More Android gaming buzz has been making its way down the pipeline lately. You may have heard about the Ouya gaming console. You may not have. For those that are unaware of what Ouya is or aims to bring to the table, it’s a delightful prototype Android based gaming console that has been creating quite the stir on Kickstarter and around the web. At just three days into its fund raising campaign to gather the money it needs to start serious development, it had reached over $4 million. In just 24 hours it reached $1 million. That’s the fastest project ever to hit a million bucks on kickstarter. Simply quite amazing.
The reason why this project is such an electrifying idea to a lot of different people is because this is a very real and desirable product that appeals to a large base of consumers. Android games on a home based living room console that you can hook up to an HDTV? Yes please! The interesting thing is that mobile gaming has gotten really big over the last year or so. With so many titles already out that deliver a great mobile gaming experience with console quality play and graphics, not to mention more on the way throughout this year, it’s easy to see why Android gaming has grown to the size that it has. Even more amazing though is not just the gaming aspect of what the Ouya console could deliver us, but the capabilities beyond just android gaming. The device will run android after all. So think about the application and video streaming possibilities we could see on a working Ouya console. This kind of experience in the living room has yet to take off successfully where you can have all your video apps, social apps, and web browser in one common space. Google TV has attempted this and sure they have sold some units but let’s face it there just isn’t enough excitement with Google TV’s capabilities at the moment to make a viable in home component with a must have label across the front of it. If we’re lucky Ouya may be able to change all of this.
Now, I’m not one to shy away from any possibility to pick up a controller and play a great game. Especially a great Android game. The reality is though there aren’t as many games out for android that have controller support as I’d like. The real payoff in this device for me would be the applications that I could install and the video streaming possibilities I could possess. Google’s newest venture, the Nexus Q is great don’t get me wrong, but it’s limited right now. I can only stream movies to my widescreen that I have rented or purchased from Google play, or videos from Youtube. I have a vast digital library of movies and television that are begging to find a place on screen that I could stream via and android device. This is what I’m hoping the Ouya console will achieve. In true console fashion, it would give me the capability to play high quality games, but if I so chose, I could with the nudge of my joystick switch over to my twitter feed or facebook application to read news, then take a break and watch a movie or some TV on Hulu plus. The core of this console if manufactured with the specs that have been toted around in front of us, will house a Tegra 3 quad-core processor (more than enough to run even the best top quality gams on Android right now.), 1GB of RAM, 8 gigs of storage, and it will run android 4.0 and is supposed to be completely hackable and easy to root. This sounds like a dream come true. Not to mention it has Bluetooth and a tasty $99 price tag. If this doesn’t entice you gamers out there wishing to play dead trigger on the big screen, nothing will.
With all of these possible tricks up its sleeves, the Ouya could be just the Google TV box that everyone has been waiting for. Except, it would have the added capability to play your favorite games, in a nice, sleek, little package that looks good on your entertainment system. There are some concerns about this project on kickstarter. But apparently such ideas of this stature have a way of attracting said negative attention because of past tech startups. I’m eagerly watching the news on this device as I am willing to drop $99 or even $199 on this console if it ever reaches store shelves. Personally, this is just the device I need to round out my complete gaming and video experience. Now all the Ouya needs to make this complete as the best device ever is the capability for me to pick up the gamepad and start the game on my shiny Ouya console, then take my game on the go on whatever tablet or smartphone device if I need to jet out the door. This would truly make the experience more rich and complete. For me at least.