Earlier this month, OUYA CEO and founder Julie Uhrman announced “OUYA Everywhere,” an effort to move the OUYA experience beyond the current box. She said that OUYA is about games and game developers, not about the way players get them.
“We want to deliver OUYA to gamers wherever they play — whether or not they bought a box from us. We’re the open guys, right? So why lock OUYA in a box? Even a beautiful one? So we’re embarking on a new project to embed the OUYA platform into other devices on the market.”
She said in a blog that the company was already talking with a handful of partners. One of those partners, of course, is Mad Catz. The peripheral company announced on Thursday that OUYA Everywhere will be available on its Android-based console, the M.O.J.O.
So how exactly is that going to work? Just look at how Amazon’s Appstore works on Android devices, and you’ll totally get it. An over the air update will place the OUYA app on the home screen. Presumably, gamers will then need to set up an OUYA account. Once that’s completed and the app is launched, gamers will be greeted by the same OUYA interface offered on the OUYA hardware. Games can then be purchased and installed on the M.O.J.O. just like they are with Google Play.
“[The] only difference is that we have a cutting edge Bluetooth 4.0 controller and a far higher spec to run the software!” said a Mad Catz rep.
The move is interesting in that up until now, the OUYA and M.O.J.O. have been competitors over the last several months. Uhrman said there will always be a reference device, but this setup on the M.O.J.O., and eventually other Android “consoles,” eliminated the need to buy the OUYA hardware. Even more, Mad Catz has reduced the price of M.O.J.O. down to $199.99, making it undoubtedly more attractive to the Android console crowd.
For the uninitiated, OUYA is a closed ecosystem: you can’t install your Google Play games onto the console without rooting the device. The biggest selling point for OUYA is that (1) it was the first Android console on the markets (2) the OUYA has a HUGE library of games spanning from AAA developers to indie game makers. The M.O.J.O. console from Mad Catz doesn’t have a closed ecosystem; Google Play and Tegra Zone is already installed and waiting to download your purchased games.
Right now, M.O.J.O. owners have the best of both worlds, not to mention better hardware than the first generation OUYA device. The M.O.J.O. sports the Tegra 4 while the OUYA has a Tegra 3 chip.
“Up until now, the game console experience has been locked inside a box,” said Julie Uhrman, CEO and founder of OUYA. “Together with the hardware veterans at Mad Catz, we end that. Today’s announcement signifies the inception of a truly open platform where independent developers can bring their creations to the platforms where gamers actually play — everywhere.”
For more information about the M.O.J.O. console, head here. OUYA Everywhere will arrive on the M.O.J.O. this Spring.
