Just as the failed Gizmondo handheld had almost faded from our memories, not one but two Gizmondo-related news stories surfaced today.
The history of Gizmondo is a long and corrupt one, but it’s worth reading about it if you’ve got the time – try this article on The Times Online. To cut a long story short though, it was all a sham and it has been estimated that each console manufactured ended up costing investors in the region of £6,000, with the rest of the cash blown on fast cars and absurd salaries. The first story then, is that company co-owner Stefan Eriksson – who was jailed for three years in November 2006 for embezzlement – has been released early and booted out of the US. There are a few more details on Swedish news site The Local.
But just as this news broke, mysterious website Gizmondo Alive appeared. There’s only a short animation on the site at the moment, but it suggests that the Gizmondo is somehow set to return this year with an open source environment and an Xbox Live style marketplace. The original could run pirated games straight off a standard SD card so it is feasible.
When Gizmondo Europe was liquidated a large number of games for the system were canned, including the awesome sounding Momma can I Mow the Lawn, Furious Phil and Johnny Whatever. In fact, only 14 games were ever officially released. And one of those was called Sticky Balls.