This article was published on August 3, 2012

OUYA’s buzz wont quit: Partners with iHeartRadio and Guitar Hero’s creators as it passes $6.5M


OUYA’s buzz wont quit: Partners with iHeartRadio and Guitar Hero’s creators as it passes $6.5M

Oh yes folks, there’s (yet again) more news surrounding OUYA’s $99 indie gaming console. After passing $6.5M in funding on Kickstarter, OUYA is now partnering with iHeartRadio to release its HTML5 app on the console. Keep in mind that the company only just teamed up with VEVO and also recently announced an important partnership with cloud gaming company OnLive days ago.

Like the other partnerships, optimizing iHeartRadio’s HTML5 app likely wont take too much time for either company, especially as browser functionality appears to be built right into the Android-based console. What’s impressive here is the endorsement, which is clearly building credibility for an otherwise un-tested platform.

iHeartRadio’s service is also available nearly everywhere: online, on mobile and tablet devices, in cars, Xboxes and even the GoogleTV, so it’s no surprise to see the service step up. The downside to this is that the service is US only. According to OUYA, some sort of internationally available and equivalent partnership is also in the works.

More from iHeartRadio:

iHeartRadio’s HTML 5 App is a great fit for OUYA because it’s built for a large screen format and provides an intuitive and engaging audio and visual experience.

The Android-powered gaming console will have all the same features as our regular app — the best live radio stations from all over America, PLUS user-created Custom Stations, like a playlist, inspired by favorite artists and songs, all-in-one free digital radio experience.

In addition to this, OUYA has also announced that U4iA, the makers of Guitar Hero and Call of Duty, will be creating OUYA’s first confirmed first-person shooter, Offensive Combat. From U4iA CEO Dusty Welch:

Everyone here at U4iA Games is excited to bring our titles to OUYA! Given that consoles are so expensive and face an uncertain future, OUYA stands out as the perfect example of an affordable home-entertainment platform created specifically for core gamers like us. We’ve used our profound wisdom to create a cheeky, free-for-all shooting mash-up called Offensive Combat. Moving forward, we can’t wait to bring all-new games in the Offensive Combat universe to the OUYA platform.

This news comes with just five days left for the wildly successful Kickstarter project, which is currently sitting on an impressive $6,506,703 total pledged of a $950,000 goal.

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