GameStop to Release Android-Based Gaming Tablet

Traditional “brick-and-mortar” retailers are in a bit of a pickle.

Due to the evolution of technology and the advent and rising popularity of digital mediums, physical media is becoming less and less profitable. You only have to look at the recent fate of Borders to see that if a company doesn't change with the times, its future is bleak. With this in mind, videogame monolith GameStop has been investing plenty of time and money into research for the future of their business, as well as the acquisition of cloud-based gaming and technology companies Impulse and Spawn Labs. It was unclear what the company's exact plans were, but we now know this for certain: it at least partially involves Android tablets. Click in after the break for more info!

In a recent interview with gameindustry.biz, GameStop President Tony Bartel announced current testing being run on a GameStop-software-infused Android tablet. The testing has been going on for two weeks now. The tablet will allow you to play the traditional mobile-type games you've come to expect on a tablet, however the more interesting ability will be streaming games from home consoles. In keeping with this streaming focus, the tablet will also ship with a controller, specialized specifically for the tablet. Sometime next year is the rather ambiguous date that they're pushing for, which is really a necessity, given OnLive's singular growing presence in the cloud-gaming world, and no price has been mentioned. Of course, even coming late to the party, GameStop's brand-recognition could be a serious boon for sales. Regardless, it's wise of GameStop to recognize the shift in the gaming industry, and more so for them to act on it. As far as consumers go, healthy competition between multiple companies can only lead to innovation and more fair pricing.

So what do you guys think? Would you want a GameStop branded tablet, or would you prefer to stick with a vanilla Android solution? Let us know in the comments!