Were you aware that there was some serious disruption at the core of big corporate gaming? Earlier today, the OUYA video game console project launched. Less than 24 hours later, they have raised over $2,000,000 (over double their goal) making it the eighth Kickstarter project to reach over a million bucks and gave it the biggest first day for a Kickstarter project ever. What kind of project could get this kind of cash this quickly? A pretty darn spectacular one, that’s what.
The OUYA (pronounced OOO-Yah) is a supremely powerful, $99 dollar, HD, hacker friendly, Android based video game console that handles exclusively free-to-play games and is built with indie developers in mind. The controller is shiny with the standard selection of buttons (two analog sticks, d-pad, eight action buttons, a system button) and has a very special touch pad in the center (a touch screen without the screen). I would love to talk more about it, but you are better off just reading the Kickstarter page and watching the project video yourself.
Let me just say though what a game changer this could be. What the OUYA people were looking for was a sign from the gamers, from the indie developers, that change was needed and change was due. There is no question that they got the answer they were looking for – and in just a few short hours. I look forward to seeing the dollar number at the end of this Kickstarter project. I’m sure execs from Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are currently paying close attention and shaking in their boots.
Coming out of E3 we have the first trailer for the Lego Lord of the Rings videogame! Looks epic! And I guess the talking Lego Minifigs are here to stay!
Original music from Jim Dooley and Mike Himelstein
Oswald will be voiced by Frank Welker.
Play as Oswald in co-op
Once again uses magical paint and thinner
Oswald has a remote control that has the power to command electricity
Work together to solve puzzles and progress
Original sold 1.3 million copies in North America
Choices will affect what happens
Due for release this fall
Songs and music will change based on whether gamers prompt Mickey to be well-mannered or mischievou
Coming to Wii, 360, PS3
Fixing the camera issues from the first game
Mickey will be returning to the Wasteland
Revisit some areas, but they’ve been changed by earthquakes and other disasters
Visit new Wasteland realms as well
“I’m such a geek about musicals. I love the co-op and next-gen stuff, but for me, when a character breaks into song, which they do on a regular basis in this game, it’s magic.” – Warren Spector
“I couldn’t be more pleased. Once you give a character a voice, it takes it to a whole new level. I can’t wait for the public to see it and embrace Oswald the way that we have over the years in the archive.” – Walt Disney Co. archive director Becky Cline
“It’s drop-in, drop-out co-op. You can sit down at any time with a friend who is playing as Mickey, and you can take control of Oswald. If you’re playing as a single player, Oswald will be there every second of the game. He’s not just a multiplayer character. He’s a helper, whether you’re playing alone or with a friend or family member
We couldn’t ask people to care about this guy they’ve never heard of or no one has ever seen since 1928 in a Disney film. It was unrealistic to expect people to care in the first game, but now we know they care. We hear about it from players all the time. They really, really got into Oswald, which is hugely gratifying.” – Warren Spector
“We’ve had a team working on the camera from literally the day we finished the first game. They’ll be working on it until the day we ship the second game. (There have been) over 1,000 specific changes made to the camera. Our goal is that you will not have to touch the manual camera controls even once to play through the main story path of this game.” – Warren Spector
“There’s always been one part of the (Disney) parks that I’ve always wanted to get into Wasteland. Frontierland has changed so much since it started. There’s so much forgotten history there, so Frontierland is going to get a pretty good exploration this time around, plus some other places that we’ll keep secret for now.” – Warren Spector
The minifigs can talk! Since 2005 when the original Lego Star Wars game came out, Lego minifigs have communicated in their games with waves and grunts. No longer is this the way it shall be. Now they shall talk and make cheesy puns about their brick-built realm!
Joystiq reported yesterday that Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 will be releasing this year for almost all platforms, including Sony’s new handheld, the NGP. The game will follow through the last 3 treacherous books (or 4 movies, depending on how you look at it). It’s sure to be just as good or better than the original.
rumphy 