Here are the details about the Android-based gaming device's latest development.
Once considered the little console that could back during its rose-colored Kickstarter campaign back in 2012, the Ouya has struggled to find its footing ever since it hit stores. This has always seemed to be somewhat of a shame since the Android-based gaming device appears to be so perfect on the surface, what with its slick-looking post-Steve Jobs design, a boundless array of free-to-sample games, a forward-thinking approach towards hacking and development, and a positive attitude towards emulators that make it a retro gamers paradise. Yet without any original titles to serve as, um, gamechangers, the Ouya was left spinning its digital wheels like the 21st-century equivalent of a Donkey Kong kill screen.
Or was it?
Polygon is reporting that a new cloud-based streaming venture developed by Playcast Media has just beta launched, bringing with it games like Splinter Cell: Convinctionand Lego Batman 2:
"Playcast bridges the visual computation and content gap between Ouya and the consoles," said company CEO Guy de Beer in a prepared statement. "In this beta, we will be employing for the first time the power of a public cloud system, and a set of technologies that is set to overcome the limitations of streaming over the open Internet. Initial results have been very encouraging, and we hope to expand the program soon."
Playcast states in a post that a slew of publishers are already signed up including EA, Ubisoft, Konami, Warner Bros, 2K, Namco Bandai, Square Enix, Capcom, Codemasters, Disney, Sega, among others."
From a practical business standpoint, this is an inspired move, and should throw the flailing Ouya a lifeline (at least temporarily) and allow them to fulfill their charter by still maintaining cheap prices on in-house games and continuing to allow anyone to develop and hack the console. For gamers who may not already have an XBox One or PS4, now the Ouya seems lke a win win. But is it still too late for Ouya? That's the real question here, and one we will continue to keep an eye on.
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