Kickstarter Watch: Ouya

It’s impossible to look at the game software and development world and not notice what’s going on with Kickstarter.com. Projects that previously never could have seen the light of day because big time publishers wouldn’t have even placed them on their radar now are empowered by this new system of funding, preordering and further endorsing these in-development properties. Periodically, The Flickcast team will check in on Kickstarter to give you the heads up of some projects we feel deserve your attention that even some of The Flickcast may be helping Kickstart as well.

The first item on our Kickstart watch isn’t a piece of software but a new console in development. Ouya comes with some big promises behind it that look to change the face of home console gaming. It isn’t claiming to be a graphical powerhouse that is going to compete in the same market as the XBox 360 or the PlayStation 3, nor does it claim to have some new gimmicky control like the Wii or Wii U. It promises something that console owners aren’t used to at all.

” It’s time we brought back innovation, experimentation, and creativity to the big screen.” Ouya recognizes that a large chunk of gaming has changed from being a home console experience to the tablet or mobile market and that is where some developers are stuck because of the huge cost of developing for any of the big 3 consoles or the PC. The team behind Ouya refuse to settle for these restrictions and have created an open source engine running on Android technology. This means developers with any kind of budget can create games for the system.

Again, crossing paths not taken in the home console market, Ouya promises that all games on the system have a free-to-play model. While the wording is not totally accurate, the games will offer “freemium” services like allowing players to start with a demo before upgrading, subscribing or purchasing in-game items.

Most shocking is the console’s initial price point. Using Kickstarter which has just under two weeks left but is almost 600% funded at this point, players can guarantee themselves a Ouya console for under $100. While the next-gen of powerhouse consoles will most likely be above or around the $250 mark with a minimum price of $59.99 per game, the Ouya may earn a place in many homes just from the price, even with the markup that retailers will add to it.

Make sure to check out the Ouya Kickstarter page as well as their trailer below. Stay tuned next week for more of the Kickstarter Watch.