Kotaku 
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Denver, 5:50 AM
Sat Dec 19
58 posts in the last 24 hours
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09/15/09
Wouldn't you have to leave your system on all the time you are out of the house?
I mean, sure, it could theoretically send out the startup signal like when you turn on a wireless 360 controller, but, Gamecube? Original Xbox? It wouldn't be able to turn those on.
So you'd pay $200, plus a (small) increase in your electricity costs, plus the cost of replacing your 360 frequently due to it's constant failures of being on all the time...
09/15/09
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09/15/09
Or be more diplomatic. Maybe buy a game you both might enjoy together?
09/15/09
09/21/09
09/15/09
Then you sir are a liar.
09/15/09
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09/15/09
I love it, but I can hardly do remote desktop from one computer to the next. Not sure what the performance is like here.
09/15/09
*ed- I guess people have offered some decent reasons.
The price tag isn't really winning me over, though.
09/15/09
Exactly. You see this ALL the time in the IT industry. An answer to a question no one has posed, or is really interested in knowing.
...nevermind. Watched the video as I typed this. It's actually a pretty cool device. But it's 50 dollars cool. Not a hefty 230 dollars cool.
The Spawn Labs guy's comments regarding internet latency strikes me as overly optimistic at best. But in video games where split seconds count, the added latency of introduced by the net can be a killer.
09/15/09
09/15/09
1. Or, you could bring your game over to their house, as well as your gamertag (hence, your xbox live subscription
2. You could save 200 dollars, get much less latency AND be able to change your games by bringing your console over
3. If your selling point is having person a, with no xbox, play with you on your xbox, then thats actually a pretty good idea. But then the problem goes back to the old age issue of no voice chat unless you're willing to rigamarole some sort of voip through your computer, or want to sit on the phone. We're not in the dark ages of broadband, anymore.
4. Playing games off the hard drive is fun, theres some good ones, no doubt. But for 200 dollars, you're more expensive than a handheld gaming system, which doesn't require a coffee house or computer at all. Then you would say 'but games! you would have to buy them! and carry them around!'. Well, sure, but you have to buy them for consoles, and flash cards would negate the luggage.
5. The ability to record is neat, and would actually interest me
6. Are you expecting someone to carry a usb controller in their pocket at all times for the experience of being able to play something off their 360's hard drive at home when they're near a computer with broadband
These are legitimate concerns. Not just complaints. If your price point wasn't 200+ bucks, maybe a lot of these would be eliminated. But thats an awfully inconvenient price for what you could get with that kind of money, as well as how niche the usefulness would be.
09/15/09
09/14/09
09/14/09
On that note, if anyone has any alternative solutions to hooking my 360 up to my lap top, please tell me. I have an S-Video, Coaxil, and DVI input.
09/14/09
My solution would probably be to pick up a newer monitor rather than this though. Look for one with HDMI
09/14/09
I have an optical port on my laptop but I'm not sure if it's input or output (or if there is even a difference). Would that work?
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09/14/09
I understand that I'm asking for help here, but please assume I know a little about what we're talking about.
09/15/09
i use the digital sound adapter for 360 (include in the elite version) there put in my sound system via cinc and play on my dvi monitor via the hdmi cable very easy
09/15/09
09/14/09
You know what costs about 210 dollars less? Using a VGA adapter on that unused VGA connection on the back of your monitor. Assuming you have your PC hooked up through DVI or HDMI.
And would you really want to be sitting at your computer to play console games? I thought the whole point of the console was the remove yourself from the computer. You DO know that the 360 wired controller is USB and can plug right into your PC, if you should choose to do so? PS3 so you can take advantage of your high def small monitor?
Once again, I get the idea, having your consoles games in the living room stream wirelessly to your computer in the basement... but unless you've got wireless controllers (good luck, PS2, with your unofficial ones) or the need to trick yourself into saying 'I'm a console gamer who plays my console games on a PC'... then I really don't see the point.
And to counter the 'but my computer monitor is so much better than my TV!', well, thats 200 dollars you could spend buying a decent monitor+VGA adapter for your systems, or get a better TV.
09/14/09
09/14/09
Let's say you go over to a friend's place and they don't have a 360. With this setup you could theoretically play 360 games on his computer. Or if you're traveling and only have your laptop, in theory you could play console games on the go as opposed to only having access to handheld/PC games. The basic idea seems to be providing more portability to your PS2/3/360/Wii/whatever, not just playing your console games on a PC. As long as you have access to a broadband connection and a PC, console gaming, even multiplayer console gaming, is theoretically possible.
Now while I'm skeptical of how well the product works, it looks like Luke either missed or forgot to mention that the real attraction of this setup is the ability to take your PS360Wii games anywhere there's a computer.
09/14/09
Oh, I've read it. It just seems like an utterly useless product. If you can play games on your PC, play games on your PC. If you want to be out of the house playing your console games on your laptop... uh... why not just play games on the laptop?
Also:
"When someone else is watching the TV at home, you can go to a different room in the house, plug your gamepad into a USB port on your computer,"
Sounds like fun for your gamecube controllers.
Thanks for taking the time to read the specifications/features of the product before responding.
09/14/09
Even then, I feel you're grossly downplaying the features of this device.
09/14/09
But once again, unless you're intending to play all arcade games (because of whats stored on the system)... how would this be a useful spending of money?
09/14/09
Sorry, I'll try to turn my brain off next time so we can be buds.
09/14/09
I didn't realize your brain was even on in the first place.
09/14/09
No, I just completely ignored a novelty aspect of the product that needed no rationalization as to why it was stupid.
Kind of like why I left it at your brain being turned off, and didn't go any further.
09/14/09
It's not my fault you can't clearly demonstrate that you've read more than you claimed to.
09/14/09
This is just a box that streams your game through a network, enabling you to play your shit remotely. I know at least two people that would rather have that than moving their console from one room to the other just so they can keep playing their game. Sure, you can probably buy another console for an extra $100, but who cares?
Again, no one is forcing you to get this. The only thing that's retarded really, is the way you're acting... Just relax.
09/14/09
It just seems like a useless waste of plastic. And I'm not getting mad, so much as thinking this is a completely stupid idea and waste of money. Did it become a crime to call something stupid and useless? You know what else is stupid and useless? Those system coolers for the 360, the ones that draw their power supply from the back of the unit.
When theres so many better ways to spend 200 dollars, its a little upsetting to see companies preying off ignorance or a novelty. But based on the reaction of 95 percent of the comments here, I was incorrect in thinking that people would think 'awesome!'. My mistake was in not giving my fellows enough credit. Credit given, mistake apologized for.
Personally, I'd rather free up my network bandwidth for playing online and would rather put that 200 bucks into another console instead. Perhaps, a console right beside where I'm playing, so I don't have to walk elsewhere to change games?
I didn't even think of the 'buying a whole 'nother console' argument. Thanks.
09/15/09
09/15/09
Again, to you and me, this is definitely a useless device. Complete waste of money. Garbage. But... It's a perfect tool for others.
Ever heard of streammygames.com? It's pretty similar to that in a sense. There are plenty of people that use that service, and I can understand its appeal.
Anyway, the post has been updated with a video...
09/14/09
This allows you to access your game system from any computer (for example, a laptop in a free wi-fi area) and play your console. Though how it'll operate regarding speed is still up in the air. So imagine you being in University and one of your teacher didn't come so you have like 2 hours free, if you have your system connected to this you can go to a hot-spot area, turn on your laptop and play remotely
Again the main selling point of this is REMOTE PLAY and not a way to play the system via the computer on your house (which you can do, but is not the main point of this system).
Here is a copy/paste of the Remote Play feature:
Remote Access On the Road (Internet)
You can also play your console games when you are on the road from any location where you have broadband Internet access. The quality of the game video will depend on the uplink bandwidth on your home network (to which the Spawn HD-720 is attached), as well as the downlink bandwidth of your remote Internet connection. Whichever network has less bandwidth will set your limit. When traveling, many gamers will be better off playing in standard definition due to bandwidth constraints, and the Spawn HD-720 can automatically down-scale the HD video from your game console to translate it into standard definition video, delivering an enjoyable gaming experience on the road.
09/14/09
You gonna call home and tell them to put a different game in the system? If you've got a laptop cabable of streaming video like that, it'll probably play games too, yanno.
Neat, but flawed, idea.
09/14/09
Is a good idea, but it indeed has his flaws. One being the whole DVD thing (so just keep a game you currently playing on it)...the other will be the most crucial and important to it and that is how it handles lag.
The line that mentions to play the games in SD to maximize function doesn't paint a good picture on how it'll handle lag. Was just pointing out that the system is made for something else.
09/14/09
English is my second language and I'm used to seeing "many, many more" followed by a noun. Is there any sort of difference with both phrases?
09/14/09
if you can't then you use much.
for example milk, you can't say give me one milk please.
So you use much more milk.
or for example with "fun"
"it is much more fun this way"
if you can count games (which you can), you say many more games.
09/14/09
I'm not a grammarian, but that's generally how it's used. Oh, and in case it wasn't clear, using just "many" versus "many, many" is only a matter of emphasis, not function.
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09/14/09
@DouglasJayFalcon: Hi.
I like playing on my gaming desk, I hate gaming on a couch. I'd like my PS3 to go back to the living room as a bluray player hooked up to my hdtv so that I can watch my movies there.
So the problem exists.
09/14/09
Okay, so I get your problem, but then again, aren't blu-ray players by themselves attainable for around 200 bucks from walmart?
How far away is your living room? Your controllers will still have to reach the system, supposedly.
200 dollars is just overkill for something that will have very limited ranges of usefulness.
09/14/09