We have generally done our best around here to avoid writing every Kickstarter-related video game project out there. To do so would be to subject you to endless stories of people making weird mobile zombie games, or what have you, and that's not really important to many people. However, sometimes there are projects that definitively go beyond the usual scope of gaming Kickstarters, and the Ouya is one such case.
Posted today, the Ouya was proposed as a new gaming console based on Android 4.0. The full technical specs can be found on the Kickstarter page, but the basic gist includes a Tegra3 quad-core processor, 1 gig of RAM, 8 gigs of internal Flash storage, and full HD support.
Of course, the big potential draw for developers is the freedom they'll have to develop for the device. In fact, everyone will have the opportunity to design for the device, as it's billed as hacker friendly. Rooting the console won't void your warranty, and hardware hackers are encouraged on the Kickstarter page to "create their own peripherals."
The other potential big draw would be the price of the console: $99.
The original budget for the Kickstarter funding was $950,000, a number that's already been surpassed a mere eight hours after its initial posting. In fact, at last tally, it's hovering dangerously close to the $1 million mark.
An Android-based box to put in front of my TV maybe isn't number one on my priority list, but it's kind of amazing the groundswell of support this project garnered. Obviously there's an audience, so all that's left to do now is see how the product shapes up. You can check out the Kickstarter pitch video below, if you're curious.