If the Wii U is “the little engine that could” I guess the OUYA is “the little soapbox car that might”? Anyway, the $99 game console from OUYA officially launched this week and in less than a day it has already sold out nationwide. Score one for gamers funding start-up companies to produce a $99 game console via Kickstarter. Yeah!
Develop has a report on the status of the OUYA and its remarkable feat in managing to sell out at Amazon, GameStop and other retailers across the nation after launching on Tuesday, writing...
The launch is drawing mixed reactions. While there is certainly a great deal of frustration over missed delivery dates, the fact the console has already sold out and boats the largest launch library of any console in history – 178 games – is surely cause for celebration.
Company head honcho, Julie Uhrman had an update on the Kickstarter page notifying backers about the status of the console being sold out nationwide and how the demand for the console far outreached the expectations, writing...
"I am pissed. Some of you have not yet received your Ouya -- and, to you, I apologize,” ...“I did not promise to ship to *most* of you before we hit store shelves. I promised to ship to *all* of you,"
Doesn't matter about whether it reached everyone or not... the fact that the system is a hot seller is great news!
The OUYA didn't have the best of reception amongst the gaming community who felt it was a bit gimmicky, especially running on modified Android hardware. The system received further lambasting when it was benchmarked by Futuremark's 3DMark, with some less than savory results. Keeping in mind, however, that smartphone technology rapidly increases at an exponential rate within every six months, it's not surprising that the OUYA was outdated compared to newer smartphones after it was Kickstarted and prototyped.
Still, with the $99 console selling out after being on the retail market for just a day, it's exciting to see how this will change and alter the landscape of crowd-sourced home console gaming. I imagine this could even re-ignite a cartridge-based console, perhaps?
Anyway, IGN is reporting that the OUYA's stock is already being replenished and GameStop has already refilled orders and will have more of the $99 consoles in stock as they're being lifted off shelves and finding their way into the homes of eager gamers who paid to change the walled and insular garden of the electronic entertainment console market.
For those of you who didn't know, the OUYA was designed to support a lot of open-source software technology. Emulation, hacking, homebrew and everything else in between is allowed. The OUYA could really make waves as a cool little device that enables gamers to keep a library of old-school titles on their console, as well as experience some new-school free-to-try games with the OUYA's launch library of more than 170 games.
If you're willing to break allegiance; put down the ties that bind you to the Big Three and risk the ridicule of the core community by delving into the deep side of an Android console, you can be part of the new revolution of video games at the price of $99. Need to learn more? Find out how you can be part of the new wave of gaming over at OUYA.tv.
