Ouya console meets $950,000 Kickstarter funding goal in 8 hours

Ouya console already funded on Kickstarter.

The makers of Ouya, the low-cost video game console based on Google's Android OS and designed by Yves Behar, have already surpassed their $950,000 fundraising goal on Kickstarter. The project, a $99 game console and controller that aims to adapt the mobile app business model for the TV, was officially unveiled earlier today. It took just 8 hours and 14 minutes for Ouya to reach its goal.

Kickstarter backers quickly snapped up 1,000 "early bird" Ouya consoles at $95 a pop, which the company expects to begin shipping in March 2013. More than 5,000 additional consoles were pre-purchased at $99, with another hundred sold to prospective developers.

"We were totally psyched to reach our goal at 2pm," said Ouya CEO and founder Julie Uhrman in a statement to Polygon. "It took us 7 months to raise a little bit of investment from generous friends and family, and we raised the rest on Kickstarter in 8 hours. We are just floored.

"We thank the more than 7,600 backers who have supported us so far, and the rest yet to come. The next 29 days are about raising the bar: how much can we change things? We're going to hang on tight for the ride!"

Ouya's Kickstarter fundraising drive has another 29 days to go. Kickstarter project tracking site Kicktraq currently has the Android game console trending upwards of $29 million.

The Tegra 3-powered Ouya is attempting to differentiate itself from its console competitors by promoting free-to-play games and hack-friendly access to its hardware and OS. For more on Ouya, read our story on the hopeful console video game console.