Ouya
With
$8.5 million from 63,416 backers, the Ouya may not be the most funded
Kickstarter project out there, but it comes close. And throughout the
life of the crowdfunding site, it may well have been the most hyped and
media covered project out there. In many ways, the Ouya ended up being a
gauge of how successful Kickstarter could be, not only for small ideas
that involved an app, art creation or filmed piece, but a complex
hardware console that aims to compete with giants like Microsoft, Sony
and Nintendo.
Now,
the Ouya just started shipping, along with 104 games created by over
8,000 developers. The $99 game console was in the news from the very
instant that the Kickstarter project started, and many thought it would
not see the light of day. But now the project is real, and many more are
thinking it may well become a major player in the gaming industry,
proof that independent projects backed by community funds can indeed
become very big. That is not to say the Ouya had a smooth sailing all
along. Some people have complained about delays, changes to the device,
and design decisions. But for the most part, this project turned out to
be a success.
The
road is not over for the Ouya either. Now that it started shipping to
customers, the project lead is promising new games to come on a daily
basis. Right now the project backers will be the first people to receive
this console, but you can pre-order your unit on the web site should
you wish to.
