Surely one of the most ambitious Kickstarter projects, the Android games console, Ouya, has progressed very well, and it’s been revealed that the unit will be available to American gamers this June for $99.
The console, which is also open source, making it desirable to both gamers and modders, will be open for pre-orders this month, ahead of the June release. This is according to The Wall Street Journal.
It’s not certain at the time of writing when the console will arrive in Europe, or other territories, but the unit already has the backing of major retailers such as Amazon, Target and Gamestop in the US.
Current information also points to a price tag of around $50 for an Ouya contoller. This is fairly expensive for a game pad, but Julie Uhrmanm Ouya’s CEO said: "The pricing is the same across the board: The console is $99.99, the standalone controller is $49.99. It’s a premium price for a controller, but with the inclusion of the touchpad really makes it a premium in the marketplace.”
She also commented on the possible competition and threat from the big boys of the market, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, saying, “We don’t need to beat Xbox or Sony or any console that enters the marketplace, we need to carve out our own niche. OUYA offers a very different value proposition to the gaming you can currently experience. It’s a box designed specifically for the television that leverages the screen, we support 3D gaming, HD, we support the controller, we added a touchpad to the controller. The kind of content you’ll see on OUYA, it’ll be inventive and creative and has never been on the television.”
It’s a fair point, and the Ouya clearly isn’t going for the same market as the big guns, but similar tech has been done before. The Wii U has a touch sentistive controller, Sony has dabbled in 3D and HD isn’t exactly a selling point these days. However, there’s no denying the potential appeal of an Android console, especially one that’s open source, and as long as its own direct competitors, such as Nvidia’s Shield and the Game Stick don’t throw spanners in the work, the Ouya may do well for itself.
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