OUYA – Android Gaming For All

If you haven’t heard about OUYA, you should check it out (I’ll leave a link on the bottom to their site).  OUYA is a new Android based gaming console that has been trying to raise funds over on Kickstarter.  Their initial goal was $950,000 and at the time of this article they’re up over 4 Million!

So why is this thing becoming so popular?  Well to begin with, it features some amazing hardware.  Tegra 3 Processor, 1 GB Ram, 8 GB Storage, HDMI, USB, Android 4.0.  And all this hardware comes in at a price point of $99 (Plus $20 for shipping outside the US).  A pretty good deal if I should say so myself.

It’s also a rather revolutionary project as OUYA is hoping to break into a field dominated by Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo.  Their hope is to make publishing games a lot easier and a lot cheaper for devs, while at the same time delivering solid game content to the consumer at minimal to no cost.

There’s also the opportunity for developers to open up the functionality of this device to more than just gaming.  Many (including myself) expect to see full fledged Android on these or Google TV or even something like the Nexus Q.

Despite the millions that have been raised and the obvious popularity, there are some who are very skeptical about this project.  Check out these articles from Phandroid and Slashgear.

The device won’t release until March of next year, but if you head over to their site you can pre-order the device.  I’m still on the fence on whether or not I should pull the trigger.  But there’s still over 20 days left to make that decision.

[OUYA]