Ouya Kickstarter video game console garners $5 million
(CBS News) Ouya, a Kickstarter video game console project, has garnered over $5 million in pledges, surpassing its initial goal of $950,000.
Kickstarter works by letting anyone propose a project on the site, setting a monetary goal. If the goal is met, the project gets funded. Everything from independent films to garden projects has been funding from Kickstarter campaigns.
What makes it different?
The project says it seeks to re-ignite development of games for TV - as opposed to tablets, phones and the web - by opening game development to anyone who has the technical ability to do it. They also wed this business plan to what appears to be a sleek console and controller designed by the firm of Yves Behar, designer of the JAMBOX speaker.
This is what the project's leaders had to say on its Kickstarter page:
Developers can wave farewell to the roadblocks of bringing a console game to market. Anyone can make a game: every OUYA console is a dev kit. No need to purchase a license or an expensive SDK. It's built on Android, so developers already know how it works.
That doesn't mean OUYA is an Android port. You can create the next big title in your bedroom - just like the good old days! Who needs pants!?
OUYA could change AAA game development, too. Forget about licensing fees, retail fees, and publishing fees.
According to the Kickstarter page, the project will be funded on August 9. Game on.
