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A new games console which industry experts say could disrupt the industry has begun shipping to kickstarter backers who helped the Android-based project get going last year. For the rest of us, there’s an official retail release date: June 4.
Games on the system will be a fraction of the cost of traditional console games, more comparable to those found on mobiles and tablets.
However, it may struggle to muscle in on a market dominated by big players such as PlayStation and Xbox, one analyst predicted.
The Ouya was financed using crowdfunding website Kickstarter, where it attracted over $8m (£5.3m) in funding from 63,416 backers.
The company has begun sending out consoles to the first supporters of the project – while other interested gamers can pre-order the device.
About 55 games will be available with today’s release, according to [Ouya founder Julie] Uhrman. The cube-shaped player uses a version of Android that requires developers to create applications and games just for the device. Games must be free, offer a free trial or have free add-ons, the company said. … Ouya plans to keep 30 percent of game sales, with developers getting the rest.
