Posted on 07/11/2012 5:52:19 AM PDT by Cato in PA
US startup Ouya has attracted $2.3m (£1.47m) of pledges for its Android-based games console, less than 24 hours after launching its campaign on crowdfunding website Kickstarter.
Nearly 19,000 people have backed the project at the time of writing, and with 28 days still to go, it has a shot at rivalling the Pebble smart-watch, which attracted $10.3m of Kickstarter pledges earlier in 2012.
Chief executive Julie Uhrman had told the Guardian that venture capital firms had been skittish about the prospects for the Ouya console, leading the company to raise its seed funding from family and friends, before turning to Kickstarter to get feedback from consumers and developers to help them take it all the way.
The console will cost less than $100 and is due to go on sale in the first quarter of 2013. Every unit will ship with a software development kit (SDK), and already has a number of prominent developers expressing their support for its open, hacker-friendly ethos.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Even if this never really takes off, it still makes for a good emulation box. A good Bluetooth controller costs so much that being able to get a console AND controller for $99 is a no-brainer.
BTTT
The problem is that it won’t even have 1/10th the power of the big consoles nor a game library that will draw in hard core gamers. In fact few gamers will. All games right now for android are designed for a small form factor, like tablets and phones. Those don’t generally scale well.
People are backing this not because they want to be able to run at 60 FPS for Call of Duty 489234: Modern Super Extra Stealthy Black Ops Warfare, but because they want a new experience, just like the Wii.
Besides, the hardware could change; they’ve already stated that they’re considering revisions. Maybe nVidia would consider giving Ouya early access to Tegra 4 if they generate enough interest.
Ouya doesn’t have games lined up at the moment, though, and that’s a fair point. I sent them a message asking them to get some going with their extra money.
All the competition sells their hardware far below cost hoping to make a profit on software. It’s impossible for a hardware only company to compete against that.
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