If you’ve been to a GameStop recently—or called one, for that matter—you may have noticed their ever-expanding inventory. You can buy iPhones and iPods at GameStop. Farmville points. A freakin’ Google Nexus. These things are all game-related, certainly, but they’re not games per se. While it may seem odd, there’s a reason for this gradual change in the products good ol’ GameStop deals in.
See, hardcopy games are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Sure, some hipsters and nostalgic nerds like me will still keep them around, but it will soon become a waste of money for publishers to print games in bulk. A decade from now, the majority of games—even huge, AAA-titles like Madden and Call of Duty—will only be available for download, unless you want to cough up $150 or so for a collector’s edition. If one exists at all.
In light of our changing world, GameStop may soon start carrying the Ouya, Android’s wacky little open-source box, which will retail for a whopping $99. If the giant retailer picks up the tiny console, it could easily spell success for the ambitious Kickstarter project.
I have strange, confused feelings about the Ouya, to be quite honest. I’m a huge sucker for open-source anything, and the cheap price tag is pretty enticing for struggling writers gamers everywhere. I’m always wary of the free-to-play model, though. However, I hope the Ouya does well, as we really need some change in the market.
Spoiler alert: it's fantastic.
