OUYA - New "open" console?

[Imported]

Anyone familiar with it?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console

Pondering putting down $99.. but if its just gonna be Angry Birds and the like on a TV screen I may have to re-think this.

 

[DaveSimmons]

> but if its just gonna be Angry Birds and the like on a TV screen I may have to re-think this.

That's the most likely outcome. Why would anyone port AAA titles to this console? It's only going to sell a tiny fraction of the sales of the PS3 and 360, so the potential market is almost nothing compared to closed consoles, PC, Mac or even Linux desktops.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

Thought about it but it sounds too much like a console powered by a smartphone. Emulation is an interesting idea but I can just do that on my PC. A lot of people give that upcoming Nintendo console a hard time because it's too casual but even though this is supposed to be big for "indie" devs it just feels like it's going to be a mecca for casual games.

Nice thing about the thing is you can root it and it's open. Games are required to be free and devs have to monetize with in-game transactions or some other way. This could pair up well with OnLive. Play your android games locally. Connect to OnLive to play AAA titles on your underpowered machine.

 

[Aikouka]

Games are required to be free and devs have to monetize with in-game transactions or some other way.

That's not entirely true. All apps must have a free version, but this free version doesn't have to be a complete version. The free version could just be a demo.

This is sort of a lax version of Microsoft's XBOX Live Arcade rule that requires all games to have a demo.

 

[Dumac]

I don't get the point of this.

Just hook up your phone to the tv?

 

[KaOTiK]

It is interesting and I am thinking of getting one, at worst I can use it as a good media streamer.

 

[BladeVenom]

It's already up to $1,761,954 and it's still the first day. So there's definitely some interest in it.

 

[nismotigerwvu]

It all comes down to which SOC they go with. If these things are paired with something along the lines of an APQ8064 (Quad core Krait at 1.5 to 1.7 ghz and an Adreno 320) they could be on par with the 360 and PS3, if not somewhat ahead. Or they could use something farther behind and have a more PS2-class piece of hardware. Let's cross our fingers and hope it isn't the latter.

 

[Aikouka]

I don't get the point of this.

Just hook up your phone to the tv?

At least from what I can gather, the point isn't so much about the device itself but what it represents. Essentially, by being a dedicated device with similar internals as a cell phone, you're forcing developers to use the physical input devices that we're used to (i.e. the controller). Sure, it's possible to use a controller with Android now, but it's not part of the usual kit. Given that fact, not everyone is going to develop with that in mind.

So, present a platform that has a controller by default and get developers to use it.

EDIT:

It all comes down to which SOC they go with. If these things are paired with something along the lines of an APQ8064 (Quad core Krait at 1.5 to 1.7 ghz and an Adreno 320) they could be on par with the 360 and PS3, if not somewhat ahead. Or they could use something farther behind and have a more PS2-class piece of hardware. Let's cross our fingers and hope it isn't the latter.

The specs are listed below:

• Tegra3 quad-core processor
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB of internal flash storage
• HDMI connection to the TV, with support for up to 1080p HD
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
• Bluetooth LE 4.0
• USB 2.0 (one)
• Wireless controller with standard controls (two analog sticks, d-pad, eight action buttons, a system button), a touchpad
• Android 4.0

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

That's not entirely true. All apps must have a free version, but this free version doesn't have to be a complete version. The free version could just be a demo.

This is sort of a lax version of Microsoft's XBOX Live Arcade rule that requires all games to have a demo.

That's even better in some cases. It's nice being able to play a demo first instead of making a blind buy. Maybe they can bring back shareware. Download a demo, load it up on a flash drive. Give it to your buddy to try.

 

[diesbudt]

Well the kickstarter broke 2.5 mil now. They also increased the $99 pledge amounts from 20000 to 80000.

I am wondering if it is worth going for one, but I have a feeling I doubt there would already be any huge games on there I would want. Especially with Steam already having a good portion of indie games I have purchased.

 

[mmntech]

It all comes down to which SOC they go with. If these things are paired with something along the lines of an APQ8064 (Quad core Krait at 1.5 to 1.7 ghz and an Adreno 320) they could be on par with the 360 and PS3, if not somewhat ahead. Or they could use something farther behind and have a more PS2-class piece of hardware. Let's cross our fingers and hope it isn't the latter.

Tegra 3 isn't a speed demon. In terms of performance, it might be a little better than what the iPad 3 and Transformer can muster, by pure grace of the higher clock speed. What you'll get is something closer to later PS2 games. Which is okay, on a mobile platform.

I question how much of a viable market there is in the three dominant regions. It's certainly not the first time someone has tried to launch a "fourth console". Or even one with this type of hardware. To really get into the market, you have to differentiate your console from competitors. Xbox has Xbox Live, PS3 has Bluray, Wii has the Wiimote. So far the only differentiator for the Ouya is price. I think that's something that will go over better in emerging markets, like the Zeebo tried to do.

If it has good media capabilities though, it might be a nice Apple TV alternative.

 

[Aikouka]

Tegra 3 isn't a speed demon. In terms of performance, it might be a little better than what the iPad 3 and Transformer can muster, by pure grace of the higher clock speed. What you'll get is something closer to later PS2 games. Which is okay, on a mobile platform.

Since the Ouya will not use the standard Android Marketplace (at least by default), you should be able to download Ouya-specific games, which I imagine will be like the Tegra Zone + Ouya Controller capabilities. Tegra Zone games do typically look a bit better given they're coded specifically for the Tegra hardware, and that might give the Ouya a leg up.

Of course, more basic games like your Angry Birds or whatever will not require such fancy graphics and would be fine using any version.

I question how much of a viable market there is in the three dominant regions. It's certainly not the first time someone has tried to launch a "fourth console". Or even one with this type of hardware.

When I look at this, I don't really see it as "another console." I see it more as an evolution of smartphone gaming.

I think we can truly see this take off if some of the larger companies take note of it. For example, Square-Enix has plenty of RPGs released for iOS (Android ports are on the way if not already existing), and those could be pretty sweet on a TV. Some of them are mobile device exclusive too (Chaos Rings).

If it has good media capabilities though, it might be a nice Apple TV alternative.

I'll need to keep an eye on the XBMC site/forum to see if they express interest in developing a version for it. I believe they've stated in the past that an Android version wasn't planned, but since this is fairly standardized hardware, that might not be the case.

That's even better in some cases. It's nice being able to play a demo first instead of making a blind buy. Maybe they can bring back shareware. Download a demo, load it up on a flash drive. Give it to your buddy to try.

I agree. I like the fact that they require a version of the app to be free so we can at least get an idea of what we're looking at. It's one thing I really liked about what Microsoft did with XBOX Live Arcade.

 

[diesbudt]

I agree. I like the fact that they require a version of the app to be free so we can at least get an idea of what we're looking at. It's one thing I really liked about what Microsoft did with XBOX Live Arcade.

Yea, but one thing I learned with f2p games, is normally they are only the very basic unless you pay/add money to it. And how much are companies gonna charge for this additional stuff?

They have the right idea that LoL's system worked tremendously as they suckered me into $50 over 5 months.

The question I have is though, since I have minecraft on my computer, what reason would I want it on a console if I cannot port over?

And what other things will it have? Will it be able to do any of the new media stuff the next gen of Playstation and Microsoft have in mind?

 

[Imported]

Holy crap.. they've raised over 3mil. If it has great media capabilities, I'm in for sure.

 

[astrosfan315]

I see this device getting tied up in court for a few years while some patent lawsuits get hammered out. (think dualshock/sixaXxis lawsuit) Some staff attorney at Apple, Sony, Microsoft, or another big company will try to make a name for themselves going after this.

You heard it here first.

 

[Dankk]

This is a terrible idea. An Android-powered console that lets me, uhh... play Angry Birds on my TV? Other crappy mobile games?

It doesn't make any sense. An Xbox console only costs $200, and already has an established software library with an online store. I can MAYBE see this being useful for playing emulators... but I can already do that on a cheap HTPC. Hell, I can do that on a $25 Raspberry Pi. Why buy another proprietary console?

Ouya owners won’t just be able to pluck any old app off the Google Play store, though—developers and customers will have to go through a proprietary Ouya store.

Yeah. That's not very 'open' at all. The main tenant of this console is already compromised.

If you want an 'open console', then buy a mid-range gaming PC and hook it up to your TV. That's as open as you're going to get. You might respond, "but the average consumer doesn't do that! The OUYA is much more intuitive and user-friendly!" Well, alright; but it's still not open. If you want to turn it into an open console, you apparently have to root it... which throws the whole 'user friendly' thing out the window too. The creators here are being pretty dishonest.

I'm baffled they have so much money already. Good for them, I guess. Maybe we could use some more variety in the console market. I won't be backing it either way.

 

[Dumac]

This is a terrible idea. An Android-powered console that lets me, uhh... play Angry Birds on my TV? Other crappy mobile games?

It doesn't make any sense. An Xbox console only costs $200, and already has an established software library with an online store. I can MAYBE see this being useful for playing emulators... but I can already do that on a cheap HTPC. Hell, I can do that on a $25 Raspberry Pi. Why buy another proprietary console?



Yeah. That's not very 'open' at all. The main tenant of this console is already compromised.

If you want an 'open console', then buy a mid-range gaming PC and hook it up to your TV. That's as open as you're going to get. You might respond, "but the average consumer doesn't do that! The OUYA is much more intuitive and user-friendly!" Well, alright; but it's still not open. If you want to turn it into an open console, you apparently have to root it... which throws the whole 'user friendly' thing out the window too. The creators here are being pretty dishonest.

I'm baffled they have so much money already. Good for them, I guess. Maybe we could use some more variety in the console market. I won't be backing it either way.

This is how I currently feel...

 

[Aikouka]

Yeah. That's not very 'open' at all. The main tenant of this console is already compromised.

It's pretty obvious why they do this. I mean... why make an Android-based console with a dedicated controller if very few of your apps are designed for it? My assumption is that the point of the Ouya store is to ensure that apps have been designed for the console in mind. There are already apps that support gamepads, which means that the porting will probably be very minimal.

Of course, you could just hack it and enable Google Play support.

 

[Skel]

This is a terrible idea. An Android-powered console that lets me, uhh... play Angry Birds on my TV? Other crappy mobile games?

It doesn't make any sense. An Xbox console only costs $200, and already has an established software library with an online store. I can MAYBE see this being useful for playing emulators... but I can already do that on a cheap HTPC. Hell, I can do that on a $25 Raspberry Pi. Why buy another proprietary console?



Yeah. That's not very 'open' at all. The main tenant of this console is already compromised.

If you want an 'open console', then buy a mid-range gaming PC and hook it up to your TV. That's as open as you're going to get. You might respond, "but the average consumer doesn't do that! The OUYA is much more intuitive and user-friendly!" Well, alright; but it's still not open. If you want to turn it into an open console, you apparently have to root it... which throws the whole 'user friendly' thing out the window too. The creators here are being pretty dishonest.

I'm baffled they have so much money already. Good for them, I guess. Maybe we could use some more variety in the console market. I won't be backing it either way.

It really doesn't surprise me that they've made huge money, it fills that nitch of people that want to see a game console that you can pick up and use as a tablet, which I've seen talked about on these forums. It also relates to the people who believe Android is the OS that can do everything, think the old Linux group when Windows was king. "This will be the year of the Linux desktop!!!"

 

[exdeath]

Yay now I can play Punch the Monkey and Crossword Puzzle on a 120" screen!!

 

[Monster_Munch]

There are already games designed for the Tegra 3 processor and controllers that should work with this new system.

Shadowgun on the Asus Transformer Prime works really well with a 360 controller. Graphically it's close to Xbox 1/PS2 quality but running at 720p.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydrm7eYA4rw

 

[Doppel]

Really a silly idea, will never go anywhere. The fact they only tried to get $950k is comical, really. A new console would cost many, many millions to get going. Speaking of which, MS & Sony will have their new ones on the market in 1-2 years. Also, I know it's heresy, but most open source products suck compared to non-open source. That's just how it is, because they have too little money to make the product not suck.

 

[JD50]

Really a silly idea, will never go anywhere. The fact they only tried to get $950k is comical, really. A new console would cost many, many millions to get going. Speaking of which, MS & Sony will have their new ones on the market in 1-2 years. Also, I know it's heresy, but most open source products suck compared to non-open source. That's just how it is, because they have too little money to make the product not suck.

That's really not true at all.

 

[Monster_Munch]

I know it's heresy, but most open source products suck compared to non-open source. That's just how it is, because they have too little money to make the product not suck.

Well this thing runs android which is already quite mature and has plenty of money behind it. The hardware used is all existing technology, only the case and controller will be custom built.