Game Over For Zeemote Bluetooth Controller?

As mobile gaming becomes more touch screen focused than ever, rumours that Bluetooth controller maker Zeemote are shuttering comes as little surprise.

According to investor Michael Fitzgerald of Commonwealth Capital Ventures, plans to sell off Zeemote’s assets are ongoing, although he declined to divulge further details.

CCV contributed part of a $6.9 million investment into Zeemote in late 2007, with these Bluetooth controllers aiming to make gaming easier on mobile phones despite taking up space in the pocket and occupying an otherwise free hand…it looks as though success has eluded the manufacturer.

Sony Ericsson launched a version of the W760i bundled with the Zeemote JS1 controller, but with a £30 stand-alone price tag few people saw the allure in playing pixelated Java games with what some branded a ‘knock-off Wii nunchuk’.

Despite support for a broad range of handsets, and new phones like the Sony Ericsson Aino and the Samsung i8910HD emblazoned on the site, the peripheral just did not get the attention, or market traction required.

Even even an informercial-worthy stint on the Gadget Show did little to raise the gadget’s profile.

Whilst novel to use, we saw little purpose in the device above jamming on a phone’s buttons directly, although the profusion of touchscreen handsets today could benefit from a more tactile input method…

Zeemote for the iPhone, anyone? Perhaps it’s not too late…

Source: Pocket Gamer

Tags: 8910HD, aino, ericsson, gadget show, hd, samsung, sony, Sony Ericsson, zeemote