Ouya in action at GDC 2013

What's a backer launch without a party?

Ouya had their big backer launch bash at GDC 2013, giving everybody a shot to try out the $99 Android-powered gaming console. There has been a lot of excitement leading up to this launch, not only because it stands to be yet another Kickstarter success story, but also because it's paving the way for a whole new product category of Android devices.

The main thing for me was game selection, and what was available didn't disappoint; Puddle,Gunslugs, Final Fantasy 3, Radiant, Organ Trail, and Ice Rage were just some of the titles I recognized that were installed on the demo units (which were apparently final retail hardware). Everything performed pretty well, and the controllers felt great in hand. A cynic may look at the Ouya as the poor man's Xbox, but it stands to be a great console for those that want a little something to play on a secondary TV - be it elsewhere in the home, or, thanks to its portability, off at someone else's. At that $99 price point, it also present a low barrier for entry to those just looking to dabble in console gaming, rather than dive into it head-first.

Aside from playing on Ouya consoles, MakerBot was at the backer launch event printing off some of those custom cases we heard about earlier. There was a bunch of Ouya prototype consoles and controllers laying around too, which made for an interesting look at the device's journey.

So those are just a few initial impressions, but be sure to stick around for our full review once the retail unit lands on our doorstep. Ouya is hitting public shelves this June, but you can preorder right now. Who's biting?

Via: Ouya in action at GDC 2013