Tizen. It acts as a companion app for Xbox video game consoles, providing access to Xbox network community features, remote control, as well as second screen functionality with selected games, applications, and content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouya</span> Android-based microconsole by Ouya Inc.

The Ouya, stylized as OUYA, is an Android-based microconsole developed by Ouya Inc. Julie Uhrman founded the project in 2012, bringing in designer Yves Béhar to collaborate on its design and Muffi Ghadiali as VP of Product Management to put together the engineering team. Development was funded via Kickstarter, raising US$8.5 million, becoming one of the website's highest earning projects in its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nexus 7 (2012)</span> First generation Nexus 7 tablet

The first-generation Nexus 7 is a mini tablet computer co-developed by Google and Asus that runs the Android operating system. It is the first tablet in the Google Nexus series of Android consumer devices marketed by Google and built by an original equipment manufacturer partner. The Nexus 7 features a 7.0-inch (180 mm) display, an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core chip, 1 GB of RAM, Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity, and 8, 16 or 32 GB of storage. The tablet was the first device to ship with version 4.1 of Android, nicknamed "Jelly Bean". By emphasizing the integration of the Google Play multimedia store with Android 4.1, Google intended to market the Nexus 7 as an entertainment device and a platform for consuming e-books, television shows, films, games, and music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nvidia Shield Portable</span> Handheld game console by Nvidia

The Nvidia Shield Portable is a handheld game console developed by Nvidia, released on July 31, 2013. The console runs on Android Lollipop 5.1, featuring a flip 130mm (5-inch) touchscreen display with 1280×720 resolution. The device is similar in shape to an Xbox 360 controller and similar in control setup to a DualShock controller, with two analog joysticks, a D-pad, and other buttons. It is the first device to use Nvidia's Tegra 4 processor. It was originally called Shield or Nvidia Shield, but since the launch of the Shield Tablet, it is called the Shield Portable. Due to being out of stock for many years, it is thought to be discontinued, but there has not yet been any official announcement from Nvidia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HTC One (M7)</span> Touchscreen-based Android smartphone by HTC

HTC One is a touchscreen-based Android smartphone designed, developed, and manufactured by HTC. The smartphone was unveiled on 19 February 2013 at press events in New York City and London and is HTC's seventh flagship smartphone. It has been hailed by many as a revolutionary Android handset with its premium design and build quality and its emphasis on high end audio. It is the successor to the company's 2012 flagship model, the One X—which was critically acclaimed, but commercially unsuccessful due in part to insufficient marketing efforts. To make the device stand out among its competition, HTC One was developed with a major emphasis on unique hardware and software features; which included a unibody aluminum frame, a 1080p full-HD display, dual front-facing stereo speakers, a camera with a custom image sensor and the ability to automatically generate montages of media, an updated version of HTC's Sense user experience, BlinkFeed—an aggregator of news and social network content, and an electronic program guide app with the ability to serve as a universal remote via an IR blaster located in the device's power button.

<i>Fist of Awesome</i> 2013 video game

Fist of Awesome is an independently developed video game by Nicoll Hunt funded through Kickstarter, and is described by the developer as a time-travelling-lumberjack-em-up. Hunt was one of ten indie game developers chosen via Twitter to receive Ouya consoles for development. Fist of Awesome is one of the ten pre-selected indie games to be made potentially available for the Ouya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GameStick</span> Discontinued home video game console

The GameStick is a discontinued home video game console developed by PlayJam. It is a microconsole the size of a USB flash drive that plugs directly into the back of a TV through an HDMI port and ships with its own Bluetooth controller. Users can download content from a curated storefront via Wi-Fi, with content stored locally for offline access. The device is powered by the PlayJam Games Platform and runs its own version of the Android operating system. It is portable and aimed at casual to mid-core gamers. Like the Ouya, it was funded through Kickstarter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xbox One</span> Video game console developed by Microsoft

The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Australia, and South America in November 2013 and in Japan, China, and other European countries in September 2014. It is the first Xbox game console to be released in China, specifically in the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone. Microsoft marketed the device as an "all-in-one entertainment system", hence the name "Xbox One". An eighth-generation console, it mainly competed against Sony's PlayStation 4 and Nintendo's Wii U and later the Switch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microconsole</span> Type of video game console

A microconsole is a home video game console that is typically powered by low-cost computing hardware, making the console lower-priced compared to other home consoles on the market. The majority of microconsoles, with a few exceptions such as the PlayStation TV and OnLive Game System, are Android-based digital media players that are bundled with gamepads and marketed as gaming devices. Such microconsoles can be connected to the television to play video games downloaded from an application store such as Google Play.

References

  1. "MAD CATZ: Official Site - Dare to Lead".
  2. 1 2 3 Sarkar, Samit (June 7, 2013). "Mad Catz working on Project M.O.J.O. Android micro-console, showing it at E3". Polygon . Vox Media. Archived from the original on June 10, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Mallory, Jordan (June 14, 2013). "Mad Catz's Android console now just 'MOJO,' pulls games straight from Google Play". Joystiq . AOL Tech . Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  4. "Mad Catz's Ouya-Killer Priced, Dated And Potentially Deadly". Kotaku. October 9, 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  5. "News: Mad Catz announces Mojo console release details". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  6. Lien, Tracey (January 3, 2013). "Mad Catz to launch gaming peripherals for mobile devices". Polygon . Vox Media. Archived from the original on July 8, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  7. Trew, James (June 7, 2013). "Mad Catz CEO announces 'Project M.O.J.O.' Android gaming console coming at E3". Engadget . AOL Tech. Archived from the original on June 10, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  8. Alex Roth (June 14, 2013). "Mad Catz Mojo Android console". TechRadar . Future plc . Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  9. Anthony Taormina (October 8, 2013). "Mad Catz's M.O.J.O. Console Gets Release Date and Price; Specs Revealed". GameRant. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  10. AndrewH (January 28, 2014). "Mad Catz MOJO Android game console rooted, now even better than before". DroidGamers. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  11. Wesley Yin-Poole (March 6, 2014). "All Ouya game content coming to Mad Catz micro-console MOJO". Eurogamer . Gamer Network. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  12. Justin Rubio (June 5, 2014). "Onlive game streaming comes to Mad Catz' MOJO micro-console". IGN . j2 Global . Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  13. Timothy J. Seppala (July 1, 2014). "Mad Catz's Android console nabs OUYA games and 4K UHD support". Engadget . Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  14. Brendan Sinclair (January 22, 2015). "Mad Catz drops MOJO price again". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  15. "Preservationists Are Racing to Save Ouya's Games Before They Disappear". www.vice.com. Retrieved April 28, 2021.