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Android games console Ouya wants $950k to become real

Ouya's Kickstarter console needs a huge wodge of cash to become a real product, but it certainly sounds intriguing.

Luke Westaway Senior editor
Luke Westaway is a senior editor at CNET and writer/ presenter of Adventures in Tech, a thrilling gadget show produced in our London office. Luke's focus is on keeping you in the loop with a mix of video, features, expert opinion and analysis.
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Luke Westaway
2 min read

US company Ouya is plotting an Android-powered games console, which is designed to be dirt cheap, built for hackers and offer free games to play on your telly.

Here's the rub -- it's not yet real. Ouya is using crowd-funding site Kickstarter to harvest money for the project, which is born out of an acceptance that indie game developers are moving towards mobile gadgets like Android smart phones or the iPad.

In a classy promo video (embedded below) that promises an "inexpensive games console for gamers", Ouya founder Julie Uhrman explains the box will be powered by Google's mobile operating system -- version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to be exact -- and that every game will have a free-to-play element.

Notable indie developers have flocked to support the project, including Minecraft creator Mojang. Adam Saltsman, who created popular moody mobile platformer Canabalt, said, "The prospect of an affordable, open console -- that's an idea I find really exciting."

Also on board is Yves Behar, who did design work for the One Laptop per Child project, and has given the Ouya its shiny curvy cuby look.

Throwing $95 (about £60) or more Ouya's way will get you an Ouya console and controller, should the project escape the realm of fantasy and become a real object you can buy. Developers who pay $699 (about £450) for the ambitious project will have their game promoted for one year, and marked with a 'founder emblem'. If it doesn't hit its target, you won't be charged.

It's a cool project, and makes you glad that open-source platforms like Android exist. Ouya has just 29 days to reach its mammoth $950k goal -- I'll be watching its progress like a hungry hawk.

Kickstarter recently confirmed that it's coming to the UK, so if you have a crazy invention you'd like other people to pay for, your chance could be coming up.

Will you be backing Ouya? Let me know in the comments or on our Facebook wall.