We reported only a few weeks ago of the Kickstarter phenomenon that is OUYA, attempting to shake-up the gaming world by returning focus back to software and gameplay, offering an affordable, yet visually appealing, hardware platform.
Many facts about the OUYA platform remain to be revealed, however, we can now confirm that OnLive cloud gaming, which features AAA titles from over 80 publishers, will be available for OUYA from launch. In a way, this places to rest concerns that the console may be a little light on the titles front come launch time; provided one has access to a good internet connection.
OnLive will also serve-up 30 minute free demos of "nearly every game", offering users a reasonable chance to try before they buy, mind you, as far as OUYA's primary marketing strategy is concerned, for its own native games, the makers are insisting on a free-to-play pricing structure and have confirmed that developers will not need to pay any licencing fees to use the platform.
What still remains in the dark is exactly how developers are to make money, whether this will be through advertisement, subscription, in-game purchase or something else entirely; certainly, OUYA will have to tread carefully as it establishes the all important balance of Profit = Sales - Development.
This writer must admit, however, that he's incredibly excited at the prospect of seeing developer focus return to game-play, away from many of the glorified tech demos that we see on today's market.
