Hasta La Gadget!

After a long wait for consumers, OUYA has announced that it will begin shipping their gaming consoles to Kickstarter backers starting on March 28, which is exactly one month from now. OUYA says that a full launch of the console is still on schedule for sometime in June. This is when the OUYA console will be available in stores for anyone to purchase.

OUYA says that Kickstarter backers will be receiving shipping information in an email within a few weeks, and assembly lines are “buzzing” with the sound of tens of thousands of OUYA consoles being manufactured — we can smell the Android-powered portable gaming goodness already, and we’re pretty excited to see how the OUYA will shape the gaming industry.

Developer console began shipping back in December, so some people have already been playing around with the OUYA for a couple months now. OUYA mentioned that a load of new indie games will be making their way to the console, as well as games from popular developing studios and individual developers, like Tripwire Interactive and Kim Swift from Portal and Left 4 Dead.

If you didn’t back OUYA on Kickstarter, but want a piece of the pie, Best Buy, Target, and GameStop will sell the OUYA console for $99 starting sometime in June, which is the same price that Kickstarter backers paid for the device during the console’s fundraising campaign. The console wil also be available for purchase on OUYA’s website and Amazon.com.

OUYA to ship consoles starting March 28 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The much anticipated sequel to the ever-popular Real Racing 2 has been released on iOS. Real Racing 3 is EA’s newest mobile title developed by the newly-founded Firemonkey Studio. The game features real cars, real tracks, and real locations for you to get your hands dirty with, and the best part of all is that the game is a free download.

Since Real Racing 3 is free to play, there are obviously some limitations on what you can do. The game uses time-based freemium mechanics like we’ve seen in other free-to-play mobile games. For repairs, upgrades, and additional vehicle unlocks, you have to wait a certain amount of time unless you choose to speed things up by purchasing and using gold coins.

Obviously, this has raised a lot of controversy amongst Real Racing fanatics. In the past, Real Racing games have cost between $5-$7, which would obviously unlock all features and give you no limitations or restrictions. However, with this new freemium model, avid gamers could end up paying more than that if they want to get rid of those limitations.

Either way, Real Racing 3 comes with some nifty features, including a new multiplayer mode called Time-Shifted Multiplayer, where two players can race each other, but not necessarily at the same time. It’s a neat concept and one we haven’t quite seen before. And course, you can’t beat the scenery of the dozens of real tracks and locations.

Real Racing 3 for iOS now available is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s only been a few days since the PlayStation 4 was officially announced, but retailers are already beginning to take pre-orders for the gaming console. In the United Kingdom, Game Retail Limited, and ShopTo are already taking pre-orders for the gaming console. With a small deposit, customers are able to reserve the PS4 just in time for the holidays. Amazon’s UK website also has a dedicated PlayStation 4 section that allows people to sign-up to be notified when the PlayStation 4 is available to be pre-ordered.

In the United States, GameStop is encouraging PowerUp Rewards members to sign up for their “PlayStation 4 First to Know List”, which updates its members on anything PlayStation 4 related. GameStop wants to confirm with those who sign up that there is still no official release date for the PlayStation 4, and those on the list will not have first dibs once the console is released.

KontrolFreek, who operates through Microsoft’s retail stores in the U.S., is holding a sweepstakes that will allow 4 lucky winners to receive a PlayStation 4 for absolutely free. The rules are simple. All you have to do is like their Facebook page, and you’re in. You can get more entries in the contest by getting your friends to sign-up as well. It’s pretty similar to many Facebook sweepstakes. It’s a win-win for KontrolFreek and gamers, because while 4 lucky gamers will receive the PS4 for absolutely free, KontrolFreek gets more exposure for its wide variety of gaming accessories.

Sony says that their PlayStation 4 will be a game-changer in terms of gaming consoles. It hopes to turn its PlayStation Network into the ultimate Social Gaming Network. The games previewed at Sony’s press event show that the games on the PS4 will blur the lines between cinema graphics and actual gameplay. The PlayStation 4 is well-hyped, and we’re excited to see what new innovations it brings to cloud-gaming. The system will be available in time for the holidays. Will you be picking one up?

[via Forbes]

Retailers already launching pre-orders for PlayStation 4 is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’re an avid Xbox Live user, and prefer the convenience of downloading games instead of going to the store to buy them, you’re in luck. From February 26 to March 4, Microsoft is holding the “Ultimate Game Sale,” where they’ll be discounting a handful of popular Games on Demand titles, some of which are 85% off.

However, not all the games that will be on sale will be offered the whole time. In fact, Microsoft will only be offering a different set of titles each day, so it’s something where you’ll want to check back each day to see what’s on sale. However, there’s a complete list of games that will see discounts throughout the week — over 60 games total.

The list of games is actually really respectable. Most of them are AAA games, including Assassin’s Creed, the Batman Arkham series, BioShock, the Borderlands series, Call of Juarez, the entire Call of Duty series (except the first one), Dead Island, Fallout 3, several Halo titles, Left for Dead 2, and Max Payne 3.

Larry Hyrb (a.k.a. Major Nelson), the head of Xbox Live, will be posting about all the new deals on his Twitter feed, so be sure to follow him if you want exhaustive and thorough updates on the sale. He notes that Xbox’s Ultimate Game Sale only happens once a year, so if you’re even remotely interested in getting some great games at a discount, it might be worth checking out.

Xbox Live Games on Demand sale coming next week is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

In an effort to beat New Jersey to the punch, Nevada signed into law a new bill that lets the state form pacts with other states that would allow non-Nevada residents to legally gamble without the state needing federal legislation. The bill was passed unanimously in both the Assembly and Senate yesterday.

Bill AB114, as it’s called, was actually an “emergency measure” signed by governor Brian Sandoval in order to beat out New Jersey, which is said to pass a similar bill sometime next week. Even though both states are separated by a couple thousand of miles, the two still compete when it comes to gambling perks to its residents.

Sandoval says that the passing of this new bill called for a “a historic day,” and said that the new law will “usher Nevada into the next frontier of gaming.” This online poker law legalizes online gambling for the first time in Nevada, and allow residents to gamble with players in other states. This could potentially raise millions of dollars in licensing and other fees for Nevada.

Nevada still needs to sign pacts with other states in order to officially offer gambling services over the border, but Governor Sandoval believes that even without federal action, it can be done fairly easily. Nevada and the Department of Justice will work together to come up with an agreement on the pacts with other states.

[via Las Vegas Sun]

Image via Flickr

Nevada legalizes interstate online gambling is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.