Ouya chief: We'll launch a new console every year
Although the Android-based console won't hit major retailers until June, the company plans to launch a new model each year.
Ouya's console will be updated each year with new and better components, the company's founder and CEO said earlier today on the sidelines of the DICE Summit.
Speaking to The Verge in an interview published today, Ouya chief Julie Uhrman said that starting next year and every year thereafter, the company will bundle the most powerful mobile processors available in its console.
"Our plan is to have a yearly refresh of Ouya where we leverage the best-performing chips and take advantage of falling component prices to create the best experience we can at the $99 price point," Uhrman told The Verge.
Ouya's console, which was opened up for preorders earlier this week and hits wide retail availability in June, is running the Tegra 3 processor. However, the Tegra 4 is right around the corner. Each year, new and better processors are made available, and the console's Android-based gaming could do well with better chips.
That said, the console market is notorious for its lack of major annual upgrades. Console makers Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, tend to not update their products for several years. The Wii U, for example, launched last year -- six years after its predecessor, the Wii, launched.
Game consoles require such lengthy refresh cycles because of the proprietary development requirements that go into making a game for those products. Ouya, however, is based on Android, making it much easier for developers to port titles to the hardware.
For now, gamers can start preordering the Ouya console online. Kickstarter backers who helped get Ouya off the ground will get the console in March. Buyers from the Ouya Web site will get the device in April. Those who wait to buy it at retail or preorder it from a major retailer will get the device in June. The console will be available for $99.99. An extra controller will set customers back $49.99.
