New deals emerge as Ouya Kickstarter comes to a close

[Shawn Knight]

Last month we highlighted a Kickstarter campaign for Ouya, an Android-based gaming console that hoped to raise $950,000 in order to fund the project. The company received overwhelming support from backers and was able to surpass their goal within 24 hours. Now with less than two days remaining in the campaign, they have released even more information about the revolutionary gaming console.

Since we last checked in with Ouya, they have added several new features to the console. Game streaming service OnLive has signed on with the upcoming console, meaning gamers will be able to play graphically-intensive titles on the device that otherwise wouldn’t he possible due to hardware limitations.

VEVO has also inked a deal with Ouya which allows them to host their music videos on the console, further bolstering its offering as an all-around media device. And if that weren’t enough, they will also be working with XBMC, makers of the award-winning open source media player, in addition to TuneIn. The latter service lets users listen to more than 70,000 radio stations from around the world for free.

There are also some new renderings of the console itself and as Joystiq points out, it looks like a baby GameCube. Compared to the console, the game pad is seemingly much larger but that isn’t a bad thing as long as it fits in the hands nicely.

Either way, it looks like the Ouya is shaping up to be as much of a media / entertainment hub as it is a gaming console. Should traditional consoles like the Xbox 360 and the PS3 be concerned yet?

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https://www.techspot.com/news/49683-new-deals-emerge-as-ouya-kickstarter-comes-to-a-close.html

 

[SCJake]

is this a viable media hub? yes, and a great one at that. Should the PS and XBox lines be worried? honestly I dont think so. OnLive takes your input, processes it back, and sends you the video/sound results. Sorry, but I still see way too many people stuck on dsl. and as long as thats happening I dont see OnLive being successful to the PS and XBox lines standards anytime soon. Way too much ping to have it work correctly.

 

[Vrmithrax]

I'll second SCJake on the speed thing, having experienced OnLive on both FiOS and lowly AT&T DSL... While not completely unplayable, the DSL experience felt sluggish, for sure.

And, as for the Sony and Microsoft worrying, I'd say no. The Tegra 3 platform will perform admirably, but won't be in the same league as the next gen consoles from those 2. I see the Ouya appealing more for casual gaming and media services. Honestly, I'd guess that if any portion of the gaming marketplace was at risk, it would be Nintendo's - their new platform appears to be rather underwhelming in the power category, and Nintendo's established penchant for casual gaming makes them more on par with Ouya's niche.

 

[oldikes]

onlive was actually almost perfect on my 8MBPS cable. either way, this looks like a promising project...another one to come out of kickstarter.

 

[penn919]

It actually doesn't matter that much whether you're on dsl, cable, or fios. What really matters is the ping. I've only got a crummy 3mb CenturyLink dsl connection and OnLive runs pretty damn well during late night hours. It's definitely not perfect yet, but there's certainly the possibility of it becoming more successful. In any case, partnering with them was a good thing.