Hasta La Gadget!

OUYA, the Kickstarter-funded Android gaming console, has already shipped developer consoles, but had yet to specify an exact date when backers could expect their production devices. Today, the company announced that it will be shipping the first OUYA consoles out to backers beginning March 28, ahead of a June retail launch.

The gaming hardware startup shipped its first developer consoles starting December 28, in keeping with its anticipated deadlines from the project outset. A March 28 date for final hardware is also in keeping with OUYA’s original timeline, which called for a March 2013 launch window for OUYA consoles and controllers.

OUYA says to expect it to take “a few weeks” for shipments to be sent out to all backers, who will receive tracking numbers and estimated delivery dates once the consoles begin leaving for their destinations.

Alongside the shipping announcement, OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman also announced some new information around games coming to the platform. Porta’s Kim Swift and Airtight Games are working on an OUYA exclusive, and Minority Media will provide an adventure puzzle game this upcoming fall that makes full use of the OUYA’s touchpad and button controls, something Uhrman says is a first for the platform. Tripwire Interact’s The Ball is also coming to OUYA in March, and the firm is developing an OUYA exclusive for later release as well.

Finally, the OUYA update from the company includes the news that Kellee Santiago, co-founder of Journey studio thatgamecompany is joining the startup to head up developer relations. Clearly, OUYA wants to do everything it can to address criticism around its gaming library.

In order to get game developers to contribute to the OUYA project, OUYA and Kill Screen collaborated together and launched the CREATE Game Jam. The event was a massive success for OUYA, drawing in around 165 game developers. They drew in developers with special grand prizes, like a $20,000 grand prize, and a $5000 prize for each winner in the specialized categories.

After several weeks, both Kill Screen and OUYA finally have a king to crown in their contest. The game, Strange Happenings on Murder Island, developed by FreeLives, has been crowned the Grand Prize winner of the entire event, scoring them the coveted prize of $20,000. Strange Happenings is an odd, Minecraft-esque game, packed with gun violence, dinosaurs, and possibly drug-induced levels. We can definitely see the entertainment aspect of the game.

There were also 6 special categories in which the winners won the $5000 each. The winner for the “Most Surprising” award was ‘Television’ by Laboratory Games LLC. The winner of the “Four Bright Buttons and Two Joysticks” award was ‘Bombball’ by E McNeill. The winner of the “Most Immersive” award was ‘Whispering Willows’ by Night Light Interactive. The winner of the “Pop Your Eyes Out” award was ‘Pipnis’ by Santa Ragione. The winner of the “Best Couch with Friends” award was ’2D Cube Zombie Platformer’ by Molinware. And finally, the “Best Game Created Using the Unity Engine” award went to ‘Stikbold’ by Team Stikbold.

So congratulations to all of the winners. It was also a huge win for OUYA as well. Not only will the winners of each category be included in the OUYA gaming system, but every other game that competed should be available for the system too. These games are optimized to be played on the OUYA system, and they should make the Kickstarter product that much more appealing when it finally hits the stores in June.

[via Kill Screen]

OUYA CREATE Game Jam winners burst forth is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

Comments

You can sometimes gauge a game console’s short-term success based on its launch lineup; many of us know the pain of having to choose the least terrible game of a small bunch while we’re waiting for a better selection. While we can’t vouch for how the OUYA will fare for quality, Eddie at OUYA Forum has done the legwork to prove that there won’t be any problems with the Android console’s quantity. He’s checked with both OUYA and developers to confirm that there are at least 481 games headed to the fledgling system, as of this writing. The clear majority of these are smaller indie titles that won’t dampen Sony’s enthusiasm for next week, but that’s not necessarily a problem — the abundance mostly hints that there could be a few gems for early adopters, even if there’s a lot of fluff.

Filed under: Gaming

Comments

Source: OUYA Forum

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

Comments