OUYA: Future of gaming?

'Imagine a world where gaming is free, I'd help you out.. but I've never played any games'

-Woman off the ad.

First impressions of this 'console', where do I insert my GENITALS and cheese toasty? Is there going to be a peripheral for cleaning my teeth or washing my car? Will it walk my dogs or do I have to download an app for that? The answer to these obvious questions is a disappointing no. 

The ouya in all its glory.

But what makes this console so much better than ANY other is that the games are free! Yes, you heard it right, FRREEEEEEE. The Ouya lets developers set their own price on the game they've made, but in return, ask for a portion of the game to be free. This could be a demo or trial period or even an entirely free game! Big Indy developers such as Mojang and The creators of Canabalt are interested in supplying their games to the Ouya console, which is expected to be in production next march. 

The Ouya interface.

On Live, a game supplier which is a lot like steam, will be on the ouya platform. This would be a good step as the way OnLive works is by providing games through streaming, saving data space on the console but requires the internet for it to work. The OnLive is free to use and allows you to demo any game before downloading. It also allows for 3 or 5 day rentals and even the ability to buy the full game. With broadband speeds currently maxing out about 80mb and packages from Virgin expecting to go up to 200mb.

Its not only indie game developers that are showing interest. Some bigger game developers such as square enix are bringing the final fantasy 3 game to the console which could be an opportunity to bring the missing link in the final fantasy series out of Japan. There is also a previous call of duty developer who has been working on a zombie survival game called human element which will be bringing an early look to the Ouya before the full release of the game in 2014. 

Fully moddable.

Another concept behind this console is that is is fully moddable. The console unit itself can be easily unscrewed and taken apart. The developers behind Ouya say that even the proscessor will be no secret. A simple usb port can be used for home-made peripherals and the consle can be easily rooted (This wont void your warranty either!). 

Heres some tech specifications for all you eggheads:

-Tegra3 quad-core processor 

 
-1GB RAM

-8GB of internal flash storage

-HDMI connection to the TV, with support for up to 1080p HD

-WiFi 802.11 b/g/n

-Bluetooth LE 4.0

-USB 2.0 (one)

-Wireless controller with standard controls (two analog sticks, d-pad, eight action buttons, a system button), a touchpad

-Android 4.0

-ETHERNET!

According to the kickstarter page Ouya will be put out to production sometime next March and if you want your own guaranteed console you can pledge some money towards it. It might be how they managed to raise a staggering $6.6million!

To check out their kickstarter page and watch an annoying woman click here! >> Ouya <<