What just happened?

You've just successfully downloaded your first game on your OUYA console. The marketplace can be used to find all sorts of games that are always free to try, and once you download them, you can play them anytime from the OUYA's PLAY menu.

You may be wondering why you didn't see any prices while browsing the OUYA store or even while downloading your first title. Does this mean that all games for the OUYA are free to download? Well, the short answer is yes, but it's a little more complicated than that. Instead of following a conventional pricing system, the OUYA marketplace does things a little differently by providing at least one free element in each game. Canabalt incorporates monetization in the form of free-play credits, shown in the following screenshot:

In the case of Canabalt HD, the developers decided to offer a trial version that includes five free plays per day and an option to pay for an upgrade that unlocks unlimited play. The player can also unlock additional plays by making it past the 5000-meter mark in the game. However, this isn't the only payment model you can use; as long as there's something free in your game, you can have as many or as few purchasing options as you want. For instance, you could create a game that features unlimited playtime but limited free items, or make a game that's free up until a certain level. The OUYA SDK has an in-app purchase API that will let you get creative with priced elements in your game.