I think it’s safe to say that 2012 was a revolutionary year for Android gaming, both on a title and device front. With the increase in smaller manufacturers ramping up the mobile offering of the platform, it was only natural that a flood of new and interesting titles would emerge, taking advantage of some of the technological advances showcased by the new devices. 2012 was the year where to offer an HD version of any given title became the standard, and to not be indicative of a poor offering, for example.

Today, I thought I’d take a look at some of the gadgets and gizmos, specifically those that bring the experience to your television screen, that use the Android platform to be released in the coming year – and to offer some comment on their potential for making 2013 the most incredible year for Android gaming yet!

OUYA

For those of you who, like me, are more-or-less glued to their monitor from dawn until dusk, it’s almost impossible to imagine how you may have missed talk about the OUYA. Maybe you’ve been buried under a rock, head in the sand, or deep-sea diving off the cost of Australia with no Wi-Fi. If you haven’t had any of these experiences, then really you have no excuse.

Taking the shape of a beautiful metallic cube, the OUYA seeks to revolutionize how we think about gaming in the home. Promising to free us from the shackles of corporate consoles, such as Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s Playstation 3, the OUYA offers the open-source potential of Android to those gamers who are not content to stay glued to a mobile screen.

The project is notable for having gathered money through Kickstarter, an online crowd-funding site which allows indie developers who are more than a little strapped for cash, the chance to get their projects off the ground regardless of wealthy backers and corporate big-wigs. Think of it as Dragon’s Den but without any Dragons, so basically just a cool place to chill.

The console is incredibly interesting, as it touts itself as ‘hackable hardware’ – meaning that the console could lead to an abundance of indie games in the same vein as the ZX Spectrum revolution. However, early reviews and speculation point to one major problem – the raw power of the machine itself. Whether the OUYA lives up to its full potential, we shall see on release day. Until then, leave it as the beautiful dream it undoubtedly is.

The Gamestick

Almost as though someone had seen the Kickstarter profile for the OUYA and thought, ‘wait a minute, I could do that but slightly different and offer it for £20 cheaper!’, the Gamestick snapped into life, challenging the aforementioned console for its indie-controlled crown.

Whereas the OUYA has all the design flair of an IKEA chair leg, the Gamestick promises to deliver similar computing functionality, all within a device the size of a USB stick. Though it all sounds slightly too good to be true, we have nothing but high hopes for the console, which, if successful, will add an air of healthy competition into the proceedings. Though some of you may find this ironic as the whole point of indie development is healthy co-operation and grouping artists against corporations, not in-fighting and opposition, the Gamestick could make developers think more creatively about the titles they wish to develop, and adds a whole new platform to explore and perfect for gaming.

So there you have it, two of the most highly anticipated console releases, expected within the next twelve months. Not sure where either will be stocked, but rest assured that, when a release day comes, I’ll be waiting out in the cold for my chance to play them first.

Author Bio: The post is written by Jason Phillips. He is a web enthusiast and a blogger. He has contributed hundreds of quality articles to blogs and sites. Newly he wrote for the site truckgames365.com .