Android-based video game console Ouya surpasses Kickstarter goal

July 11, 2012|By Salvador Rodriguez

On its first day on Kickstarter, Ouya, a proposed Android-based game console,… (Ouya Inc. )

It took a day for Ouya, an Android-based video game console, to meet its goal on Kickstarter. In fact, Ouya has already more than tripled the mark.

The proposed project, which sought $950,000 in funding from Kickstarter, has more than $3 million halfway through its first day on the fundraising website and still has about a month left to collect more money.

Ouya started a buzz Tuesday after the project was announced. The start-up company, which shares its name with its console, wants to bring the ease of developing video games from smartphones back to TVs by running on Android.

Upon its release, which is currently set for March 2013, developers will be able to create games and sell them in the same fashion they do now with Android devices.

The actual device runs on a Tegra 3 quad-core processor, has 1 gigabyte of RAM and 8 GB of storage. Ouya connects to your TV through HDMI and supports 1080p HD. It will also have WiFi, Bluetooth, USB 2.0 and will have wireless controllers that look similar to those of the X-Box 360.

Ouya will have a custom interface built for the TV, and it will run Android Ice Cream Sandwich, which is one version behind Jelly Bean, the latest version of Google's operating system.

The makers of Ouya also want the console to be very hackable and say on its Kickstarter page that the console and its controls use regular screws so they can be easily opened.

With a tagline of "The revolution will be televised," Ouya has lofty goals. It's off to a fast start, but even with the help of Android, it probably will be very difficult for the new challenger to crack the video game market.

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