Oh yeah! I preordered an Ouya!

Ouya controller (Photo credit: Saad Faruque)

I’m feeling a strange sense of deja vu… oh right, I already wrote this post once today.

After getting my tax return I set aside appx $200 towards future gaming purchases. Originally this was going to be part of what was spent getting a PS4, but the price was never announced. I knew that meant it wouldn’t last long enough to make the purchase. Almost the next day I started looking into other options, and a few came to mind right away. I could get a PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS, or a Project GAEMS Sentry/Vanguard.

I had decided to get a VITA when I saw one for $170 on Amazon. Knowing that I already had several games for it thanks to PS+ this seemed like a great deal. It was when I was about to add it to the cart that I realized it did not include a charger, or memory card. In order to get this much-needed items I would have to spend appx $250. I just can’t justify spending that much on a hand-held system. It’s a good thing I decided that too because I went to Best Buy the other day and picked up a VITA for the first time. I felt immediately like I would not be playing it for more than a couple of weeks. I love the changes that have been made since the PSP and the integration with the PS4 is certainly a draw but it feels like more of a novelty item than a game system for me.

During that same trip I picked up a 3DS XL for the first time since Christmas at the mall. I didn’t really spend a lot of time analyzing it then but I immediately felt like it would be more fun than the PS VITA. I’m not exactly sure why either. The price was much better at $199 but I would have no games and therefore be spending $250 and only have one to play. My son also immediately asked for his turn when I picked it up which pretty much tells me that it would quickly become “his” and join his DS on the bedroom floor.

Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to see a Project GAEMS unit up close. This is something I have wanted since I first heard about it. It would be great for gaming during long on-call shifts at the office where I’m doing nothing but waiting on a phone call. I got as far as placing one of these in my online cart when I changed my mind, and it came down to price. The total cost of a GAEMS unit is equal to a 32 inch TV currently and since I primarily play at home it seemed like a bit of a waste. Additionally they cannot currently confirm whether it will work for PS4 and only know that it will work with future Xbox systems. This could leave me with a portable PS3 forever since I may not buy the next Xbox.

Those were really the only options I had considered until a day or two ago. I was unexpectedly reminded that OnLive is supposed to be available at launch on the Ouya. My computer only briefly ran OnLive the way it was supposed to so I’ve got a couple of games that I have not been able to play. I was holding out on buying an OnLive system once I heard about Ouya and once I remembered this it was a matter of adding the system and an extra controller to the cart. Although I will not get it until April I am very much looking forward to it and hope to do an unboxing and review on YouTube, if not more.