New console - Ouya - reaches over two million dollars

[arashb]

If this was released right now, yeah it'd be impressive. But it's going to be released in two years and if they don't update the specs it will be outdated.

I was about to actually buy it a while back but the release date scared me away. I'll wait for steam :]

 

[MRU]

It makes a lot of sense. It instantly provides the OUYA with a big library of games, which is a must to cater to the public. Also, many of those games are from AAA publishers, which makes sure the console won't drown in small casual games only, and won't die a horrible uninteresting death like the Nintendo Wii.

At the same time, each time OnLive gets a new game, the OUYA gets it. Instant bonus.

I guess.

But since I can't join onlive because I'm in Ireland it's no use to me

I've bought into Ouya kick starter myself now. Simply for prospect of development and home brew.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

I believe OnLive is starting to push into Europe, so we might be able to play pretty soon.. But at least the ping from England to Ireland shouldn't be too bad. It's much worse from there to Denmark with all those bit-eating fish in the way!

 

[MRU]

I believe OnLive is starting to push into Europe, so we might be able to play pretty soon.. But at least the ping from England to Ireland shouldn't be too bad. It's much worse from there to Denmark with all those bit-eating fish in the way!

It's not so much the ping, but the fact without a uk address and credit card I can't sign up.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

It's not so much the ping, but the fact without a uk address and credit card I can't sign up.

There are work arounds.

 

[chickenwingfly]

What on earth is a "gaming specialized OS"? As long as you have proper A/V API's, then you have a "gaming specialized OS". And I think you can bet that the OS will be upgradeable anyway, like with all other modern consoles. And Android for that matter..

I refer to console OS.
It's no secret that the Xbox 360 for instance is a "watered" down version of whatever Windows, with a speciallized kernel for the hardware so hence it makes it able to keep up after all of this years (I know, this comment would get trolled by the 15-year old ePenis kids on youtube), same for other consoles.

Its a console, so people buy it to play games. Developers that develop games for phones have no real idea about the number of sales they'll make.

It's an Android based rubrick-cube sized "console". So, I don't think they will just "optimize" ICS or 4.1 or 4.2 or 5.0 to its hardware, or are they?
So developers for the Ouya are the same developers for the Android platform, I don't understand how a developer who never saw an interest on the Android platform will instantly just wake up one day and say "OMG!!! Ouya!!! Imma make games for it".

That's why they are earning the money, and not you.

You tell me!!!

It makes a lot of sense. It instantly provides the OUYA with a big library of games, which is a must to cater to the public. Also, many of those games are from AAA publishers, which makes sure the console won't drown in small casual games only, and won't die a horrible uninteresting death like the Nintendo Wii.

And how does this differ from any other Tegra-3 based android device that can already run OnLive right now as we speak?

At the same time, each time OnLive gets a new game, the OUYA gets it. Instant bonus.

And how is this instant bonus different from any other Android device that as of now can already run OnLive?

Now T'hain Esh Kelch, don't think I'm bashing you, because I'm not. I'm keeping it honest. Just seeing your replies makes me think of yer another person excited about this and I bash my head trying to understand why amn't I? What am I missing?

I think I'm still confussed.
So basically what people are thrilled about is the price point (100 bucks not bad for such "power") but asides that I don't really seem to understand what the thrill and the hype is all about.
Maybe it's the new android market ala Amazon or the new bussiness model (as far as I understand they promise all games in that market to be free for Oiya owners?), but leaving that aside as well, all I see is a cheap rubrick-cube-sized packing-a-lot-of-power android based device, but nothing we don't have right now (except the price vs hardware).

If this wasn't Android based then I'd understand (new OS), but since it's not I fail to just see the difference.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Maybe it's the new android market ala Amazon or the new bussiness model (as far as I understand they promise all games in that market to be free for Oiya owners?)

Ouya's KS page is worded very poorly, IMO. All games must have a free element to them, such as a demo, but all games certainly will not be free to purchase. It will be like any other iOS/Android app store with a mix of free, ad supported, freemium and paid games.

I think what's causing so much excitement is that it's being touted as a platform by gamers for gamers. You can buy, and/or develop for, the Ouya and free yourself from the oppressive tyranny of MS, Sony and Nintendo.

 

[chickenwingfly]

I think what's causing so much excitement is that it's being touted as a platform by gamers for gamers. You can buy, and/or develop for, the Ouya and free yourself from the oppressive tyranny of MS, Sony and Nintendo.

Yes, but then, keeping it real, Android already offers that, right?

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

It's an Android based rubrick-cube sized "console". So, I don't think they will just "optimize" ICS or 4.1 or 4.2 or 5.0 to its hardware, or are they?
So developers for the Ouya are the same developers for the Android platform, I don't understand how a developer who never saw an interest on the Android platform will instantly just wake up one day and say "OMG!!! Ouya!!! Imma make games for it".

You really need to tell the difference between the consumer base for phone owners and game console owners. They are *not* the same.

And how does this differ from any other Tegra-3 based android device that can already run OnLive right now as we speak?

It doesn't have a 4" screen, instead it is hooked up to a giant HDTV, and it has a proper controller. Also, it is marketed as a gaming console, so they are not going for the phone buyers, which is a totally different market.

If you need a phone, you don't even consider an OUYA. If you want something dedicated to play games on in your living room, then you won't consider a phone. With tablets it gets a bit more blurry, but there is still a big difference from gaming with a dedicated controller vs. a touch screen.

And how is this instant bonus different from any other Android device that as of now can already run OnLive?

Screen size difference and the gaming controller.

Now T'hain Esh Kelch, don't think I'm bashing you, because I'm not. I'm keeping it honest. Just seeing your replies makes me think of yer another person excited about this and I bash my head trying to understand why amn't I? What am I missing?

Well, personally I'm not at all excited about it, since I got enough games as is on my Mac, I just try to explain why the OUYA is a potential gold mine.

So basically what people are thrilled about is the price point (100 bucks not bad for such "power") but asides that I don't really seem to understand what the thrill and the hype is all about.

Consider that the console is not owned by one the big three, that seems to care more about money than the consumers (I'm especially looking at you Sony!). People of course like that, so they want to support it. The price point is also great, but the big kicker really is that the guys behind the OUYA wants people to tinker with it, and that makes it a playground for techies.

 

[chickenwingfly]

T'hain Esh Kelch, ok now I get it, I think.

Well, you can hook up a high-end tablet via HDMI as well to a HDTV and put an USB controller on it, so...
But I understand, this is more of a thing from the PoV of Bussiness and Marketing.
I just will keep on seeing it as yet another Android device on the market, and since it runs Android well, I don't see how different the games will be for this console than they already are for the platform, unless of course this sparks the interest of many more developers to develop for Android (notice developing for Ouya = Android) and to get "better looking" games.

Will be surely interesting to see this if it really starts off and then time will tell.

 

[Rychy]

Square Enix said on Facebook that Final Fantasy III will be coming to OUYA. Never miss an opportunity to make money off old games do you Square ... lol.

It's already on Android isn't it?

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

T'hain Esh Kelch, ok now I get it, I think.

Well, you can hook up a high-end tablet via HDMI as well to a HDTV and put an USB controller on it, so...

You can, but most people would prefer to just pick up the controller and play, instead of having to plug in all those things first.

But I understand, this is more of a thing from the PoV of Bussiness and Marketing.

Of course. Put the simple comparison would be; why buy a gaming console when you can just attach your computer to the TV?

I just will keep on seeing it as yet another Android device on the market, and since it runs Android well, I don't see how different the games will be for this console than they already are for the platform, unless of course this sparks the interest of many more developers to develop for Android (notice developing for Ouya = Android) and to get "better looking" games.

All of these games will be designed for one set of hardware instead of 200, and for 720p output instead of 40 different resolutions. Also, they know that games will be played on a big screen with a controller, so the user interface is also much easier to go at.
This makes it much easier for the developer, and on top they know that there will be a user base of 50.000 users (roughly, based on current Kickstarter numbers) compared to guess work on how many people actually play on their phones.

 

[chickenwingfly]

Of course. Put the simple comparison would be; why buy a gaming console when you can just attach your computer to the TV?

Yes, you're right. Although in this case it is a bit different, since consoles have their own "weird" architecture and "specialized OS", and the Ouya has the architecture of any other mobile device and the same OS that runs on most mobile devices today, but the analogy is quite valid.

Also, they know that games will be played on a big screen with a controller, so the user interface is also much easier to go at.
This makes it much easier for the developer, and on top they know that there will be a user base of 50.000 users (roughly, based on current Kickstarter numbers) compared to guess work on how many people actually play on their phones.

Yes, you're right.
This could have happened with basically each android device ever built, but then, since this is marketed as a "console", developers have access to a real number of buyers who got this for "gaming" and whatnot, to help on their perspective.

All of these games will be designed for one set of hardware instead of 200, and for 720p output instead of 40 different resolutions.

I'm not so sure about this one, since it's Android so not like they have some specialized dev library but rather all games would target dalvik and all of that.
Now, maybe, and since the Ouya guys come from a videogame background they probably intend to provide some kind of speciallized SDK for the Ouya.

Thanks for the argument, I think I know "get it"

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Yes, you're right. Although in this case it is a bit different, since consoles have their own "weird" architecture and "specialized OS", and the Ouya has the architecture of any other mobile device and the same OS that runs on most mobile devices today, but the analogy is quite valid.

As you said it yourself, the Xbox runs Windows.. And does that on top of a PPC CPU with a nVidia card, so its actually not really that weird. But yes.

I'm not so sure about this one, since it's Android so not like they have some specialized dev library but rather all games would target dalvik and all of that.
Now, maybe, and since the Ouya guys come from a videogame background they probably intend to provide some kind of speciallized SDK for the Ouya.

Even though they share a lot of dev libraries, they in many cases have to do extra work to support specific hardware combinations, which can be a hazzle.

Thanks for the argument, I think I know "get it"

Good discussions are good..

 

[waloshin]

By 'free games' they seem to mean that each game requires a free playable element (such as a demo). This is one of the wording instances that rubs me the wrong way. I mean, why say 'free games' as a selling point when you really mean for pay games will have free demos? And is having a free demo really a selling point? It's not like a free demo on PSN or XBL is rare or something.

Not a free demo the concept is similar to most facebook and android games. You play for free ,but if you want your crop to grow faster then you will have to pay. In game purchases is where the money comes in.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Not a free demo the concept is similar to most facebook and android games. You play for free ,but if you want your crop to grow faster then you will have to pay. In game purchases is where the money comes in.

Some games will be like that but not all. For games that just charge an up front price and don't have in app purchases (like Minecraft, for example) they'll have to provide a free demo.

 

[chrisvee]

$99? Shoot, I think this will be what I get instead of an Apple TV. More power, way less restrictions, don't have to jailbreak, XBMC support, and it comes with a gaming controller.

Sold. Backed. Waiting.

 

[MRU]

So they've raised 8.5 million. But how much is it going to cost them to produce and distribute the thousands of OUYA reward backed machines?

 

[Starfighter]

Less, of course.

 

[0098386]

I think I'll wait on this one. I can't imagine having one connected to my TV (seems like it'll be mobile phone games but full screen - can't imagine something I want less for gaming). But we'll see.

 

[MRU]

Less, of course.

We hope so otherwise were all fecked !!!