Ouya shipping to Kickstarter backers from March 28
updated 02:33 pm EST, Thu February 28, 2013
Crowd-funded game console to ship on time
The Ouya game console will start shipping to its first non-developer customers on March 28. The Android-based console, funded through over $8.5 million in pledges on Kickstarter, will be shipping on-time to the first wave of backers, with the device expected to arrive in all customer mailboxes before the end of April.
The 57,000 consoles for consumers follows the earlier shipping of developer consoles at the end of December. Though the standard version will not feature the clear casing of the developer edition, it will still be powered by a Tegra 3 processor with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. Running on a modified version of Android 4.0, the Ouya will offer connectivity over HDMI, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE, USB 2.0, and Ethernet, and will ship with one or more wireless controllers.
Following the successful Kickstarter drive, retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, and Target have said they will stock the Android-powered console in-stores and on their websites. Full retail availability of the console to members of the public will start in June, while orders on the Ouya website will ship in April.
The Ouya will cost $100 at retail, with extra controllers costing $50 each. Further versions of the console, involving revisions to hardware, are expected by the company to be released on a yearly basis.
