News Byte

With Interest From Asia, Mid-Core Game Developer nWay Raises $5 Million Series A

NWay, the two-year-old gaming startup behind the Facebook game Chrono Blade, has raised a $5 million Series A round. Co-founder and CEO Taehoon Kim said TransLink Capital, which led the round, is well connected in Asia and that the action RPG has generated interest from Asian publishers. The company plans to launch new online multiplayer features this week, and will carry those real-time MMO features over to iOS, Android and Ouya ports of Chrono Blade next year — something nWay says is a technological feat for mobile.

Unu, Yet Another Android Gaming Device, Ships by November

Here comes another one!

News Byte

Mad Catz’s M.O.J.O. Microconsole Costs $250, Opens for Preorders

The M.O.J.O., an Android-based but TV-connected microconsole developed by gaming-peripherals manufacturer Mad Catz, will cost $250 when it goes on sale in December, the company announced today. That puts it near the high end of competing Android gaming devices, closer to the portable $300 Nvidia Shield than the TV-connected $80 GameStick or $100 Ouya. The M.O.J.O.’s website is now accepting preorders ahead of its Dec. 10 launch date, although the company said in a press release that the microconsole will only be available “in limited quantities” at that time.

Valve’s Steam Machines Won’t Be “Console Killers,” but Here’s How They Could Shake Up Gaming Anyway

If they work as promised, Steam Machines could be disruptive — just not in the way you think.

Ouya Rewrites Its Troubled Kickstarter Contest’s Rules After Another Game Flames Out (Update)

Broad, sweeping changes for the much-scrutinized indie crowdfunding contest.

Embattled Game Developer Has “Strong Suspicions” About Who Sank His Kickstarter Campaign

Victory Square Games CEO Sam Chandola explains the Ouya-Kickstarter controversy to backers, once more with feeling.
elementary

Viral Video: $300 Game Console Blown Up in Fireworks “Teardown” … And Then Again, in Slow Motion

“I guess I gotta go buy a new one.” Smooth!

Kickstarter Project Accused of “Scam” Suspended, Developer Quits Ouya Contest (Update)

Next step: Finding VC funding to replace the money sent back to backers.
elementary

Under Fire, Ouya Game Developers on Kickstarter Say They Did Nothing Wrong

The curious incident of the Ouya “free the games” project.
koolaid-ouya-skeptical

News Byte

Android Microconsole GameStick Planned for September 30 Worldwide Release

GameStick, an Android-based gaming microconsole made by PlayJam that plugs into a TV’s HDMI port, will be released on Sept. 30, according to its Amazon and GameStop pages. Liliputing was first to blog about the release dates. The GameStick raised $647,658 on Kickstarter earlier this year — more than six times its original goal — but shipments to backers were delayed beyond the originally expected April 2013 window. According to a post on the GameStick blog, Kickstarter backers should receive their units by mid-September at the latest.