Hasta La Gadget!

Ouya, the $99 Android game console project, in entering its last week of fund raising on Kickstarter. The company raised $6M+ out of an original goal of $950,000 (it hit $5M 10 days ago). It is clear that support for the project has been overwhelming as the idea of an affordable Android game console is resonating with a lot of people (45802 backers at the time of publishing).

The limited edition of the Ouya game console is a brown, brushed-metal, version of the game console and controller. The color has been selected by Yves Behar, a man known for its many successes in technology design and who worked on the industrial design of Ouya. The special edition version requires a pledge of $140 (vs. $99 for the normal version), and can only be obtained during this week of Kickstarter funding.

If you are not familiar with Ouya, it is a game console that aims at changing the game development market dynamics in the same way that app stores have changed the landscape for smartphone, tablets and computer apps. With Ouya, anyone can create and submit a game into its marketplace, which makes it easier for Indie developers. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 also feature Indie games, but Ouya wants to take this to the next level, and that includes a low $99 price for the hardware. Most Android games should be easy to adapt to Ouya, so there should be plenty of titles at launch – that’s in addition of PC games from Onlive. [official Ouya blog post]

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Check out Ouya: a $99 hackable Android video game console designed by Yves Behar, Square Enix backs Ouya with Final Fantasy III as a launch title,

The folks behind the stylish, Android-based OUYA game console have been on a hot streak lately. Not only has the project raked in over $6 million in Kickstarter pledges, but cloud gaming service OnLive and legendary game developer Square-Enix have thrown their collective weight behind the $99 gadget.

Now there’s another hefty name to add to that list. Music video provider VEVO has announced that it has entered into a partnership with OUYA that will allow gamers access to its sizable catalog of music videos between long stretches of random encounters in Final Fantasy III.

Sadly, unlike the OnLive announcement made a few days back, there’s still quite a bit left to the imagination here. Neither party has come forward with images of the service in action, so exactly how simple the process of poring over and searching for videos is unknown. Still, this could be the beginning of even bigger things for the OUYA. Company founder Julie Ehrmann said that the partnership means players will have access to “entertainment beyond gaming,” which could add plenty of reasons to buy the stylized cube if the company could negotiate the right content deals.

Hell, even if OUYA doesn’t manage to ink agreements with companies like Hulu or Netflix, the fact that it’s running a highly-tweakable operating system means motivated geeks could easily extend its functionality beyond what the creators originally had in mind. Perhaps Google could even learn a thing or two from team OUYA — the search giant recently delayed the launch of its curious Nexus Q media streamer in an attempt to make it “better” after receiving plenty of hit-or-miss feedback.

This week we saw Ouya gain support from OnLive, the online game streaming service, and now the company has found another ally in the gaming industry. Ouya has taken to its Kickstarter page to announce that it has partnered with Square Enix, with the developer intending to bring Final Fantasy III to the Android-based console when it eventually launches. Ouya say that this is the first time gamers outside of Japan will be able to play Final Fantasy III on a television via a console.

Square Enix will be going back and polishing up Final Fnatasy III as well, tuning it for the NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor inside the Ouya and promising “high-definition graphics.” The game made the jump to iOS devices back in March, offering the same graphical improvements plus sequences that would be exclusive to the mobile version of the game. It’s among the more expensive iOS games at $15.99, and from the sounds of things it will be a paid option on Ouya as well.

Ouya did confirm, however, that a free demo would be available to try for curious gamers. The announcement comes not long after Ouya received support from OnLive. That company detailed how it would bring an Ouya compatible app to the console at launch, allowing gamers to access hundreds of streaming games with an affordable subscription, as well 30 minute demos of the latest games.

The Ouya Kickstarter project still has 8 days left to go, but the console has already amassed $5.8 million in funding, shattering its intended $950,000 goal. A little over 45,000 backers have funded the project, and close to 40,000 Ouya consoles have been snapped up by backers. Costing $99, Ouya promises a wealth of free games plus an “open” platform that runs on Android. The console will be powered by NVIDIA’s quad-core Tegra 3 processor and will ship with a customized controller reminiscent of what’s used by other consoles.

[via Eurogamer]

Final Fantasy III coming to Ouya is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The Ouya Android-based gaming console has been making some pretty big waves lately and if you’re wondering what sort of game titles will be launched with the console, it seems that one particular company, which we’re sure you’ve heard of, has given the console its backing. Square Enix has recently announced that they will be backing the Android gaming console at its launch with Final Fantasy III as a launch title. If you’re worried that FF3 is all you’re going to see, fret not as Square Enix has also stated that they will be considering the release of other games on Ouya in the future, which we assume will be based on how well the console does for itself. So if you weren’t convinced to get your hands on the Ouya when it was first revealed, would FF3 as a launch title make it a more tempting purchase?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Final Fantasy III confirmed for the PSP, Square Enix brings original Final Fantasy game to Android,

Kickstarters flocked to the Ouya gaming platform when it was announced, with the project recently surpassing $5.5 million in funding. Now the console has scored a major content partner in the form of OnLive. Streaming games will be available on Ouya from launch thanks to the creation of an OnLive app for the console, which is running a modified version of Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

In addition to the streaming game subscription service currently offered by OnLive, users are able to try out demos and play the first 30 minutes of any new releases for free. Acquiring such a high profile gaming company is a major win for Ouya, who have promised to reinvent the console business with the allure of free games and an open-source platform. It’s good news for OnLive as well, as the company continues to expand to additional platforms. Most recently it was announced that the service would be available via Vizio’s Co-Star Google TV box.

As for the other Ouya update, the design of the controller has been shown by the creators. It’s not too far off what was teased when the Kickstarter project first went live, with a design reminiscent of what other gaming companies are offering. Two analogue sticks are present on the left and right hand side of the device as well as a digital pad, plus four colored buttons. Ouya notes that the colors are just placeholders, as they don’t want to leave out color blind gamers.

[via Polygon]

OnLive pledges support for Ouya Kickstarter console is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.