The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One just got a little more competition.
A new version of the Android home console, Ouya, is now available to purchase in the US. Featuring a reasonable price tag of $129, the new model offers a revamped controller, improved Wi-Fi capabilities, and 16GB of storage. That’s double the storage provided by the original model, by the way.
The system also comes with a slick anthracite (matte black) finish, so it’ll look especially nice in a dark entertainment center. For the time being, this retooled Ouya model is only scheduled for release in the US, although it could reach other territories later this year.
The Ouya came about thanks to a massive Kickstarter campaign that eventually earned $8.6 million in funding. The system hit store shelves in June of last year, but the company has never announced sales statistics. For the record, most analysts and journalists don’t count the Ouya as a major competitor for Sony and Microsoft.
A hardcore gamer’s machine? …maybe not
The Ouya appears to be designed with the casual gamer in mind, the person who, in their spare time, launches a little game app on their smartphone. I’ve yet to meet an avid gamer who has any real interest in this thing, but I imagine some of the die-hard collectors will want it. Me, I barely have enough time to keep up on one console.
