“I spent my youth trying to get everyone around me to play games. But somewhere between high school in my first job, games stopped happening. I think that video games were too complicated for the people around me and I couldn’t rationalize sitting and playing alone.
I set out with a small group of people to make gaming free, social and accessible. And something that would bring my friends and family back to play.”
MEDIAFILE: How the world will play together: The story behind Zynga
A new startup is embracing the openness of mobile and Internet platforms and developing Ouya, a $99 gaming console for the television with software and hardware that is designed to be hacked. The device will include a controller with a touch pad and a free software development kit.
“The current console market is closed, it’s expensive to develop and it’s expensive to buy games,” Julie Uhrman, a former executive at video game website IGN, said. “And we really wanted to turn that idea on its head by creating an open game console where it was inexpensive and affordable for gamers both on console side and game side.”
The team hopes Ouya will bring innovation to the good old video game console by attracting “indie” or independent game developers and makers of Triple-A game titles in a bid to capture the imagination of casual and core gamers alike.
Moreover, all the games will be free-to-try. That means developers can pick any plan to monetize their offerings like micro-transactions through sales of virtual goods or subscriptions, as long the gamer can try the game at first for free.
MEDIAFILE: Meet Ouya, the $99 gaming console designed to be hacked
