Sony took on an unusual challenge, Seth Schiesel writes: make a new mobile game-playing device when more and more of the public already routinely carries one, in the form of a smartphone.
In fact, nearly half of the U.S. population -- 155 million people -- play video games, and four out of five households own a game-playing device.
"The players who do this are extremely engaged in the game playing on many different devices.
If you're looking for an activity for your children or grandchildren, you might try geocaching, a treasure-hunting game played by using GPS devices to find hidden containers, or geocaches, outdoors and then sharing the experiences online.
These days, however, consoles face stiff competition from games played on mobile devices or running inside web browsers.
But whether purchased individually or bundled with a consumer electronics manufacturer's TV set, the Streaming Stick will come with Roku's enhanced remote, which will support games played through Roku devices.
Chatter about the possibility exploded this spring when the Seoul-based itternational E-Sports Federation announced it would apply to the IOC this month for games played on electronic devices to be considered a sport.
I have always been skeptical of this so-called mind-reading technology as a game-playing device, although I will admit that it has its applications — if it works, which I'm sure it does at least adequately.
The simulator is just one of several game playing or virtual-reality devices the Defense Department has hustled into operation as I.E.D. casualties have risen.
There's no assembly required, though the bot itself can transform into a wearable or handheld device for game playing, as Codey (the head) detaches from Rocky (the wheeled body).
However, both Sony and Microsoft are expected to add gesture-style game play to their devices over the next year.
