Further Reading Alibaba to join Microsoft’s fight against pirate software in China

On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Ouya microconsole, the underpowered gaming system that has had a notable lack of major launches and announcements in recent months, might have some life in it yet—and that's all thanks to Alibaba. The Chinese online merchant, fresh off its record-breaking American IPO in September, reportedly threw a relative pittance of $10 million at the Android-powered game console company "last month."

The report claimed that the cash offer was made in exchange for using Ouya's marketplace and software library as a primary feature in Alibaba's eventual set-top box for Chinese living rooms. That move makes sense, following the end of China's decade-plus ban on game consoles last year; as of now, the only foreign company to take advantage of the lifted ban has been Microsoft, with an Xbox One launch late last year. (We're waiting to see when Sony and Nintendo will follow suit.)

But don't blame us for taking this news with a grain of salt. The last time we heard about Ouya bringing its software ecosystem to other devices was in May of last year, and that Ouya Everywhere initiative has resulted in... well... one compatible device thus far. We've also yet to hear any legitimate news about anything in the way of a followup "Twouya" console. Since we still haven't seen any Ouya activity that eases the worries we expressed last June, other than a partnership with Xiaomi that has yet to result in any substantial product, we're looking at this Alibaba deal as the microconsole's last gasp.