Android Powered $99 Ouya Games Console Shipped To First Supporters

A new games
console which industry experts
say could disrupt the industry has
begun shipping to kickstarter
backers who helped the Android-
based project get going last year.
For the rest of us, there’s an
official retail release date: June 4.
Games on the system will be a
fraction of the cost of traditional
console games, more comparable
to those found on mobiles and
tablets.
However, it may struggle to
muscle in on a market dominated
by big players such as
PlayStation and Xbox, one analyst
predicted.
The Ouya was financed using
crowdfunding website Kickstarter,
where it attracted over $8m
(£5.3m) in funding from 63,416
backers.
The company has begun sending
out consoles to the first
supporters of the project – while
other interested gamers can pre-
order the device.
About 55 games will be available
with today’s release, according to
[Ouya founder Julie] Uhrman. The
cube-shaped player uses a
version of Android that requires
developers to create applications
and games just for the device.
Games must be free, offer a free
trial or have free add-ons, the
company said. … Ouya plans to
keep 30 percent of game sales,
with developers getting the rest.