A year after they were officially released to consumers, Sifteo’s game cubes are no longer tethered to your computer. Now you can enjoy this unique take on portable gaming, which has players re-arranging multiple tiny displays to solve puzzles and complete missions, wherever you’re willing to tote its base station.
The original cubes, which featured a 1.5-inch display, motion sensors and wireless capabilities, had minimal onboard memory which meant they couldn’t store games. So they unfortunately always had to be used in range of a PC which they’d constantly download content from. The second generation Sifteo Cubes are still limited memory-wise, but now connect to an included AAA battery-powered mobile base station which serves as a compact alternative to a PC.
The $130 starter set still comes with just three cubes, but the maximum number that can be used per game has been bumped from six to 12. And maxing out your set is slightly more affordable with additional cubes now costing just $US30 a piece. Sifteo has also cozied up with Nickelodeon and the creator of Magic: The Gathering to offer titles with more brand appeal. Like a forthcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game which it hopes will attract younger consumers to the cubes which so far seem to only appeal to bleeding-edge early adopter types.
[Sifteo via Chip Chick]