<s>
A	O
microconsole	B-Device
is	O
a	O
home	B-Device
video	I-Device
game	I-Device
console	I-Device
that	O
is	O
typically	O
powered	O
by	O
low-cost	O
computing	O
hardware	O
,	O
making	O
the	O
console	O
lower-priced	O
compared	O
to	O
other	O
home	B-Device
consoles	I-Device
on	O
the	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
majority	O
of	O
microconsoles	B-Device
,	O
with	O
a	O
few	O
exceptions	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
TV	I-Device
and	O
OnLive	B-Application
Game	O
System	O
,	O
are	O
Android-based	O
digital	B-Application
media	I-Application
players	I-Application
that	O
are	O
bundled	O
with	O
gamepads	B-Device
and	O
marketed	O
as	O
gaming	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
microconsoles	B-Device
can	O
be	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
television	O
to	O
play	O
video	O
games	O
downloaded	O
from	O
an	O
application	O
store	O
such	O
as	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microconsoles	B-Device
came	O
about	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
2010s	O
,	O
shortly	O
after	O
the	O
rise	O
of	O
mobile	B-Application
gaming	I-Application
on	O
smartphones	O
and	O
tablet	O
devices	O
from	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
units	O
were	O
seen	O
as	O
a	O
means	O
to	O
marry	O
the	O
idea	O
of	O
home	B-Device
video	I-Device
game	I-Device
consoles	I-Device
with	O
smartphone	O
and	O
tablet	O
gaming	O
,	O
taking	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
large	O
library	O
of	O
games	O
already	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
Android	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
OnLive	B-Application
's	O
MicroConsole	B-Device
brought	O
the	O
name	O
"	O
microconsole	B-Device
"	O
to	O
the	O
field	O
,	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
microconsole	B-Device
"	O
was	O
more	O
widely	O
adapted	O
to	O
describe	O
these	O
units	O
as	O
a	O
whole	O
as	O
it	O
mirrored	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
of	O
the	O
1970s	O
and	O
1980s	O
compared	O
to	O
mainframes	B-Architecture
and	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Just	O
as	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
represented	O
low-cost	O
,	O
less	O
powerful	O
,	O
and	O
smaller	O
form-factor	O
versions	O
of	O
their	O
larger	O
equivalents	O
,	O
microconsoles	B-Device
tend	O
to	O
be	O
similarly	O
available	O
at	O
lower	O
cost	O
using	O
cheaper	O
computation	O
hardware	O
and	O
packaged	O
in	O
smaller	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2010	O
,	O
cloud	B-Application
gaming	I-Application
startup	O
OnLive	B-Application
released	O
MicroConsole	B-Device
,	O
a	O
television	O
adapter	O
and	O
wireless	O
gamepad	B-Device
that	O
connects	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
video	O
game	O
streaming	O
service	O
to	O
televisions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MicroConsole	B-Device
TV	O
adapter	O
was	O
produced	O
at	O
a	O
loss	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
OnLive	B-Application
's	O
MicroConsole	B-Device
made	O
the	O
company	O
an	O
early	O
leader	O
in	O
the	O
nascent	O
microconsole	B-Device
field	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amidst	O
a	O
"	O
new	O
war	O
for	O
TV	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
consumer	O
electronics	O
industry	O
,	O
an	O
inexpensive	O
and	O
simple	O
Android-based	O
video	O
game	O
console	O
designed	O
for	O
televisions	O
called	O
Ouya	B-Application
was	O
announced	O
for	O
crowdfunding	O
in	O
July	O
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Ouya	B-Application
was	O
an	O
overnight	O
success	O
and	O
raised	O
$8.5	O
million	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Significant	O
interest	O
in	O
low-cost	O
Android	B-Application
console	O
gaming	O
followed	O
Ouya	B-Application
's	O
success	O
,	O
spurred	O
by	O
the	O
mobile	B-Application
games	I-Application
industry	O
growth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
industry	O
began	O
to	O
refer	O
to	O
the	O
resulting	O
consoles	O
as	O
alternative	O
consoles	O
,	O
or	O
microconsoles	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Polygon	O
reported	O
that	O
Android	B-Application
"	O
consoles	O
"	O
were	O
best-in-show	O
at	O
the	O
January	O
2013	O
Consumer	O
Electronics	O
Show	O
,	O
citing	O
devices	O
like	O
the	O
MOGA	O
Pro	O
,	O
Green	B-Application
Throttle	I-Application
Games	I-Application
Atlas	O
controller	O
,	O
Nvidia	B-Application
Shield	I-Application
,	O
and	O
news	O
of	O
Valve	O
's	O
Steam	B-Device
Machine	I-Device
,	O
a	O
non-Android	O
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
Ouya	B-Application
's	O
success	O
,	O
other	O
similar	O
set-top	O
Android	B-Application
gaming	O
devices	O
were	O
announced	O
as	O
direct	O
competitors	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
GameStick	B-Application
in	O
early	O
2013	O
,	O
GamePop	B-Application
in	O
May	O
2013	O
,	O
and	O
Mad	O
Catz	O
's	O
MOJO	B-Application
in	O
June	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Forbes	O
's	O
Daniel	O
Nye	O
Griffiths	O
referred	O
to	O
Ouya	B-Application
and	O
GameStick	B-Application
's	O
close	O
release	O
dates	O
as	O
the	O
microconsole	B-Device
field	O
's	O
first	O
"	O
showdown	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
GamePop	B-Application
and	O
MOJO	B-Application
announcements	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
summer	O
referred	O
to	O
the	O
devices	O
as	O
"	O
microconsoles	B-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PlayStation	B-Device
TV	I-Device
(	O
known	O
in	O
Asia	O
as	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Vita	I-Device
TV	I-Device
)	O
is	O
a	O
microconsole	B-Device
announced	O
in	O
September	O
2013	O
at	O
a	O
Sony	O
Computer	O
Entertainment	O
Japan	O
presentation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gamasutra	O
called	O
Ouya	B-Application
,	O
GameStick	B-Application
,	O
and	O
GamePop	B-Application
"	O
console	O
alternatives	O
"	O
that	O
represent	O
"	O
a	O
potential	O
new	O
market	O
space	O
for	O
developers	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tadhg	O
Kelly	O
,	O
writing	O
for	O
Edge	O
,	O
called	O
2013	O
"	O
the	O
year	O
of	O
the	O
microconsole	B-Device
"	O
,	O
citing	O
less	O
consumer	O
need	O
for	O
traditional	O
console	O
power	O
,	O
the	O
low	O
price	O
of	O
microconsole	B-Device
manufacture	O
,	O
increased	O
system	O
compatibility	O
for	O
easier	O
game	O
development	O
,	O
and	O
more	O
developer	O
freedom	O
from	O
console	O
business	O
interests	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microconsole	B-Device
promises	O
of	O
a	O
less	O
restrictive	O
platform	O
are	O
expected	O
to	O
empower	O
independent	O
game	O
developers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kelly	O
referred	O
to	O
the	O
"	O
deliberately	O
small	O
"	O
microconsoles	B-Device
as	O
"	O
the	O
netbooks	B-Device
of	O
the	O
console	O
world	O
"	O
,	O
not	O
intended	O
to	O
compete	O
with	O
big	O
video	O
game	O
consoles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
reviewers	O
called	O
the	O
microconsoles	B-Device
competitors	O
,	O
though	O
not	O
a	O
threat	O
,	O
and	O
referred	O
to	O
a	O
crowded	O
"	O
non-traditional	O
console	O
space	O
"	O
as	O
a	O
disadvantage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kelly	O
added	O
that	O
Ouya	B-Application
is	O
heavily	O
focused	O
on	O
the	O
early	O
adopter	O
audience	O
and	O
its	O
interests	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
Ouya	B-Application
's	O
"	O
natural	O
advantage	O
"	O
of	O
price	O
has	O
not	O
been	O
communicated	O
effectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Edge	O
questioned	O
possibilities	O
of	O
microconsole	B-Device
success	O
due	O
to	O
competition	O
within	O
the	O
field	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
from	O
Nintendo	O
,	O
Sony	O
,	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
new	O
consoles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
pre-release	O
Ouya	B-Application
was	O
panned	O
by	O
early	O
reviewers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
video	O
game	O
industry	O
saw	O
Apple	O
's	O
Apple	B-Device
TV	I-Device
as	O
potential	O
microconsole	B-Device
competition	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
experience	O
in	O
the	O
mobile	B-Application
games	I-Application
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Polygon	O
reported	O
in	O
January	O
2013	O
that	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
TV	I-Device
"continue[d]	O
to	O
be	O
dangerously	O
close	O
to	O
upending	O
the	O
mobile	B-Application
gaming	I-Application
space	O
"	O
and	O
speculated	O
that	O
an	O
Apple	B-Device
TV	I-Device
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
could	O
spark	O
"	O
a	O
rush	O
of	O
games	O
to	O
the	O
television	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
