GENKI: Shadowcast for the Nintendo Switch on Kickstarter

Human Things, the creators behind the likes of GENKI: Bluetooth Audio for the Nintendo Switch and GENKI: Covert Dock for the Nintendo Switch, are at it again with their latest Kickstarter, GENKI: Shadowcast, a product that allows you to easily connect your Nintendo Switch to your computer with no bells and whistles. The tagline is, “The simplest way to play console games on your computer.  No internet connection or TV needed, play wherever you want.”, and the GENKI: Shadowcast will work on both the Nintendo Switch and the Playstation 5.

The project is already a massive success, and it is no wonder, as Human Things have proven themselves with their previous two inventions. GENKI: Shadowcast has already raised well over $1 million and backed by over 20,000 people.

What exactly is GENKI: Shadowcast?

GENKI: Shadowcast is the third Kickstart project launched by Human Things, a small team of innovators that bridge design, technology, and business to bring thought provoking products into your life.

As lifelong console gamers, they know there may be some PC master race gamers who gawk at the idea of playing Mario on their powerful gaming computer. But Human Things say the more games we can play on even more platforms, the better! 

The biggest benefit of course is to take advantage of the screen you’re always carrying already. Not one of those additional portable monitors but a laptop that we use daily for like… school, work, shopping, and creative stuff. 

Let’s imagine a time before 2020, and you were waiting at an airport for a flight to board and you wanted to get a couple rounds of Smash Bros in with a friend… or two… or three. Tabletop mode is nice, but let’s just say it’s not the most ergonomic. With GENKI: ShadowCast, you can easily plug your Nintendo Switch to your laptop and play on a screen over 4x the size of the Switch’s portable screen.

There’s also many situations where there just isn’t a HDMI display available – many of us are happy with our laptops and integrated desktop computers. I think back to the times when I lived in a dorm room or even living abroad for brief periods where having my laptop, a PS5, and a ShadowCast would’ve been amazing. 

And then there’s always competing for the living room television – whether it’s someone in your household streaming a whole season of the latest Netflix series or just having another gamer in the household. Oh, and it also makes having a second television for multiplayer that much more convenient to set up. 

Accompanying the ShadowCast is Human Things’ new Genki Arcade app. They literally have made it easier than reaching for the TV remote and hitting the “input” button. They have designed Genki Arcade from the ground up to minimize computing resources and prioritize latency for gaming performance. Just open the app, and it’ll auto-detect ShadowCast and you’ll be playing immediately without any settings to fiddle with.

They even developed a native Mac OS app that’s optimized for both Apple Silicon and Intel processors as well as a dedicated app for Windows. Additionally, they are in the process of making a web browser version that allows you to play on shared/public computers and other systems without installing any additional software (compatibility will vary, for example iPadOS currently doesn’t detect external video devices but we’re confident it will someday!).

There is even more to learn about this fascinating product, so please take a moment to head over to their Kickstarter page, learn more about GENKI: Shadowcast, and back the project if you so desire. There are only 6 days left, so do not hesitate to grab it for slightly cheaper than retail.

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Thank you for stopping by Nintendo Link for all of your Switch-related news and Kickstarter highlights. What do you think of this project? Such an unbelievably affordable price for something that will serve so conveniently to Switch gamers! Let us know what you think in the comments below. Happy gaming, everyone!