OpenRoad + Mod7
Two pioneering organizations, together at last.
OpenRoad is pleased to announce the acquisition of creative agency Mod7.
Read the letter from our PrincipalGamers have spoken: "Build us an open console and we will come.
Posted on July 13, 2012 in Media Culture by Mod7
Indie game devs want to get their games on gamer's televisions, without the console dev kit headache. And apparently gamers want to get their hackable, mobile-like gaming fix with a console-like form-factor. OUYA sounds like a solid business opportunity in an un-served niche, and gamers overwhelmingly agree, backing the project on Kickstarter with $2.5 million in the first day. Throw in a darling OS, superstar designer Yves Béhar to lead the design, a warm reception from indie devs, and what could possibly go wrong?
Well, plenty. The market might be dying for something like this right now, but how much will the market have changed by the estimated launch date of March 2013? It doesn't seem so far away, but all it takes is a major industry player ( Valve, anyone?) to come in with a creative hardware solution to a wildly-popular game-distribution service and it's, well, you know... game over. And then there is the issue of quality and discovery : it will certainly be interesting to see how (or even if ) OUYA will help players sort the best gaming experiences from the worst ones (of which there will be plenty, if the Android Market is any indication ).
At least OUYA is thinking big: they know that, beyond the hardware, they need a solid gaming ecosystem, and are even talking about 1st-party game development. This is big-league stuff. And, if Kevin has taught us anything, it's that you need big dreams to play in the big leagues.