Chances are you've never heard of Ouya, but that's about to change if you're a video game fan.
The Los Angeles-based startup is developing a sub-$100, Android-powered video game console that offers free-to-play titles that currently dominate the smartphones and tablet gaming world. Ouya, pronounced "OOO-yah," has a lofty goal — to bring gaming back the living room while taking on gaming giants Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo in the process.
But like any new company with a great idea, Ouys needs money. Having already received backing from investors like Digg founder Jay Adelson, Flixster founder Joe Greenstein, and Jawbone founder Hosain Rahman, Ouya is now turning to the crowdfunding website Kickstarter. The company just launched a Kickstarter project seeking to raise $950,000 to get its idea off the ground.
"It's time we brought back innovation, experimentation, and creativity to the big screen," the company, founded by gaming industry veteran Julie Uhrman, wrote on its Kickstarter page. "Let's make the games less expensive to make, and less expensive to buy. With all our technological advancements, shouldn't costs be going down? Gaming could be cheaper!"
The system will have its own online store, similar to Google Play, where gamers can find titles. All games developed for the platform must have a trial portion that is playable for free.
Designed by the award-winning Jawbone Jambox designer Yves Behar, the Ouya system is about the size of a Rubik's cube. It features a Tegra3 quad-core processor, 8GB of Flash memory, 1GB RAM, Bluetooth connectivity, and an HDMI connection to the TV, with support for up to 1080p HD.
Its controller was designed to be a "love letter to console gaming," according to the Kickstarter page. It features "fast buttons, triggers, laser-precise analog sticks, a D-Pad," as well as a touchpad for games that are being converted from mobile devices to the TV.
For game developers, Ouya promises an opportunity to tap into the living room market. Developers don't have to purchase a license or expensive SDK kit, as every console itself is a dev kit. Plus, it's built on Android 4.0, with which many developers are already familiar. After providing the free demo, developers can make money by offering a full-game upgrade, in-game items for purchase, or by asking users to subscribe.
The system is also hacker-friendly, since rooting it won't void the warranty. Those who like to tinker around with hardware can create their own peripherals and connect via USB or Bluetooth.
The company already has a working prototype and said it's far along in the user interface and industrial design process. It now needs money to convert its prototype into production-ready models, get the necessary regulatory approvals, and place its first production orders. The Kickstarter funding will also go towards delivering developer kits so that Ouya will have access to games on day one, and fund some initial game development.
Ouya is still a ways off from meeting its $950,000 goal. As of Tuesday, the startup had raised more than $36,500 from 193 backers, with 29 days to go.
For more on Kickstarter, see PCMag's recent Q&A with co-founder Yancey Strickler.
Update: By day's end, Ouya met its goal and topped $1 million in contributions from more than 9,000 backers.