We haven’t reported on a unique Android running product in awhile, especially when it comes to possible gaming consoles that will run our favorite operating system. The last time we were reporting on a product like this was back when the EVO 2 gaming console was under development and looking for funding.
It seems as though that particular project, along with the Android gaming tablet Envizions happen to be developing, have fizzled out or at least gone under a blanket of silence for almost half a year now. There was also the possibility of Valve jumping into the scene with a gaming console of their own, rumored to run Android. However, there is now Ouya, a home gaming console that will run Android and will be completely hackable for those of you who enjoy doing that.
Admittedly, after the past projects like this that have ended up nowhere, at least for right now, getting excited about another one is a bit difficult. However, looking at the sponsors already on board for this new gaming console, there is a very big chance this will actually come to life. Ouya has already brought on board Yves Behar who was named one of the seven most important people in design back in February 2012. He is responsible for the Jawbone Jambox as well as the One Laptop Per Child program’s actual laptop.
Yves Behar will be in charge of designing the Ouya as a high-quality home gaming console which will cater to developers as much as it will to gamers. Any developer will be able to publish games for the Ouya and every game that will be available will be free to play. The entire unit, from software to a majority of the hardware, will be designed to be hackable as well. Whether you want to hack the unit or not, everyone who buys an Ouya will also receive a development kit to fool around with.
Also on board is Ed Fries who was the Vice President of game publishing at Microsoft during the majority of the Xbox’s life span, Amol Sarva from Peek.com, Julie Uhrman of IGN is labeled as the CEO and Co-Founder, Muffi Ghadiali from Amazon Lab126 who helped make the Kindle, and finally Peter Pham from Color. This is already a pretty stellar team so far and considering the notoriety of all of these people you can be sure more names will be arriving soon.
As of right now the entire project is in the initial concept / development phase and is currently listed on AngelList, a popular site for projects to be listed on in the hopes of attracting funds from Angel Investors. At $99 this could very well be the home gaming console we have been waiting for that will ship with Android. As for the hardware it will come with, that is still being ironed out but as soon as more details become available, we will post an update.
One thing is for sure, the current look of the actual console looks pretty slick already. That could just be me though as I rather like the minimalistic look. Dare we get excited about this one?
Website Referenced: TheVerge
Official Site: Ouya (AngelList account needed)
