VentureBeat » game console

Ouya raises $15M from Kleiner Perkins and Mayfield and delays launch

Dean Takahashi — Thu, 09 May 2013 09:30:34 +0000

Ouya is just a kid on the block alongside the game consoles from Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony. But it’s graduating to a higher level today as the maker of the $99 Android game console is announcing that it has raised $15 million from the world famous venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Mayfield Fund.

To better stock shelves in advance of its retail launch, Ouya is also delaying the retail release of its console by three weeks until June 25, said Julie Uhrman (pictured above), the chief executive of the San Francisco company, in an interview with GamesBeat. Bing Gordon, a partner at Kleiner Perkins and the former chief creative officer at Electronic Arts, is joining Ouya’s board.

“This allows us to do more and get more units into retail quickly,” Uhrman said. “Our demand is already beyond expectations. That’s a great problem to have, but it leads to a need for cash.”

It’s a pretty big leap to move from Kickstarter, the crowdfunding platform where Ouya raised a record $8.6 million last year, to partnering with a couple of Silicon Valley powerhouses. Kleiner Perkins has invested in more than 700 ventures (including Amazon, Electronic Arts, and Google), and its portfolio companies have held nearly 200 initial public offerings and created more than 375,000 jobs.

Other investors include Nvidia, Shasta Ventures, and Occam Partners. Ouya’s plan is to disrupt the game console business. It plans to do so by using open-source software on inexpensive, Nvidia Tegra-based hardware that runs Android games from the mobile world that you can play on big-screen TVs in the living room with a game controller. Ouya has been shipping consoles to players who preordered the system since March.

Uhrman said the company will use the money to create more hardware units to meet demand for the upcoming retail launch in the U.S., Canada, and United Kingdom. Ouya will also pour more money into support for its growing game development community.

The funding could still fall very short of what it takes to launch and market a game console. Gordon said in an interview that he has considered that possibility. But he chose to invest in Ouya because he was so impressed with Uhrman, whom he described as “scrappy, fun, energetic, committed, and succinct.” He was also struck by the success of the Kickstarter campaign, which was polished and exceeded all expectations. The crowdfunding set a record and showed that there was both developer support and consumer desire for an alternative, indie-focused game console, Gordon said.

“And what put me over the top was seeing the commitment from game pioneers like Brian Fargo and Tim Schafer,” Gordon said. “I had this nagging feeling that the game industry didn’t offer a good enough home for them. So many young students are also having a hard time finding a home in the game business. They want to do games like Miramax movies instead of documentaries or epic Hollywood blockbusters. Ouya could be that center for this generation of talent.”

(Miramax Films, founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, was an indie film company that produce low-budget but high-quality films like Sex, Lies, and Videotape and The Crying Game).

More than 12,000 developers have registered to make an Ouya game. Gordon and the other investors bring mainstream credibility to Ouya, validating its business strategy and vision. Ouya, dubbed the People’s Box, is hackable and accessible to gamemakers. But it is up against three console makers that typically spend hundreds of millions of dollars bringing their new systems to market.

Gordon, who also sits on the board of Amazon and Zynga, said he believes that Ouya has a good niche. It has a chance to deliver a new kind of experience, particularly indie games that wouldn’t have a chance to debut on the other consoles. Ouya games are free to try, and any developer can publish a game. More than 120 games are already available, and more are coming from Square Enix, Double Fine Productions, Airtight Games (with a title coming from Portal creator Kim Swift), and others.

“It looks like a console, but it is really an Android iPod with extensions for a game controller,” he said. “The consoles are immersive, but they didn’t replace the PC gaming business.”

On top of that, Uhrman said she doesn’t think that Ouya competes with the three main console makers. Asked if she thought Nintendo’s weakness with the Wii U would work in Ouya’s favor, Uhrman said, “We offer something so different.”

Gordon said, “I think the game business is getting bigger rather than smaller. There is a niche in the accessibility of web games on the TV, with low overhead for the dev system, easy to understand, and rapid upgrades. The indie developers don’t need $100 million to make their games. Miramax was winning a lot of the Oscars on low-budget films. You and I remember a time before the PlayStation, when the Sega Genesis launched in the U.S. and it took six months to make a game. There was no TV advertising, and Sega didn’t spend much.”

On June 25, Ouya will be available on Amazon, Best Buy, Game, GameStop, and Target, and on Ouya.tv for $99.99. Additional controllers will retail for $49.99.

Ouya recently had a big party at the Game Developers Conference at the headquarters of Fuseproject, the design studio run by Yves Behar, who designed Ouya. Gordon was there, talking with Tim Chang, a partner at the Mayfield Fund. At the time, I didn’t think anything of it. Gordon joins Uhrman and Ouya chairman Roy Bahat on the Ouya board.

Chang and Gordon were also investors in Ngmoco, a mobile gaming firm which was acquired by DeNA in 2010 for up to $400 million. Back then, Chang was at Norwest Venture Partners. But Chang and Gordon are getting back together to bankroll Ouya.

Uhrman said she was proud of what Ouya has done so far. She said that early indications suggest Ouya’s popular games will include Polarity, Final Fantasy III, and League of Legends. Gordon said the company has become a beacon for talent, such as Kellee Santiago, the former chief executive of Thatgamecompany, the maker of Journey. Santiago serves as the head of developer relations.

“We might be the only company that started with crowdfunding and then landed a lot of venture capital,” she said.

Here are Uhrman’s words at the Ouya launch.

Filed under: Business, Deals, Gadgets, Games, Mobile, Social

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In a ‘love letter to gamers,’ Ouya launches its console at a crowded GDC event (video)

Dean Takahashi — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:00:56 +0000

Ouya has launched its $99 game console for fans who pre-ordered the Android console for the masses. The company has begun shipping final game consoles to tens of thousands of people who supported the company’s $8 million Kickstarter project, which was the largest crowdfunding effort ever on Kickstarter.

On Thursday, Julie Uhrman, chief executive of Ouya, and industrial designer Yves Behar of Fuseproject, threw a big party for the launch of the “love letter to gamers.” The tiny console has a Tegra 3 processor and the party was well populated by GDC attendees, developers, and fans alike. The event was held near the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

“The idea was so simple that people called us crazy,” Uhrman said in a speech before the crowd. “We wanted to build a game console where every single game developer could put their game on the television.”

Uhrman said that Ouya has 100 working games, many of them ported from Android apps. The system ships to retail stores on June 4. It will be available on Best Buy, Amazon, Target, and Gamestop. See the video below.

Ouya launches at the GDC from VentureBeat on Vimeo.

Filed under: Games

Ouya looks pretty but lacks killer games so far (preview)

Dean Takahashi — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 03:00:16 +0000

Ouya has begun shipping its $99 Android game console to consumers who pre-ordered the system and backed the company’s successful crowdfunding campaign.

The San Francisco company is celebrating the launch with a party Thursday evening near the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. The event is the first time the company is inviting the full community of game developers to come out and celebrate the company’s attempt to disrupt the traditional game consoles with free-to-play mobile games on the TV.

“Our early backers get to play around with the machine for the next two months and discover new games,” said Julie Uhrman, chief executive of Ouya, in an interview with GamesBeat.

Checking out the hardware

Ouya is an Android game console with a Tegra 3 mobile processor from Nvidia and an open platform that welcomes hundreds of free-to-play mobile titles. In a hands-on preview with GamesBeat, the company showed off how it intends to display those titles in the living room.

Kellee Santiago, former chief executive of Thatgamecompany, (the indie developer of Journey) has begun curating titles in her role as head of developer relations. In the past two months, developers have gotten their hands on prototypes for making games, and about 40 are already adapted to run on Ouya, said Uhrman. As many as 400 will be ready for the console when it ships to retail stores on June 4.

We got a good look at both the user interface for the console and its new games. The look and feel of Ouya is pretty on the big screen, but the company doesn’t have any killer games yet.

Ouya will hopefully have better games when the console is available in June in stores including Best Buy, Amazon, Target, and GameStop. In the meantime, the company will send consoles to tens of thousands of people who pledged funds and helped it raise more than $8 million in the largest game crowdfunding project on Kickstarter.

The final device was created by famous industrial designer Yves Behar, who went through a variety of designs (pictured right) before settling on the one above.

The designers also went through a number of controller designs (pictured below) in a quest to get something that gamers felt comfortable with.

The team had to switch from an oval-shaped D pad to a cross-shaped one to avoid accidental pushes. That was a feature which the company changed because the community wanted it. The controller face plates (held on by magnets) are removable and customizable.

The controller’s battery is removable and accessible via a pull-out cloth. The controller buttons spell out the letter O-U-Y-A, as the community voted. The controller is fairly heavy at 9.5 ounces, but it doesn’t precisely resemble either a PlayStation or an Xbox controller. The surface of the handles are made with brushed aluminum, and the device has a single-touch touch surface control on its top center area.

“You can see the whole evolution of the design in a transparent way,” Uhrman said.

Uhrman said the mix of titles will include AAA game publishers, indies, newcomers, and titles with a wide variety of monetization practices. One free title will accept donations. Others will let you play for a time and then unlock paid features. Still others will release games in episodes. The machine will display games in 1080p high-definition resolution.

The final 10.5-ounce box hardware features brushed aluminum. Those who donated more than $10,000 in the Kickstarter campaign will get their names on the console. The device is about as small as a Rubik’s Cube (OK, more like a large one) and it has a grill for air flow at the bottom. On one side, the box has slots for Ethernet, HDMI, USB, and micro-USB connectors. It is WiFi-enabled and the controller (pictured above) talks to the console via a Bluetooth connection. Extra controllers will cost $49.

Uhrman said the machine is made for hackers. It has four hex screws that hold on the main panel. They can be easily removed so someone can look under the hood.

The simple user interface

When a user fires up the console, they can register and create a name. On the colorful homescreen are four clickable words: Play, Discover, Make, and Manage. With Manage, you can control your settings.

“It is a simplistic and a minimalist design,” Uhrman said.

When you click on Play, you can browse through the games that you have downloaded. With Discover, you can go shopping in the store to find games. Ouya will feature games itself. It also categorizes the games in the store through categories such as Retro, Hear me (sound), and Genres. The genres include platformers, short on time, puzzle-trivia, FPS shooters, fight, and sandbox. Games are displayed based on their ratings, and the ratings are set through a variety of engagement metrics. If you like a game, you can give it a thumbs up.

Under Make, developers can upload their builds, download software and read news about the Ouya Development Kit. The user interface is attractive and functional. It doesn’t get in the way of having fun.

A look at the games

This is where Ouya falls short for now. Only a handful of titles are available now for people to play. They include Beast Boxing Turbo, Gunslugs (arcade action), Puddle (physics puzzle platform), Saturday Morning RPG (role-playing game), The Pinball Arcade, Wizorb (run-and-gun action), Fist of Awesome (a time travel adventure reality game), Evac, Chomper, Canabalt, The Ball (shooter with puzzle elements), and Stalagflight (an indie game made in 72 hours). Final Fantasy III is an exclusive for the TV. More are becoming available by the day, but it is safe to say that many of the current titles are simple ports, not must-have exclusives. I didn’t get much time with them, but the “endless runner” game Canabalt seemed like one of the best.

On the non-gaming side, some apps are ready. Twitch has an app for watching game livestreams. Flixster is under construction for watching movies. Other non-game apps include Plex, XBMC, Crunchyroll, and iHeartRadio. Ouya has content guidelines, so it will reject porn, pirated games, and other inappropriate titles.

Uhrman said that the company has more than 8,000 developers signed up. Of the titles available, one out of five developers have never built a game before. Well-known developers such as Paul Bettner, Kim Swift, and Tim Schafer’s Double Fine productions are working on Ouya games. Phil Fish is working on a version of Fez.

So far, Ouya has a lot of promise. It has made it further than anyone ever thought. But we’ll withhold judgement until we see and play more games.

Filed under: Business, Dev, Gadgets, Games, Media, Mobile, Social

Microsoft opens a Los Angeles Xbox entertainment studio for next generation

Dean Takahashi — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 06:49:39 +0000

Microsoft announced today that it is opening a new Xbox entertainment studio outside of Los Angeles to create “interactive content” for its Xbox game platform. While much of the traditional gaming world contracts, the move shows that Microsoft is prepared to invest in a new generation of games and entertainment to keep its Xbox platform strong.

The creation of the studio in Los Angeles also says a lot about the convergence of games and Hollywood as entertainment becomes more interactive in the digital age.

Yusuf Mehdi, the senior vice president of the game division at Microsoft, and Nancy Tellem, the entertainment and digital media president, made the announcement at the All Things D: Dive into Media industry event on Monday evening. They also shared new data on the momentum behind the Xbox 360 game console introduced in 2005. Rumors are rife that Microsoft will launch its code-named Durango console as a replacement.

The new studio headed by Tellem is called the Xbox Entertainment Studios, and it “will create visionary original interactive content.” It will also oversee live events, similar to last night’s live streaming of the Grammy Awards’ red carpet broadcast.

Mehdi said that Microsoft has sold 76 million Xbox 360 consoles around the world to date. It has been the top console in the U.S. for 24 consecutive months, and it has sold more than three times the number of original Xbox consoles. About 24 million Kinect motion sensors have been sold since 2010, and the Xbox Live community has grown to 46 million subscribers, up 15 percent year over year.

In 2012, the number of TV and entertainment offerings on Xbox almost tripled, with 100 voice-controlled Xbox Live apps. It was the biggest year for Xbox games and entertainment usage, with 18 billion hours of entertainment consumed, up 10 percent from a year ago.

The average user spends 87 hours of entertainment a month on Xbox, up 10 percent. Entertainment app usage is up 57 percent over a year ago, and online multiplayer gaming also grew in 2012.

According to third-party data from the Experian Simmons Spring 2012 Media survey, about 38 percent of the Xbox Live audience in the U.S. is female, and 54 percent of the Xbox Live community in the U.S. has at least one or more child in the household. Since July, Microsoft says the Xbox Live community has burned 200 million calories using Xbox and Kinect for workouts and activities such as Kinect Nike+ Fitness, other workout programs, and games.

And Microsoft said family content consumption on Xbox Video has grown 400 percent year over year; The Hunger Games film broke the record for biggest opening day in Xbox history when it launched on Xbox Live.

Filed under: Business, Gadgets, Games, Media

Ouya CEO says momentum behind its ‘people’s game console’ keeps growing

Dean Takahashi — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:00:22 +0000

Last August, when Ouya raised $8.6 million via crowdfunding on Kickstarter to create an open video game console that plays Android-based games, seems like eons ago. Since that time, chief executive Julie Uhrman has been running like crazy to keep up the pace to launch the “people’s box” as scheduled in March. In an update interview with GamesBeat, Uhrman says that the momentum keeps growing and that she isn’t concerned about the rise of so many alternative systems in such a short time.

Ouya‘s growing scale might raise some concern among “the big three”: Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. Ouya is just the first of many console alternatives that are hoping to disrupt the last bastion of the business as we knew it: the $60 disc-based game. Startups like Ouya are the foot soldiers who will carry the spears of free-to-play games, Android mobile games, and app stores into the living room.

“March is still a distant deadline,” said Uhrman in an interview with GamesBeat. “But we are excited by the interest. I’m impressed with how my team keeps delivering on the impossible.”

On Dec. 28, Ouya started shipping the first of its 1,200 developer prototype consoles for those who had pledged anywhere from $699 to $1,337 in the Kickstarter campaign. And since that day, more than 894,000 people have viewed an “unboxing” video showing what is contained in the developer console. Ouya’s software development kit has been downloaded more than 20,000 times. And Ouya’s forums — with 400,000 views — are blowing up with questions and comments about how to make games for the console, Uhrman said.

Fans have created 10 web sites about Ouya, and a German company has even created a magazine dedicated to the box.

Uhrman said that the hardware specifications are mostly set, but its final color and look have not been revealed yet. The console is basically shaped like a cube, and it is no larger than a typical coffee mug.

The company is still redesigning its game controller based on fan feedback. The device has a “D-pad” control mechanism, but fans pointed out that it too closely resembled Microsoft’s Xbox 360 game controller, which is circular in shape and prone to accidental diagonal button pushes.

Uhrman said the designers are shifting to a square D-pad, which is more Sony-like and less prone to unintentional button pushes.

“We are still fine-tuning the controller,” she said. “It removes the mistaken button press and makes it more precise. That’s a big change.”

It’s these little details that could trip Ouya. Other rivals have emerged who have slightly different takes on the same idea around an Android console. Nvidia is launching Project Shield, which uses a high-end Tegra 4 chip and comes with a 5-inch diagonal high-resolution screen.

But Uhrman said her team believes that the “TV is the best screen for playing video games. That’s what Ouya is about. We have seen all of the creativity of the industry shift to mobile games. We want to bring that back to the TV through our box.”

Ouya uses a Tegra 3 chip from Nvidia, and Uhrman said the pricing on that chip is consistent with Ouya’s plan to launch a $99 console. The chip has four cores running at 1.6 gigahertz, and Ouya believes that is plenty of horsepower for an affordable game machine. At the same time, Uhrman said that the company will have regular hardware refreshes and could create a better experience while still delivering on its $99 price.

Another rival, Green Throttle Games, is creating an Android-based gaming system, but it has no console. It will allow users to hook their smartphones directly to their TVs and play games with a traditional console-style controller. But Uhrman believes that both developers and consumers want to wrap their hands around a concrete piece of hardware that plays their games.

“We are carving out our own niche,” she said.

Ouya is using the Jellybean version of the Android operating system, but it is developing its own user interface, software development kit, and app store.

Under Ouya’s model, developers will share 30 percent of their revenue with Ouya; that’s a high percentage. Developers have more than 100 games in the works, which eliminates the worry of a shortage of titles for the console when it debuts, Uhrman said.

“We will make more announcements later about launch titles,” she said. “We have a great business model, and we are really comfortable with it.”

Panagiotis Peikidis, a developer at Large Animal Games, took the Ouya development kit home to see if he could build a game in a weekend.

“I was quite impressed with how easy it was to get a Unity game up and running on the Ouya,” he said. “The Unity package for Ouya is quite good and the set-up videos on the Ouya website made things much easier than I expected. The only trouble I ran into was with the controller data.”

He got some unreliable data back, but he said he expects those kinks will be worked out soon as Ouya gets closer to shipping. He said it was a fun, productive weekend of hacking with minimal headaches.

“I’m excited to see what we can do with more time,” he said.

Beyond games, Uhrman said that Ouya is in talks with a large number of entertainment companies that want to bring their non-game apps to the console. Some, such as Twitch, have been announced while others have not.

Uhrman also said that a “game jam” contest launched by Killscreen will end this morning. Unity Technologies distributed more than 200 software development kits for its Unity 3D game engine for developers associated with the contest. The winner of the game jam will get $45,000.

Ouya’s team is growing every day, but Uhrman declined to say how many people work for the company. The majority of the team is engineering, but the company is adding a content development team as well.

Uhrman said she is traveling around the country visiting groups of game developers who are supporting the console.

As for getting the game console out by March, Uhrman said, “We are on track. We want to get Ouya out to gamers as soon as we can.”

Filed under: Business, Gadgets, Games

PlayJam launches Kickstarter campaign for game console on a USB stick

Dean Takahashi — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 23:51:38 +0000

PlayJam is touting its GameStick as the “most portable TV games console ever created.” It is an Android video game console on a universal serial bus (USB) stick. And the company has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise $100,000 via Kickstarter today.

After half a day, PlayJame has already raised $48,000, leaving it nearly halfway to its goal. The campaign runs for 30 more days.

San Francisco-based PlayJam is the latest company that wants to bring games designed for smartphones and tablets to the TV. You can already do this if you have a set-top box with Google TV. But PlayJam intends to couple its USB stick with a game controller that allows you to play touchscreen games with a traditional game controller.

GameStick plugs into a TV’s HDMI slot and comes with a Bluetooth-based game controller. You can snap the USB stick into the controller when you want to take it on the road. You could easily play this on a hotel room TV while traveling. PlayJam’s executives say they will sell the GameStick for $79. The project was born from the belief that game consoles and games are still too expensive and aren’t open enough when it comes to content options. As such, it is a rival to the Ouya game console scheduled for this spring.

The device runs the Jelly Bean version of the Android mobile operating system and uses Amlogic’s 8726-MX processor. That processor uses a dual-core cortex A9 central processing unit designed by ARM and it also has a dual-core Mali 400 graphics processing unit from ARM. PlayJam says the system can run the most demanding Android games now available. The device has Wi-Fi capability and 1GB of main memory and 4GB of NAND flash memory. It also has 8GB of micro-SD memory.

“To date, the most popular route to TV has been via traditional console manufacturers but the associated restrictions and cost make this unviable for the majority of game developers,” said PlayJam chief executive Jasper Smith in a statement. “We want to break down these barriers and open up the big screen to the thousands of developers looking to break into the living room. For the consumer, we want to bring a huge range of affordable games via a unique, highly portable device.”

PlayJam has its own publishing platform on Android for Smart TV games, and it has a network of 250 developers. It plans to tap those developers to make content for GameStick. The PlayJam network is integrated with Smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Panasonic, and Sony.

“GameStick is an important step in what we hope will be an industry-wide, collaborative approach to develop a new open ecosystem for TV games,” Smith said. “To further accelerate this, we offer our underlying platform, user interface, content and expertise to any hardware manufacturers wanting to enter this sector.”

The company has support from Charles Huang, cocreator of Guitar Hero and founder of Green Throttle Games, which is making its own Android-based game controller for TV games. Huang appears in PlayJam’s Kickstarter video voicing his support.

The GameStick is currently in a closed beta test with working prototypes.

“We hope to see games developers everywhere getting as excited about the GameStick and trends it represents as we are and getting behind us on this campaign,” Smith said.

Filed under: Business, Gadgets, Games, Mobile

Gadget lovers and gamers: Here’s a look inside the Nintendo Wii U

Christina Farr — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 04:13:32 +0000

Check out all of GamesBeat’s Nintendo Wii U launch coverage.

Reviewers found a lot to love about the Wii U. They praised its high-definition graphics as well as the GamePad, which is comfortable enough for young children. As GamesBeat’s Jeff Grubb reported, gamers rushed to scoop up every available console.

The major complaint they found was the lack of battery life, which typically only lasts three to five hours. Read our round-up of the first reviews here.

But a few reviewers did far more than test out the console and play a round of virtual tennis — they went ahead and took the entire thing apart to expose the logic board. Here’s a snapshot of what they found:

The Wii U hardware is similar looking to the larger Wii. Getting inside the chassis isn’t all that different.
You’ll need a stack of razor blades to pry off the IHS.
It only takes half an hour to tear down the Wii U and put it back together.
IFixit’s expert DIY team was able to improve Nintendo’s design by three or four screws and one square nut.

Check out the detailed teardown descriptions of the Wii on iFixit and Anandtech.

Top image via iFixit

Filed under: Gadgets, Games

Square Enix to publish Final Fantasy III on Ouya game console

Dean Takahashi — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:56:14 +0000

Ouya isn’t finished raising money through the crowdfunding site Kickstarter, but it is gaining momentum as a viable alternative game platform. Today, the startup announced that giant Japanese game publisher Square Enix will offer Final Fantasy III as a launch title on the Ouya console, which is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2013.

Ouya also recently got support from cloud gaming service OnLive and startup leader Robert Bowling. Ouya has raised $5.8 million from more than 45,000 backers so far, and it has eight days to go until its fundraising campaign ends.

“We will kick this off with Final Fantasy III, which will be a launch title on OUYA,” said Julie Uhrman, chief executive of Ouya. “This will be the first time gamers outside of Japan can play FFIII on their televisions through a console.”

The game will have better graphics than the original title, which was created by star designer Hironobu Sakaguchi. Ouya will offer a free game demo for players.

Previously unreleased in the U.S. for home game consoles (although it appeared as a 3D remake for the Nintendo DS in 2006), Final Fantasy III is considered a missing link in the series.

“Ouya players can now proudly claim this piece of the puzzle,” Uhrman said.

Filed under: Games

Ouya’s video game console Kickstarter tops $5M raised so far (exclusive interview)

Dean Takahashi — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 21:08:31 +0000

The people have spoken. And they want their Ouya. The new video game console company, Ouya, has raised more than $5 million in a crowd-funded Kickstarter project in just seven days, with 22 more full days to go in the solicitation.

“We’re inching toward 40,000 backers and that’s exciting to see,” said Julie Uhrman, the chief executive and founder of Ouya. “I’m overwhelmed by the support. The idea is resonating with developers and gamers.”

Ouya plans to launch a sub-$100 console in the spring of 2013. It will have free-to-play indie games running on the Android operating system from Google. The machine will have a Tegra 3 processor from Nvidia and a touch-cable game controller.

Since its announcement last week, 39,171 backers have donated $5,002,705, or an average of $127 per donation. Most of them want to get the Ouya console and controller in exchange for a pledge of $99 or more.

Uhrman said donors include game developers who like the open nature of the console, which is going to be hackable for hobbyist purposes. The extra money “allows us to deliver more consoles and do better tools to support game developers,” she said.

Uhrman said the company is taking suggestions into account and she likes the feedback the Kickstarter donors are giving. She said the company may modify the console based on suggestions, but it has not decided on any changes yet. Some players want music and video playback in addition to gaming.

“This feedback allows us to focus on the task,” she said.

Some have reacted with skepticism to the company’s attempt to challenge Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. But Uhrman said, “A little skepticism is healthy. It keeps everyone on their toes.”

Uhrman said the San Francisco company is raising money only on Kickstarter at the moment.

The system will enable developers to make money from their games in any way they want; they’ll no longer be bound to the standard $60 price for a console game. The Ouya will offer free demos and business models such as free-to-play, subscription, virtual goods, or paid fees.

Famous industrial designer Yves Béhar (who also did the Jambox speakers) created the look of the Android-powered Ouya box.

The box will include a quad-core ARM Cortex A9 processor, a Nvidia Tegra 3 graphics processing unit, 8GB of Flash memory, 1GB RAM, and Bluetooth connectivity. The controller takes a cue from the upcoming Nintendo Wii U console: It can play traditional games but also has a touchpad. This means that developers can create special experiences for the Ouya console, Uhrman said. The company is seeking content such as role-playing games, shooters, and casual games.

Ouya will have a custom Android interface and its own online store. It will be open to any developer who would like to make a game for it. The system will launch with TwitchTV integration, so users may view tournaments and live-streamed plays. The standard fee for games or items purchased on the network is 30 percent.

Uhrman came up with the Ouya name at the beginning of last year while she was running digital distribution for IGN, a highly read games news site owned by News Corp.

Advisors include Ed Fries, the former head of Microsoft Game Studios; Brian Fargo, the CEO of InXile and a longtime game developer; Markus “Notch” Persson, the creator of indie sensation Minecraft and head of Mojang; and Adam Saltsman of Canabalt. Investors include Jay Adelson, the former CEO of Digg; Joe Greenstein, the founder of Flixster; Hosain Rahman, the founder of Jawbone; and Eric Hautemont, the publisher of Ticket to Ride. Behar is the Ouya product designer.

Filed under: Games

The People’s Box: Ouya launches Kickstarter for sub-$100 console

Dean Takahashi — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 13:00:57 +0000

UPDATE NO. 3: Ouya console designer Yves Béhar, the man behind the Jawbone wearable technology company and the chief designer of the “One Laptop Per Child,” is today’s keynote speaker at our MobileBeat conference.

UPDATE NO. 2: Backers have funded the Ouya console, pledging the $950,000 goal in about eight hours.

UPDATE: As of 11:07 a.m. Pacific time today, 4,058 backers have already pledged $508,424, which is more than half of Ouya’s goal of $950,000.

Ouya aims to create the game console that everybody wants but the Big 3 publishing vendors are afraid to make.

The San Francisco-based company launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding project today to raise money for its console, which will run free-to-play indie games and cost less than $100. It’s targeting a first-quarter 2013 launch.

“It’s a new kind of game console for the TV that embraces the openness of mobile and Internet platforms,” said Julie Uhrman, the founder and chief executive of the company. Her industry experience includes work at IGN, GameFly, and Vivendi Universal.

“Some portion of the game has to be free as a benefit for consumers,” said Uhrman (pictured right). “We believe this is the people’s console.”

The system will allow developers to make money from their games in any way they want; they’ll no longer be bound to the standard $60 price for a console game, and Ouya will offer free demos and business models such as free-to-play, subscription, virtual goods, or paid fees.

Famous industrial designer Yves Behar (who also did the Jambox speakers) created the look of the Android-powered Ouya box.

[Editor's note: will be speaking at 9:20am Wednesday morning at our MobileBeat conference in San Francisco]

“It is a solid value proposition for developers and consumers,” Uhrman said. “It can do content that isn’t [on] any other platform.”

Ouya will also cater to developers. Uhrman said she watched developers leave the console studios in droves. ”It is a shame the games are too expensive [and] complicated, and consoles are too expensive,” Uhrman said. “It’s a shame that developers are leaving triple-A shops and going to mobile. There is a brain drain in the console game business.”

“We want people to bring their creative ideas back to the TV, which is the no. 1 platform that people like to play games on,” Uhrman said. “The majority of dollars are spent there.”

It won’t be easy for a startup to compete against Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Other rivals include Valve’s Steam, a digital distribution client for PCs, and cloud-gaming service OnLive. That’s why venture capitalists turned down Uhrman when she was trying to raise money. “No one wants to take the risk,” she said. But by raising money on Kickstarter, she’s going straight to potential fans, which will enable the team to finish building out its prototypes and tools. The company is seeking to raise $950,000.

Uhrman said she came up with the Ouya name at the beginning of last year while she was running digital distribution for IGN, a highly read games news site owned by News Corp.

It might seem like a crazy move to take on The Big 3 console manufacturers. But Ouya could be the right idea with the right timing, according to analyst Michael Pachter at Wedbush Securities.

“While it is certainly a bold move to take on the likes of Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft, I think there might be room for another player, particularly at this price point,” Pachter said. “It’s been a long time since a new console was introduced, and it is likely that pricing for consoles will go up. By coming in at a lower price point and challenging the existing pricing model for TV-based games, Ouya could hit a sweet spot with gamers.”

The company isn’t announcing partners yet but is talking to potentials. Uhrman said that the system will embrace hobbyists and tinkerers — even hackers. The console can be opened with a standard screwdriver, and it will be fully documented. “Rooting” the device will not void the warranty, and every unit has a debugging function.

“The ‘O’ in ‘Ouya’ stands for open,” Uhrman said.

“Indie developers need a way to bypass the existing console platform and publisher infrastructure,” Fries said. “Ouya could be a game changer.”

The company has expressions of support from Thatgamecompany founder Jenova Chen; Owlchemy Labs founder Alex Schwartz; Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner; Storm8 CEO Perry Tam; Spry Fox cofounder David Edery; Madfinger Games’ Marek Rabas; and Trendy Entertainment’s Philip Asher.

GamesBeat 2012 is VentureBeat’s fourth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. This year we’re calling on speakers from the hottest mobile, social, PC, and console companies to debate new ways to stay on pace with changing consumer tastes and platforms. Join 500+ execs, investors, analysts, entrepreneurs, and press as we explore the gaming industry’s latest trends and newest monetization opportunities. The event takes place July 10-11 in San Francisco, and you can get your tickets here.

Filed under: Business, Games

Lenovo-based Eedoo video game system revealed in China

Dean Takahashi — Fri, 06 May 2011 21:25:52 +0000

Lenovo is backing a new video game system that is expected to launch in the second half of this year in China. The iSec system has Kinect-like motion controls and is aimed at a mass market consumer that doesn’t buy the current game consoles.

Beijing-based Eedoo Technology (spelled eedoo by the company) hopes to cash in on the fact that foreign companies like Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are barred from direct sales in China. Eedoo is funded by Lenovo, China’s biggest PC manufacturer, and it unveiled the iSec (previously known as the eBox) on Friday. The name refers to Sports Entertainment Center.

The iSec uses a 3D depth camera, much like Microsoft’s Kinect motion-sensing system does, so that a user can control the system with hand gestures or body motions. The games that the company has talked about so far focuses on exercise or martial arts. The system also supports other kinds of entertainment such as movies and web surfing or karaoke.

China’s government hasn’t approved the game consoles in the past because they have been focused purely on fun, rather than entertainment. Eedoo has an edge in getting approval because it is locally made and it is family friendly, with a focus on health and entertainment.

Jack Luo, chief executive of the company, said the company will focus on the Chinese market first. He did not disclose the price. China’s online game market based on the PC is going through a boom right now, with overall revenues expected to hit $5.8 billion in 2011, according to Niko Partners. Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are still trying to get approval to sell their machines in the country. Zeebo, another low-cost console maker, launched in China with a focus on education titles.

Filed under: Business, Games