Ouya to follow mobile model; new one every year

Android-based, Kickstarter-backed home console Ouya isn’t even out yet and its makers are already planning annual revisions of the device.

The plan mimics hardware trends seen in the smartphone and tablet markets, and the company plans to take advantage of newer technologies and lower costs to up the console’s performance with each revision.

"As it relates to iterating the console and refreshes, our strategy is very much similar to the mobile strategy. There will be a new Ouya every year," CEO Julie Uhrman told Joystiq at DICE.

"There will be an Ouya 2 and an Ouya 3. We’ll take advantage of faster, better processors, take advantage of prices falling,” she added.

Kickstarter backers will be the first to receive Ouya in March, and while an annual $100 purchase may not be too much to stomach, backers might have appreciated being informed of this strategy in advance.

Uhrman sought to reassure early adopters by stating that all Ouya games would be backward compatible with older devices and that games would be tied to user accounts rather than to the hardware.

Uhrman also announced a partnership with Double Fine to bring The Cave and Double Fine Adventure (now condenamed Reds) to Ouya. Paul Bettner’s studio Verse has also signed on to develop games for the device.

The Ouya will be released at US retail in June.

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