Up until OUYA — a new breed of gaming console — the cost and complexity of developing for a television-based gaming device had been extremely high, and these costs prevented indie developers from bringing games to larger screens. OUYA is built on Android, making the platform more accessible, which in turn should bring lower prices and greater game options to consumers.

Backers could pledge $99 to preorder their own OUYA, which captured the attention of gamers everywhere. The original funding goal was a lofty $950,000, but the company exceeded that milestone in no time. The funding round closed at almost $8.6 million.

The OUYA console isn’t expected to ship to backers until March 2013, but users will have instant access to OnLive, Xbox Media Center and “Final Fantasy III.” If the platform is adopted as planned, we can expect many more game announcements to come.