If I were to ask the average American teenager to name their favorite video game system, they would probably respond with one of three answers: Xbox360, Playstation 3, or Wii.  What if I were to tell you that one year from now, “Ouya” would be the the most popular video game console in the U.S.?  I’m sure I would get a lot of puzzled reactions, considering that not too many people have heard of this “console of the future” yet.

Set to be released in March 2013 for $99, the Ouya is an open-source, Android powered gaming console that works more like an iPad than an Xbox, where a user hooks up the system to a TV and downloads games online instead of going out to the nearest Target to purchase the hottest video game releases.  The Ouya is open to any video game developer, and is fully hackable, which gives users the ability to mess around with the system as much as they want, something that is not as easy to do on a current console.

It will be interesting to see how the Ouya will compete against the current giants in the video game market, and how the games will compare in quality to popular console titles such as Call of Duty, Super Mario, etc.  The one thing that will attract consumers is the $99 price tag, considering that most people don’t want to invest hundreds of dollars on a video game console, not mentioning the $60 price tags on many of the popular titles.

By this time next year, the Ouya will most likely be in the growth stage, and we will have a better understanding on what the Ouya really is, and if it really does offer a unique experience for gamers, or if it is just a forgettable console in the same category as the DreamCast or the N-Gage. Only time will tell.

It has been recently reported that Nike’s income has taken a sharp plunge in the recent months, and analysts believe that it is due to high product costs.  With the 2012 Summer Olympics on the horizon, Nike plans on releasing Nike+ technology equipped basketball and training shoes, which will give athletes information about their performance straight to their phone.  Nike hopes that sales will rise considering that many of the top athletes in the world will be wearing their high-tech products under the watchful eyes of millions of people around the world.  The question is, is Nike’s targeted market of consumers willing to shell out hundreds of dollars just so that they can track their progress through their phone?

As someone who exercises 5-6 days a week, I think it would be nice to be able to know on the spot how fast I ran or how high I jumped, but it really isn’t something that I would consider a necessity.  With Nike Hyperdunk basketball shoes already costing upwards of $130 dollars, I don’t think many people will have the disposable income to be purchasing high tech shoes for an even higher price.  It will be interesting to see how the product life cycle for Nike+ develops within the next few months.  Right now, Nike is the only company who has a high tech shoe ready to go, so they will be the one that sets the market for this particular type of product.  I know Adidas will be coming out with a similar product soon, so we’ll find out how their introduction stage compares to Nike’s, and then we’ll see how they compare in the growth stage as well.  Maybe I’ll change my mind about Nike+ in the future but right now, I’m pretty content with wearing shoes that don’t have chips inside of them.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-06-28/nike-4q-net-income-falls-on-high-costs