In exactly one month, Ouya units will make the arduous trek from the assembly lines to the front rooms of the slew of Kickstarter supporters who funded the project to fruition.
On March 28, the Ouya folks will begin the few weeks long task of processing 63,146 orders of the Kickstarter darling. The console is still slated to hit brick and mortars Best Buy, Gamestop, and Target, along with online retailer Amazon in June.
But it isn’t all about the hardware, is it? The Android-based console will launch with upward of 480 titles (!) with more in development. They’ve got some pedigreed devs working to bring enticing titles to the new console.
Kim Swift of Portal fame is on board to drum up an Ouya-exclusive title in conjunction with Airtight Games. On the collaboration, Kim says:
We truly feel that this platform will give us the freedom to fully realize the funky, unique game we have in mind … it really has a completely unexpected, imaginative slant that’s totally at home on this console.
Tripwire Interactive (behind the slaughter-fest Killing Floor) and Papa and Yo‘s Minority Media will also create brand new titles for the crowdfunded device, while nWay plans to port their RPG Chronoblade to the Ouya. GameSkinny previously reported that Hammer Labs is contributing Sky Arena, as well.
Expect Kellee Santiago, thatgamecompany (Journey, Flow, or Flower ring a bell?) co-founder, to recruit fresh talent for the Ouya’s game dev pool. She’s been picked up to head “developer relations.”
And an update on the Ouya-Kill Screen game jam CREATE — winners have been selected, so expect to see these indie games on the roster sometime in the near future:
CREATE Grand Prize: Strange Happenings on Murder Island (Free Lives)
Most Surprising: Television (Laboratory Games LLC)
Four Bright Buttons and Two Sticks: Bombball (E McNeill)
Most Immersive: Whispering Willows (Night Light Interactive)
Pop Your Eyes Out: Pipnis (Santa Ragione)
Best Couch with Friends Games: 2D Cube Zombie Platformer (Molinware)
Best Game Created Using Unity Engine: Stikbold (Team Stikbold)
The convention-crushing Ouya created an unavoidable buzz when it met and overwhelmingly exceeded its Kickstarter campaign goal, raking in over $8.5 million during its run. Developers received their consoles in December, giving it pretty good reviews.
