Samsung has invested in Android console manufacturers

Last week it became known that Samsung Ventures invested in BlueStacks, a company that created an Android–based GamePop console. We wondered why Samsung took such a step.

It has not been announced exactly how much the Koreans invested in the authors of the gadget, which allows them to play mobile games distributed by paid subscription on the big screen. In total, BlueStacks managed to raise $13 million in the last round. Prior to that, the company, founded in 2009, raised about $15 million.

Despite the favorable financial situation for the startup, it is difficult to say how successful its projects are on the market.

A year and a half ago, there was a trend that gave rise to a whole galaxy of gaming devices, proudly called consoles, but on which you could only play games developed for Android platforms (our guide to such devices can be read here). Not only did none of them succeed, but they also failed to create any narrow niche.

Therefore, it is not entirely clear why invest in a company whose main project was out of the market. Two possible explanations come to mind.

The first version

In addition to the console, the company can grab the BlueStacks App Player service, which allows you to run some Android applications on PC and Mac. At the moment, the service has more than 50 million installations. Perhaps, investors are interested in them.

But it seems unlikely to us. The fact is that BlueStacks App Player, like GamePop, is obsolete.

The idea to create a player that will allow you to play Android games on a PC came to the founders of the company in 2009, when the concept of multiplatform as such did not exist. Today, most decent mobile projects are coming out on PC. They don't need an extra shell.

The second version

The microconsole market outside the leading mobile ecosystems has collapsed, but does this mean that mutual integration of the console (read, couch) and mobile game markets is impossible in the future? Of course not.

Moreover, this process is already underway. At the last I/O, Google made it clear that it was planning an "invasion" of the living room. In March, Amazon introduced its set-top box and its gamepad.

Perhaps Samsung does not want to stay on the sidelines and is looking at existing solutions in order to speak out for itself.