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OUYA partners with Square Enix, names Final Fantasy III as launch title
We've been saying for a while now that a large deal of the success of Kickstarter blockbuster OUYA will hinge on the console's game selection. News just got a fair bit brighter on that front -- particularly for RPG fans. The company announced via its Kickstarter page (as per usual) that it has partnered with Square Enix. The first fruits of that burgeoning relationship will be Final Fantasy III, making the game a launch title for the console. The company is promising that the title will be "updated to exploit OUYA's high-definition resolution in glorious graphic detail" -- and, as is OUYA's M.O., players will be getting a free demo of the game. Oh, and for those keeping track, the product's Kickstarter page is currently at a mind-boggling $5,820,345 with eight days to go.
Indie shooter 'Gunblitz' blasts Ouya in March, PC in September
Will the new Ouya game console have at least one shmup? Oh, yeah. Indiana-based developer Rapture Game Studios plans to put its first game, the horizontal scrolling shooter Gunblitz, on the diminutive Android console in March.Before that console is finally Kickstarted into existence, Rapture plans to put Gunblitz on regular-sized PCs in September. Rapture has already released a demo of this PC version – thereby anticipating the pseudo-free-to-play model of the Ouya, and letting you try the game out.
Switched On: For OUYA, it's game on
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. In discussing the varied routes Android has taken to the television, Switched On recently touched on OUYA, the cuboid game console that will run Android games. The project has surpassed the $5.5 million mark on Kickstarter and once seemed poised to pass the Pebble smartwatch's record for overall funds collected just like it broke the record for funds collected in the first day.
OUYA to get OnLive gameplay at launch, console's full controller gets pictured
Some happy news for the many who've already plunked down their hard-earned cash on OUYA -- the Android-based gaming console will be getting streaming gaming courtesy of the folks at OnLive. The prospective console maker broke the news on its Kickstarter page, noting that the experience will also include 30 minute free demos of "nearly every game" in its library, including Ravaged and Darksiders II. Also, some news for those wondering if the other side of the console's controller was a radical departure [see above]. Check out a press release detailing the OnLive partnership after the break. Oh, and for those of you keeping track: the Kickstarter page is currently at a whopping $5.5 million pledged, with a dozen days left.
Ouya's getting game streaming via OnLive (also, look at the full controller)
Ouya's latest project update clues in backers on the console's ability to stream and play PC games remotely ... via established streaming service OnLive. Ouya took to its Kickstarter project page with an update detailing the partnership and showing off the full controller seen above.OnLive's service doesn't seem to be limited in any ways on Ouya, with the announcement stating OnLive "will deliver a full console-classe experience, bringing hundreds of top-tier games from more than 80 publishers to the Ouya console for play on demand." The service is also detailed as "the same OnLive experience," which sounds an awful lot like it'll have the same library available through OnLive elsewhere.Beyond the partnership announcement, we've got some new images of the console, its controller (both halves!), and the UI. Take a peek in our gallery below!%Gallery-161237%
Robert Bowling on backing Ouya, the episodic nature of Human Element
Now that former Infinity Ward creative strategist Robert Bowling is free from the corporate machine, he's jumping into the independent innovation scene full-force. Bowling recently donated $10,000 to the Ouya and announced a prequel to his studio's first game, Human Element, as the console's first confirmed, exclusive title."Could I have made this decision a year ago working on Call of Duty? Possibly not," Bowling tells Venture Beat. "But this is what being independent, being small, and being nimble is all about. We're able to make commitments like these and take bigger risks. And what I like about Ouya and what encouraged me to commit to it was the fact that Ouya is different."Bowling formed Robotoki as an answer to the mainstream, public studios, and Human Element will be able to play with more formats in more creative ways than, say, popular military shooters generally do."What's important, what we're showing with Ouya, what we're doing on mobile, and what we're planning for 2015 is an experience that will adapt and change based on the device you're engaging with," Bowling says. "So what we're doing on mobile is very different from what we're planning on doing with the at-home experience in 2015, and it will be very different from the episodic content that we're bringing exclusively to Ouya."The at-home iteration of Human Element will be a first-person survival title with heavy RPG elements. On a tablet, Human Element will focus more on strategy and resource management, sharing supplies and stats with the home game but playing as an independent experience. Human Element is episodic, and Robotoki would like to launch an installment every six months leading up to the full game's 2015 release window, but "right now, things are very early."Bowling draws influence for Human Element from Cormac McCarthy's The Road, a cancelled BBC series called Survivors and a novel that Bowling himself started writing, The Parents' Guide to a Zombie Apocalypse. "It's rather heavy," Bowling says. That must be the hardcover version.
OUYA console's first exclusive game is 'Human Element' prequel from former Call of Duty maker
After all the excitement from the Yves Behar-designed OUYA console's massive Kickstarter campaign fades away, like every other console it will be judged on the quality of its games we finally have the name of one. Robotoki president Robert Bowling -- best known as @fourzerotwo on Twitter and formerly as a producer from Infinity Ward for the Call of Duty series -- has announced plans to bring an "episodic prequel" to the company's first game Human Element exclusively to OUYA. While not much is known about Human Element yet other than that it's a survival game set in a zombie apocalypse scheduled for release in 2015, although Bowling is promising OUYA backers will get exclusive access to updates during development. He can also be counted among that group, cheerfully noting in a video along with the announcement that he's contributed $10,000 to the cause. That's one project on the list -- any bets on which developer will be next to hitch their game to the bandwagon?
Ouya's first exclusive game: a prequel to Robert Bowling's 'Human Element'
Of the many things we've heard about Ouya, we've yet to hear any developers straight up announce games for the Android-based, $99 console. Robert Bowling's Robotoki just became the first studio to do so, taking to Ouya's Kickstarter page to announce a prequel to his planned 2015 game, Human Element."Robotoki is the first studio to commit to building a game exclusively for Ouya: an episodic prequel that will set the stage for this eventual release of Human Element in 2015," Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman explains in the update. Human Element is a survival game set in – what else? – the zombie apocalypse. It's the first game from Robert Bowling's Robotoki studio, and the first project Bowling's worked on since exiting Call of Duty: Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward earlier this year. It's unclear how this prequel will differ from the final game in terms of gameplay, but then we hardly know anything about Human Element just yet.Beyond the game announcement, Bowling shows his commitment to Ouya financially as well, saying in a video on the Kickstarter page that he personally donated $10,000 to the project. Which we guess sorta means that Activision inadvertently donated $10,000 to the project. Which is kinda weird.
Amazon Kindle alum overseeing Ouya production, hiring
Muffi Ghadiali, an alumni of Amazon's internal Lab126 (the team responsible for developing Amazon's Kindle line of products), has been keeping an eye on every aspect of Ouya's production according to an update to the project's obscenely successful Kickstarter campaign."My job at OUYA is to ensure that we meet the needs of gamers and developers," Ghadiali said in a missive to supporters in the update. He cites the Ouya's inexpensive build design and his own personal experience bringing products to market as reasons that "this can be done."Ghadiali also updated on the device's forthcoming SDK, saying that the company wants it available as quickly as possible, and that it'll be "pretty simple to start, using the existing Android SDK and adding the ability to promote your game, and to charge OUYA customers." In one last note for supporters concerned about wireless connections, Ghadiali added: "And we heard your feedback: yes, yes, we'll add an Ethernet jack. We have a lot of consoles to make, so I wouldn't expect too many more changes to the spec."Ouya's Julie Uhrman concluded the update by saying "Muffi is also hiring some engineers to join our team. So if you know the Android OS well, and want to help us make OUYA, hit us up." No specific contact information was given, though she did say that "you can figure out a way to get in touch with him." Our professional suggestion: carrier pigeons.
Ouya misconceptions: Not seeking funds outside of Kickstarter, F2P with a twist
We often wonder how Kickstarter alters public perception on a project. For example, if the Ouya were backed by investors and hit the market without any crowd funding, would its audience be more receptive to the final design since they never had the opportunity to imagine what could have been, or would the mysterious corporate vibe be more off-putting?Ouya, for its part, is taking a gamble on completely open, crowd-sourced funding, and so far has raised almost $5 million in just one week. Earlier reports that Ouya would seek funding from other sources in addition to Kickstarter are completely unfounded, Julie Uhrman tells Engadget."Totally untrue," she says. "We've been approached many times in the last week, of course, and told everyone we are totally focused on getting our support from Kickstarter."Ouya has support from Digg founder Jay Adelson, Flixter's Joe Greenstein and Jawbone founder Hosain Rahman, and they all backed Ouya in its early stages, helping to get the Kickstarter set up.Another potentially confusing aspect that has arisen during Ouya's Kickstarter campaign is its "free-to-play" approach. The Kickstarter page reads "All the games on it will be free, at least to try," and many people have taken this to mean that all games will follow the standard free-to-play model. Not quite, Uhrman says:"When we say free-to-play, we'd also include free demos or early levels of a game, so we are confident that while not every game will use in-game items, every game can offer some aspect of its gameplay for free."Uhrman and the Ouya team are taking feedback from developers and players, and even direct input when applicable. "In fact, when we first brought the concept to Adam Saltsman, he made us promise to let him weigh in on the controller," Uhrman says. "And he's not the only developer excited. We've heard from Brian Fargo and others that the innovative controller design is likely to inspire new types of gameplay."Through the $99 Kickstarter reward tier, Ouya has pre-sold almost half of its initial stock of 80,000, and is expected to be sold online and at retail when it launches in March.
The Engadget Interview: OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman on taking console concept to reality
Oh, the fickle fate of a Kickstarter darling. Initial hopes and dreams culminate into a single video and a few pages of text on a website that can send your brilliant little idea careening down one of two paths. Path one is the lonely one, falling short of your goal and retreating back to the very literal drawing board to find out just why your idea didn't match everyone's ideals. But the other path has its challenges too. Look at the OUYA Android-powered videogame console. The console was announced on a Tuesday, one week ago today, went on to meet its $950,000 funding goal in roughly eight hours and went on to raise millions. While thousands of gamers pledged their funds, the pundits got to pondering the unlikely (early) success, many predicting doom for this little gaming box that still has a long way to go before its promised release next March. With the pressure building, OUYA founder and CEO Julie Uhrman is feeling no doubts. She took some time out of her incredibly busy schedule on the one week anniversary of the Kickstarter launch to refute some of the hate that's been brewing and reassure those who have pledged their $99 that it will ultimately prove to be money well spent.
Influential indies on the brouhaha around Ouya
The Ouya, a $99 Android-powered console whose prototype has raised $4.9 million in 7 days on Kickstarter, is a mystery wrapped in a sleek silver box. Many players seem to gravitate toward the idea because of its price point, while it would appear developers, especially indies, are backing it for its open hardware.But those are just appearances – we want to know what prominent and plucky indie developers actually think the Ouya can do for the industry. So we asked a few, including Minecraft's Markus Persson, The Binding of Isaac's Edmund McMillen, Retro City Rampage's Brian Provinciano and five other indie starlings. Their thoughts are collected below in the order each developer responded to the email thread, because that seems more fair than arranging them by "best hair" or something.A few of the indies are tenuously linked to the Ouya and have already been quoted on the Kickstarter itself, or have a game listed in the mock-up images, but none of the following developers have seen or played the Ouya. These are initial reactions to an idea, and speculation about a rapidly evolving industry:
Ouya talks Tegra 3 with NVIDIA, 'might consider' early developer access to console's circuit board
The folks behind Ouya got millions of dollars, courtesy of a slew of very kind folks on Kickstarter -- and now the hard part begins: actually bringing a product to market. Thankfully, it's not wasting any time. In a note posted to its Kickstarter page, the team let it be know that it's working with NVIDIA on the project, meeting with the chipmaker on Thursday to "maximize the performance" of the Tegra 3 it'll be packing. Ouya may also help game developers get a jumpstart on the action, noting that it "might consider" a reward to let devs get early access to the raw circuit board and software.
Switched On: Android's TV triple threat
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. Just two years ago, Google TV paved a way for Android to enter the television via integrated sets, Blu-ray players, dedicated TV add-ons and pay TV set-top devices. For now, the product may almost be as much of a hobby for the purveyor of questionable eyewear as Apple TV is for Apple, Google's mobile OS competitor. But it's clear that the platform isn't all things to all couch potatoes; the last several weeks have seen the launch of two new, contrasting approaches to getting Android on the big screen in the home.
Editorial: Ouya's success is opportunity missed for Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony
While today's videogames are bigger, flashier and more impressive than ever, it's hard not to think that the golden era of console gaming is behind us. Back in the late '80s and early-to-mid '90s, when a new console came out every couple of years to cut its predecessors off at the knees and brutally savage the bank accounts of the hardcore gamer who had to have them all, there was genuine excitement. Now, with modern consoles showing their age and throwing on more and more gimmicks like so much makeup to compensate, it's hard to really get properly enthused about any of them. Out of nowhere came Ouya and, based on the $2.6 million it raised in 24 hours alone, it's safe to say it has succeeded in renewing that excitement. That's a stark contrast to the general feeling of malaise at this year's E3. I'm excited too -- but cautiously so.
Ouya gaming console raises $2 million on Kickstarter, doesn't know what to do with it
When we first detailed the Ouya $99 Android-based game console yesterday, we had a feeling it would become a hot property over at Kickstarter. But still, there's no way we anticipated this: the project has just raised $2 million in its first day, having sped past its initial $950,000 goal within a record-breaking 12 hours. Now, in an email to backers, the project has asked for feedback on its "stretch goals" -- in other words, what it should do if it makes even more cash and is able to set its sights on loftier ambitions. If you're a backer then check your email, if you're a potential backer then check the source link, and if you're a traditional VC then weep.
Ouya passes Kickstarter goal on first day at $950K and rising
The Android-powered, crowdfunded $99 game console – Ouya – just passed its $950K Kickstarter project goal. Considering the project page went live this morning, the Ouya reached its goal in well under its first 24 hours.Designed by Yves Béhar and backed by several prominent game industry folks, the Ouya features a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 8GB of built-in storage, and a wireless gamepad. It's being crafted with an eye toward developers, and the project's page notes savvy hackers can "create their own peripherals, and connect via USB or Bluetooth."The Kickstarter remains active for another 29 days, and Ouya hopes to have the console in supporters' hands by "Q1 2013." Founder and CEO Julie Uhrman told Joystiq, "The support has been unbelievable. And that's exactly why we took it to Kickstarter ... Kickstarter has just been the most phenomenal platform – for specifically, hardware and video game companies – to bring their ideas to consumers. And if it resonates, you really get this swell of momentum and traction, and that's what we were hoping for. And it's just unbelievable, the level of support."%Gallery-160066%
OUYA's $99 Android-based gaming console meets Kickstarter goal: $950k in under 12 hours (update: it's a record)
The gaming public at large has spoken. In less than 12 hours, Yves Behar's Android-based OUYA gaming console has reached its lofty funding goal of $950,000 on Kickstarter. To refresh your memory, the $99 system (which was only $95 for 1,000 swift early adopters) packs a Tegra 3 CPU, 8GB of storage, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, a USB 2.0 port and an SD card slot -- that price also grants you a single controller with a touch sensor. Most notably, the system is aimed at being extremely developer-friendly, having open hardware and software with a push for free-to-play content. There are only about 5,000 units (out of 10,000) (update: that number has been bumped to 20,000, with just under 10k available) left at the $99 price, so feel free to check out our in-depth chat about OUYA with Behar himself here before you head over to Kickstarter. It appears that the traditional business model for gaming consoles just got rocked, and we can't wait to see the final results. Update: If you thought that was fast, you'd be right: Kickstarter has confirmed that OUYA achieved the biggest first day ever for one of its hosted projects, and it's just the eighth project ever to crack the million-dollar mark, joining an esteemed company that includes Double Fine's upcoming adventure game and the all-time champion, the Pebble smartwatch.
Ouya console seeks funding through Kickstarter
The "Ouya," the $99 Android-based console built to be hackable and to sell exclusively free-to-play games, is ou-fficial. Engadget spoke to designer Yves Behar and learned more details about the device, including its use of a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 8GB of onboard storage, and a wireless gamepad with a laptop-style trackpad for mouse/touch controls.In addition to the Android and free-to-play roots, the Ouya is looking very "2012" in another very important way: its development is being funded on Kickstarter. The drive is already over $112,000 into its $950,000 goal, with 29 days to go. It appears people are eager to get their hands on an Android-powered, easily programmable, cheap console – which makes us even more confused that Google dropped the ball with the Nexus Q. That could have been exactly the same thing as the Ouya, but for some reason Google limited its media capabilities to music and videos. So close.Oh, and from that Kickstarter page: "OOO-yah." We were wondering too.%Gallery-160066%
OUYA's Android-based, hackable game console now official: we chat with designer Yves Behar (update: funded)
A handful of details briefly slipped out about the project earlier, but now it's here: the OUYA, an attempt not just to delve into the cutthroat world of TV game consoles but to try and shift the goal posts. At its heart, the design sounds more like a smartphone than a gaming rig with a quad-core Tegra 3 and 8GB of storage running Android 4.0. The upscale, RF wireless gamepad's standout is a built-in trackpad for playing mobile games alongside the familiar sticks and buttons -- clever, though not entirely new. But with completely open hardware and software, an emphasis on free-to-play gaming and an all-important $99 price, the system is a gamble by a handful of game industry luminaries that at least a subset of players are frustrated with the status quo enough to want a real break. Read on for the full details, including a Kickstarter project as well as added details from our chat with OUYA (and Jambox) designer Yves Behar.
