Ouya, the Android-based gaming console that raised over $8.5 million from more than 63,000 backers on Kickstarter, is now officially available for pre-order to anyone who missed out on the campaign and will be available at a wide range of retailers in June. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman offered details about the planned rollout, noting that Kickstarter backers will be the first to receive the console sometime in March, with orders from the Ouya site shipping in April, and retail availability in June.
Gamers can reserve their console for $99.99 via Target, Best Buy, Amazon and GameStop. That price includes a single controller and an extra pad will set you back $49.99. That's a bit expensive as Uhrman herself admits but she also maintains that the inclusion of a touchpad makes up for the premium pricing.
The palm-sized console packs an ARM Cortex-A9 Quad-Core 1.7GHz processor, Nvidia Tegra 3 SoC, 1GB of RAM and 8GB internal flash memory. It runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and as such it's able to support services like OnLive, as well as games sold through its own store. Uhrman was hesitant to disclose specific details regarding the number developers working on games for Ouya, but she noted an extensive lineup will be available, with games from every genre developed by publishers of all sizes.
Part of the appeal of Ouya is its open nature. The console can be rooted without voiding the warranty and is purposely made to be easily disassembled for hardware expansion and modifications.
