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Feature: Remembering The Wikipad, Stan Lee's Favourite Nintendo Switch Forerunner

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As I've gotten older I've noticed that I'm becoming increasingly forgetful, and I was reminded of this sad fact of life recently thanks to Blake J. Harris'
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, a book I've been lucky enough to have been sent an advance copy of to flick through. While the book – billed as the sequel to the brilliant
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– is primarily concerned with the evolution of VR firm Oculus and its relationship with Facebook, it briefly mentions the Wikipad – a device which, in 2019, feels like it was way ahead of its time.

In case you missed it (and don't feel bad, because plenty of other people did because it sold so poorly), the Wikipad was an Android tablet which came with a bolt-on gaming interface. The objective was simple: to offer consumers the best of Android-based gaming and marry it with a proper, physical interface that would overcome all of the shortcomings of touch-based control. Flicking through Harris' book, it's hard not to become enamoured with the concept; the team behind it was clearly talented and passionate (some of the members would later co-found Oculus) and the Wikipad was even demoed with a glasses-free 3D screen not entirely unlike the one on the Nintendo 3DS. To sweeten the deal, in 2012 it was announced that cloud gaming firm Gaikai – co-founded by Dave Perry of Shiny Entertainment fame – would be integrating its services with the Wikipad.

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