Book publishing has the big six; console gaming has the big three. As the only major survivors from the more robust console ecosystem of the ?90s, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have dominated the console system market for over a decade with big name consoles and bigger game franchises. But that might be changing thanks to the upstart Ouya console, set to debut in the next few months.
Ouya was a Kickstarter phenomenon; 63,416 backers pledged $8,596,474 to support development of the project. The goal? A $99 open gaming system running on Android that gives purchasers license to hack the hardware and software. Ouya is also unique in requiring that games developed for the console include at least some free-to-play elements so gamers can try before they buy.
Don?t expect the game franchises that define the big three consoles to come to the Ouya. No Mario, no God of War, no Halo. There are at least 481 games in development for the system, primarily from independent publishers. The question of quality vs. quantity remains, but with some major headliners like Minecraft and a rich backlist of older titles, including Square Enix?s Final Fantasy III, the system has great potential.
Or at least it does on paper. Mobile gaming is certainly one of the hottest sectors of the multibillion-dollar game industry right now. With an Andriod base, the Ouya is poised to capture part of that market through easy ports from mobile to console. The challenge will be building excitement about the independent games in the face of huge, console-defining legends like Mario and Halo. Will gamers give independent games a chance?
Libraries should keep an eye on the Ouya. Not only as a relatively inexpensive way to bring console games to the library, but also as an example of independent publishing squaring off against the established giants. As libraries make deals with independent publishers and self-publishing aggregators like Smashwords, we will face a similar challenge of discovery. Will the quality of the independent content be high enough to compete? Will readers who are attached to major authors and established story lines be attracted to new options? Let?s see what we can learn as the Ouya launches.
Source: http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/e-content/ouya-game-changing-game-system
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