Ouya confirmed months ago that its Android Jelly Bean powered console will be equipped with Nvidia’s Tegra SoC.
And now Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman has acknowledged that the two companies are working closely together to optimize the Tegra 3 for use with a wired console, rather than a battery-based mobile device.
“The partner that we’ve worked the most with, that is incredibly supportive of developers, Nvidia, they have multiple people on their team dedicated to our account,” Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman told Engadget during a recent interview.
“[The company is helping] OUYA to be the best Tegra 3 device on the market.”
Meanwhile, Nvidia exec Tony Tamasi said his company was working to “maximize” the Tegra’s performance for the Ouya.
“They’ve been amazing to work with… The rich catalog of optimized and differentiated TegraZone games – along with the work being done with developers – ensures a flourishing ecosystem is in place and continues to grow.”
It should be noted that Ouya is already prepping an updated version of the console, with Uhrman going so far as to say a new iteration of the system will be available each and every year with as much mobile processing power as possible under the hood.
In reality, a new version of the console every year may sound like a tall order – especially when you consider how many years it takes classic game consoles from Sony and Microsoft to be upgraded.
Then again, changes happen very quickly in the mobile industry and the Ouya is essentially powered by mobile hardware. Indeed, the current console is equipped with Nvidia’s Tegra 3 chipset, but with the Tegra 4 already announced, the latest flagship chipset would be a natural fit for the next generation of the Ouya.
“If we could do it for less than $99, we would. Our strategy is very much similar to the mobile strategy. There will be a new Ouya every year. There will be an Ouya 2 and an Ouya 3… We’ll take advantage of faster, better processors, take advantage of prices falling. So if we can get more than 8GB of Flash in our box, we will,” Uhrman added.
