Wikipad’s Gamevice makes its hands-on debut at CES 2015, following a summer 2014 reveal. It’s a console-style game controller that an iPad — either version of the Air or any of the three generations of iPad Mini — mounts into, essentially turning the tablet into a self-contained portable gaming device.
While plenty of the games coming to tablet these days are intentionally built to take advantage of each device’s unique touchscreen controls, there are plenty of others that aim to emulate the console experience for mobile gamers. Gamevice supports the multiple Grand Theft Auto ports available in the App Store, as well BioShock, various Call of Duty titles, and others.
Using Apple’s MFi (Made for iPad) licensing program, Gamevice sports the full set of controls that you’d expect to find an a PlayStation or Xbox gamepad: Dual analog sticks, a D-pad, four face buttons, a pause button, and four shoulder buttons (two of which are triggers). It’s also got a built-in 3.5mm headphone port and 800mAh battery.
There are two models of Gamevice, one for Air and another for Mini. Both are priced at $99 and are coming March 2015. Wikipad also has 4G versions of each planned for release later in the year, with a larger 1600mAh battery to account for the enhanced functionality. No price or details yet, though.
Check out more details at the official Gamevice website.