From affordable but feature-packed smartphones, Xiaomi has slowly expanded its portfoilo by releasing other consumer devices such as earphones, TVs and set top boxes. The next item on their list is Android gaming, and decided to collaborate with Ouya on their next venture.
Two budding companies, different outcomes
Though their project was successfully funded on Kickstarter, Ouya has not gained the traction that they were hoping for in the US since their USD99 gaming console began to hit the shelves last year. This, plus the lack of substantial partnerships ion the US just made it worse for the California-based company.
On the flip side, Xiaomi has been blowing its competitors out of the water and became the number one smartphone manufacturer in their home turf in just three years. Because of their success, the company has eventually moved up the ranks and began releasing their products outside of China, not to mention venture in other consumer electronics segments.
A much-needed shot in the arm for Ouya
The recently-inked partnership with Xiaomi may just very well be the much-needed shot in the arm that Ouya has been looking for. For one, China is the third largest gaming market in the world and Xiaomi’s popularity in its homeland will certainly come in handy for the success of Ouya’s Android-based consoles.
As for Xiaomi though, the partnership will complement their existing non-smartphone offerings (MiBox and MiTV) by expanding its functionalities through apps created by Ouya’s developers which is 40,000 strong as of today.
Where to from here?
Given the fact that not much detail was provided about the Xiaomi-Ouya deal, there’s no telling what the future hold for this new partnership. Can we expect a Xiaomi-made Android console? Maybe. What we do know is that Ouya is likely to have better success in China than in their own backyard and, given the right circumstances, there’s a chance that Xiaomi may carve a name for itself in the Android gaming division.
