Ouya game console announces ship date

Ouya, the Android-based games console funded by crowd-sourcing site Kickstarter, says it's taking pre-orders and expects to start shipping hardware next April. The open-to-all system is seen as a return to the days when anyone could develop a game for a computer system and a reaction against the closed shops of the giant game companies that keep independent game developers locked out, theinquirer.net reported. In its Kickstarting fundraising it easily exceeded its own targets and has announced some content deals including an exclusive Final Fantasy release. Ouya had a funding target of $950,000 to start development, but raised $8,596,475 from 63,416 Kickstarter backers. It is expected to be priced at around $120 for the console and one controller, or $209 for the console and four controllers, theinquirer.net reported.