The OUYA Console seems to be the latest thing in the world of gaming, especially now that it’s only a couple short months away from consumer ownership. The OUYA android powered gaming console made its mark on kickstarter and for those who chipped in, they will be rewarded with a console of their very own complete with game pad for their support. For the rest of us, starting in June it turns out we’ll be able to pick one of these bad boys up at one of a few major retailers for just $99. Best Buy, Target, and GameStop are the location it will be available for in store pickup, or if you’re the homebody type you can grab one from Amazon or OUYA.tv for the same price.
The $99 price tag will get you the console plus one controller, but the beauty of a console so small like the OUYA is that it’s portable, and you can take it anywhere, to play with friends. That being said you’ll need an extra game pad which you can pick up for $49.99. If you want to get in the pre-orders you can do so starting today. The Kickstarter backers will start to receive their consoles in March, while the pre-orders will come in April and the retailers will have the mini android wonder cubes fully stocked in June.
While some of gaming’s biggest players like Nintendo think the OUYA might lack a successful future, the company’s CEO Julie Uhrman seems to think otherwise. She also mentioned that it is the company’s goal to make sure that the OUYA will get more visibility in retail stores. This will be a must if the console is going to get the marketing to gamers and consumers that it needs. With plenty of competition to contend with OUYA will surely to make ground early, and quick. If the kickstarter campaign is any indication though, fast early success shouldn’t be much of a problem. $8.5 million in funding and plenty of buzz generated around the web is a huge plus.
We already knew the console was going to be a great thing for gaming and for android, which has made it so popular with the mobile gaming crowd. Knowing it’s this close to launch and so accessible though makes it more enticing than ever. This console is definitely on my list of summer purchases.