Ouya, the Kickstarter-funded gaming console that plays Android games on a television, is available for preorder now at Amazon and Gametop.
"Preorders for both consoles and controllers will start being accepted on Tuesday, in advance of retail availability in June 2013," writes the Wall Street Journal. "Additional retailers include Target and Best Buy, who will sell the console for about $100."
The controller, however, goes for $49, higher than many people expected. "It's a premium price for a controller, but with the inclusion of the touchpad really makes it a premium in the marketplace," said Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman.
Uoya is an open-source project, and each console is moddable and can be rooted without voiding the warranty. In effect, every owner can be a developer.
The 63,000 people who backed Ouya on Kickstarter will get their consoles in March. Anyone who buys one directly from the Ouya website can get theirs in April, and preorders will ship in June, at the same time as the retail store release.
Developers received their hardware in December. "Boxer8 shipped its first 1,200 units and opened an online portal for developers creating games and apps for the console," writes PC World. "Those who contributed $699 or more to the Kickstarter campaign received an Ouya devs package, one dev console, two dev controllers with batteries, and an HDMI cable, a Micro-USB cable, and a power adapter."
While there is plenty of excitement over an open-source console, as evidenced by the Kickstarter's success, console sales in general are down, and some analysts think the market will continue to wane. Perhaps the small startup can pioneer a different direction for the industry.