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Mad Catz M.O.J.O. Android console, C.T.R.L. Wireless GamePad hands-on (video)
We shoved our way through the floor-opening scrum and made a bee-line to Mad Catz's booth at E3 this morning, after catching word of the peripheral maker's new M.O.J.O. Android gaming console, a box the company promises will be the most powerful in its class when it arrives this holiday season. The rep we spoke with wouldn't talk specific specs on the thing -- in fact, the company assures of that those are still in the works, and while it doesn't actually know itself, it promises to blow the competition (*cough* OUYA) out of the water. While everything's still in beta at the moment, things seem to be working all right. We played a quick round of Riptide, and things went swimmingly (well, save for the fact that we're not all that great at Riptide).
Also a bragging point is the relative openness of it all, eschewing the walled-garden approach to give users direct access to the Google Play and Amazon app stores, so you're good to go with the games you've already purchased, and while Mad Catz may not be working directly with most of the game makers, it's promising compatibility via open standards. As for the box itself, it's not a bad looking object. It's palm-sized and extremely light, with a bit of an angular, beveled appearance and the company's scratch-marked logo along the top in red (as well as a few accidental scuffs on it shiny surface).%Gallery-191118%
The micro-console will also ship with the C.T.R.L. wireless gamepad, an Xbox-like controller that features a dual-mode Bluetooth v4.0 radio and settings that will let you use it across a spectrum of different titles. You can also switch to mouse mode to play touch-based games like Angry Birds and navigate around the Android store and menus. The controller's got a good, solid feel to it, the sort of build quality we'd expect from a third-party controller for a full console.
The C.T.R.L. can also be purchased separately later this year. It'll ship with an add-on that'll let you attach your Android handset directly to it. No word yet on pricing for the controller or the console.
