Hasta La Gadget!

Console startup Ouya has launched its much-anticipated Kickstarter round, promising free-to-play gaming on a minimalistic and open-source Android box hoping to steal players from phones and tablets. Billed as “a new kind of video game console” and targeting $950,000 through the crowdfunding site, Ouya uses Google’s Android OS with a custom controller designed, like the main unit itself, by Yves Behar, and has a target price of just $99.

“Shooters, platformers, sports games, arcade classics and experimental indie games just feel bigger on a TV screen” the Ouya team says. “It’s how most of us grew up gaming.”

Inside, there’s NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 chipset running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich paired with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of flash storage. It has an HDMI output, capable of up to 1080p HD, along with WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and a single USB 2.0 ports.

The controller, meanwhile, is wireless and includes two analog sticks, a d-pad, eight action buttons and a system button, along with a touchpad for controlling games ported from smartphones or tablets.

However, the Ouya won’t be limited to gaming. Since the software is open-source and, so it’s said, easy to root (without voiding the warranty), and has easy access to the internal design, the team expects various third-party apps including media streaming and more.

At time of writing, the Ouya project is already past the $150,000 pledge point in just a few hours time, with over 1,000 backers, and it could well challenge the Pebble smartwatch for Kickstarter appeal. Still, shipments are not scheduled to start until March 2013.

Ouya aims to rekindle consoles with Android Kickstarter is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Are you interested in becoming a videogame collector? What if I told you that you could become one of the top collectors with just a single purchase? I’m not talking about one rare game or console. I’m talking about 22 complete sets of rare games and consoles. And then some.

eBay seller collectors_king is currently auctioning off the sets as a bulk purchase. It includes complete collections of past games and hardware from Nintendo (Famicom, Super Famicom, Virtual Boy, N64, DD 64 and Gamecube), Sega (Master System, Mega Drive, Game Gear, 32X, Mega CD, Saturn and Dreamcast), PC Engine and the Pioneer Laseractive, a system only collectors could love.

Bidding for this set of sets starts at €999,999.99 (~$1.2M USD) on eBay. You can also inquire about buying just one of the complete sets, which technically still makes you an accomplished collector. As gameSniped noted, this is mainly a publicity stunt by collectors_king to attract people to his store, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone actually buys it. Stranger things have happened.

[via gameSniped]

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

With its GameDock, Cascadia Games has a new twist on iOS arcade play — it lets you use your TV and two classic controllers. While retro games are popular on iPhones right now, an intense session can go haywire if your digits start slippping around on the screen, and head-to-head play is literally that if you’re sharing a small device with a foe. That aforementioned situation inspired the GameDock, which turns into a full-blown console when you plug in and pair your iPhone, iPad or iPod using Bluetooth, then connect your TV, along with a couple of USB game controllers. Just like that, you and a buddy are playing big-screen Asteroids, Centipede and 100 or so other iOS games that work with iCade. With 43 days remaining, just shy of 10 grand has been offered toward the $50K goal, so check the source if you want to revel in the gaming days of yore — eye or thumb strain-free.

Continue reading Insert Coin: GameDock lets your iPhone interface with a TV and controllers, game it old school

Insert Coin: GameDock lets your iPhone interface with a TV and controllers, game it old school originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jul 2012 16:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Xbox 360 pilot program’s breaking out of its Microsoft Store-only confines and heading to more ubiquitous electronics retailers Best Buy and GameStop starting today. If you’ll remember, Redmond intro’d this subsidized plan last month, giving prospective buyers within reach of one of its 16 participating locations the ability to purchase a 4GB version of the console for $99 with a two-year commitment. In exchange for those contract chains, gamers forking over the $15 monthly fee not only get the privilege of owning the console at a discounted, upfront cost, but also Gold level membership to Xbox Live. We’d caution you to think twice and do some hard math before you hand over the plastic, though. Tempting as that low-price barrier to entry is — in total, a $460 value — you might be better off grabbing this console outright at $420 or less.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 $99 on-contract deal expands to Best Buy, Gamestop originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We already got an early look at Microsoft’s soon-to-launch revision of the Xbox 360 dashboard, but for the general public early access is possible via the preview test program. Those who signed up for it can see if their applications were accepted now, right back at the official Microsoft Connect page. If you’re in, you’ll see information and get access to a private Xbox.com forum so you can help sort out any bugs before it officially drops; if not, relax and play some Battlefield 3. Win / win.

Find out if you’re in the Xbox Live Update Preview Program right now originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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