Ouya Coming in June, and Game Development Ramps Up

Although there are a lot of people saying that the Android-based Ouya gaming console will be hindered by not having cutting-edge games available for it as it launches, the console continues to generate major buzz, and has been seen in videos all around the web. Ouya is billed as "a new kind of video game console" and first became famous for drawing millions of dollars in crowdsourced funding on Kickstarter.

Now, there is a lot of news rolling on new games in development for Ouya and it looks like this console will be available in June.

Ouya's team has confirmed to Engadget that they will deliver an updated console every year, silencing many critics who wondered if the small company could keep up with the bigger console makers.  Engadget has also suggested that there might be a version for the Tegra 4, instead of the already discussed Tegra 3, which could give Ouya some great performance.

Ouya's team has also been discussing games for the platform. which will include Double Fine Adventure, The Cave and Reds. As noted by the Wall Street Journal, Ouya is open for pre-orders now. The console with Bluetooth controller will sell for $100, and extra controllers are $50. It definitely looks like this console will be affordable. It will be officially available at Amazon, Best Buy, Gamestop and Target in June.

There have been others who have tried and failed at doing open source game platforms, but Ouya has a remarkable media following and solid funding behind it. What it is really going to need will be good game developers. 

There are many videos over at Android Community showing a developer's unboxing and boot-up of the console. You can get a close look at the console and the Developer Kit for Ouya in these videos. There are also some interesting Game Jams going on.

There is room in 2013 for some success for open source gaming. One of the most interesting Linux gaming efforts is going at Desura, which we wrote about here. It offers paid games, but offers them in bundles that create a lot of value. There is no reason that Ouya can't attract developers interested in new value-oriented models for games. The question is, can it get a critical mass of developers early in its life cycle?