OUYA Introduces A $60-A-Year Subscription With Unlimited Access To (Some) Paid Games And (Some) In-App Purchases

If you could pay a flat fee for all-you-can-eat games on Android, would you? OUYA is hoping that the answer is yes, because the creators of the prototypical Android micro-console are now offering just such a service. OUYA owners can now purchase the $59.99 OUYA All-Access Pass from the website, which includes free access to “over 800” paid games and in-app purchases. OUYA claims this is an “over $2000 value,” though a full list of the included apps and IAPs is not published.

Gamasutra got a look at All-Access earlier today, revealing that it’s a fairly experimental service being offered only to some OUYA developers. This program will only include games from developers that opt-in  – at least some games would continue to be “paid” even for subscribers. And naturally, as soon as your subscription runs out, you’ll lose access to the games that you “bought.” There’s another interesting tidbit: the service will include at least some free access to in-app purchases. According to OUYA site text, “unlock” or “premium” IAPs will be included for subscribers. For example: an OUYA subscriber who downloaded a free game would automatically unlock the “Ad free” or “all levels unlocked” IAP. Consumable items, like in-app currency, ammunition, or extra lives, will not be covered.

The developers who have been chosen to participate will be paid by OUYA for every game download and IAP, regardless of whether it was from a standard OUYA user or a subscription customer. The usual 70/30 split for the developer and platform applies. OUYA is instructing developers not to change the price of their apps or in-app purchases while participating in the program, at least not without consulting them. There’s a $30 limit for individual purchases.

Whether or not the All-Access subscription will stick around is hard to say, because OUYA told its developers that this is a “very limited test,” and the promotional page says that it is a “limited time and quantity.” If the program is successful, we should see a wider rollout and more marketing in the next few months.

So, any takers?

Source: OUYA via Gamasutra