Ouya

[deanb]

ttp://www.kickstart...eo-game-console

Android console. Seems like it'll be successful too. I'm not seeing the appeal much tbh. Sure it'll bring extra games to android but you can already turn most android phones n tablets into consoles already. (I guess this just removes a minor bit of the leg work from that)

 

 

(And cos I can split threads, not posts):

 

http://www.kickstart...rcade-sells-out

 

Penny Arcade are doing a kick starter to replace thier advertising. I'm pretty sure that's not what KS is meant to be for. (apparently KS have okayed it, but given KS stand to make a pretty much guaranteed $15K of it they'd be insane to turn it down. Especially given PA would most likely tear them a new one if they did)

 

[TheMightyEthan]

Yeah, I don't really see the appeal of the Android console either. It's nice that you'll have root access though.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

The appeal is that it's going to be cheap w/ free games and work easily. I think an issue is going to be getting developers on board.

[danielpholt]

I'm a little worried by the Android Console idea. The thing wouldn't just be an means of playing Mobile games on a larger screen would it? I hope not. I don't want gaming to go that way at all. It might be enough for some people, but for actual gamers? Not so much.

 

Just done a bit of research, and it doesn't appear to be that. However, i'm a little worried about the term 'indie'. What are they classing as Indie.

Edited July 10, 2012 by bigdanhero

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

I don't think you understand Android as a platform. It's basically Linux. You can scale it anyway you want. You can make mobile games, you can make "full" games, you can do whatever the hell you want. You are just used to seeing Android in phone or tablet format only.

[danielpholt]

I don't think you understand Android as a platform. It's basically Linux. You can scale it anyway you want. You can make mobile games, you can make "full" games, you can do whatever the hell you want. You are just used to seeing Android in phone or tablet format only.

 

Thanks.

 

In an age where i can get cheap games on my iPad, or my phone, and on my PC if i want something a little deeper, does this really have a mass market appeal. Clearly its not going to be looking to attract the average consumer who wants to play the latest COD game, but still. If i can get the same game on a PC that i already own, why would anyone buy this?

 

@Chewblaha - I remember when Kickstarter was the place to go if you wanted to help fund a cool iPhone case, or a Watch. Now we're seeing Podcasts funded using the service. Its a bit of a waste if you ask me.

Edited July 10, 2012 by bigdanhero

[TheMightyEthan]

Jesus Christ, Ouya hit its goal in like 8 hours. It raised $950,000 in 8 HOURS! That's fucking ridiculous.

 

Also, I think it has a dumb name. How are you supposed to pronounce it? I've been reading it as Oi-yuh.

 

*Edit* - People in the comments are discussing emulators, which hadn't occurred to me (even though it's face-punchingly obvious). With the touchpad on the controller that thing could even sport a decent DS emulator. I'm slightly more intrigued than I was before.

Edited July 10, 2012 by TheMightyEthan

[deanb]

Given the rather rapid increase in phone power of late I'm amazed it hadn't been done before. Price of a PS2, not far off in power, cheap games to both buy n make, and a serviceable existing library of games. I've a feeling emulators won't be officially mandated mind.

 

However they're gonna need more than their current million to knock up proper production. Also can always change the name later. I've read it as a sort of "ooh yeah".

[TheMightyEthan]

I'm sure emulators won't be terribly official, but with it running on Android and users having root access someone's going to make emulators for it.

[deanb]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hiddenpath/defense-grid-2 - Oooh.

 

@Ethan: Only the developer versions (listed as $699 on the rewards) are rooted as best I can tell. Though no doubt you'll be able to root yourself.

[TheMightyEthan]

Ah, I just looked again and it doesn't come rooted but it's specifically designed to be easy to root and rooting won't void your warranty. That's according to their Kickstarter page.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

I've had one root friendly device and all I can recall is installing some drivers, running an app, then pressing "1" like 3 times and I was rooted. This could be even easier to root than that.

[Waldorf and Statler]

Jesus Christ, Ouya hit its goal in like 8 hours. It raised $950,000 in 8 HOURS! That's fucking ridiculous.

 

Also, I think it has a dumb name. How are you supposed to pronounce it? I've been reading it as Oi-yuh.

 

*Edit* - People in the comments are discussing emulators, which hadn't occurred to me (even though it's face-punchingly obvious). With the touchpad on the controller that thing could even sport a decent DS emulator. I'm slightly more intrigued than I was before.

 

 

Somebody please explain to me why a consumer would buy a console that is basically a glorified Wii/PS2 with indie/android games. I could play those games in Steam in a much more powerful manner.

 

Sure, you can argue there's no need to buy a console with a powerful enough PC, but there are so many exclusive titles and games being developed with consoles thought first that at the end of the day it is worth a console.

 

... ok maybe I'm being unfair as this console could also have this upside eventually if it sells well. But so far all they seem to be tooting is indie games being developed to work for it, and android apps. I could do those two things in two different and much more effective machines.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

Waldorf your lack of objectiveness is appalling: Low starting price, free to play games, easy platform to use (it'll come with everything you need out of the box), the platform is focused on what you're getting.

[Eleven]

I think the idea of having an open console would entice developers. I think the idea is great. I'm really excited for this to hit the market.

 

I don't know if I understand the product correctly, but... What glorified PS2/Wii? Isn't this an Android based console that is supposed to be powerful like current consoles? I'm assuming it can run games as well, if not better, than a PS3 and Xbox 360. But I may have this wrong.

 

With this comes the hope that developers would make games for it. Make the android platform appealing to "hardcore" developers who put their games on the xbox or playstation. And I don't see why they won't. It's so open. Isn't that what everyone wants?

 

EDIT: Plus, this could deliver on the "take your game anywhere" thing that Sony keeps saying, but are also limiting us to very few select games. They could make an RPG with Controller support and touch support. And you can continue that RPG on your phone whenever you need to leave the house.

Edited July 11, 2012 by eleven

[Waldorf and Statler]

It has a Tegra chip, the same kind that's gonna be on the Nexus tablet. And I highly doubt all the tweaking in the world can make it run as good as current consoles. But graphics wasn't its selling point [even though for $99 it's damn good].

 

Free to play games. Sure that'd be nice. But like the head lady said, this'll most likely translate into trial demos that allow you to purchase the title after playing it. Or heaven forbid, what's already a popular trend on Android which is adware. Which at the end of the day can bring relatively dangerous consequences.

 

Easy to use console. I may have skimmed this but it comes with the console and the controller. Does it bring something else I may have skipped, or does this tag along with the price point and the fact the controller itself costs about $30?

 

The platform is basically a machine for you to play indie games. How many people are gonna take full advantage of its hackability? With the right stuff, can't I play ROMS in my computer with a 360 gamepad?

[Eleven]

It has a Tegra chip, the same kind that's gonna be on the Nexus tablet. And I highly doubt all the tweaking in the world can make it run as good as current consoles. But graphics wasn't its selling point [even though for $99 it's damn good].

 

Ah I see. I had assumed it would be better when they said "we packed this thing with a lot of power" or something.

[Waldorf and Statler]

Well it IS a decent amount of power for 100. Plus it has decent RAM.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

It's half the price of the Nexus tablet. Also, it comes with the controller at $100. Tell me, how many phones can hook up to TVs via HDMI and why would you want to dedicate your phone to that in the first place? Also, adware is not a popular trend on Android. What major titles have anything that could be considered adware? Also, your views on f2p are very narrow and you should be ashamed. TF2 is a trial game. Tribes Ascend is a trial demo. Oh wait...

 

 

Btw, did your computer only cost $99 and come with a controller?

 

Yeah, fuck you, and anyone else who wants to stifle innovation like this. If you don't like it, don't buy it, but this is a great idea at a great price. I mean hell, the fact that this is so cheap means that everyone who doesn't like it should be able to ignore it because no one else is getting ripped off by it.

[madbassman39]

The problem I think is the development for this device. Everybody practically has a smart phone these days, phones that can play android/iphone games, why would one need to buy a $100 console to play those same games?

 

If developers make games that run on this device exclusively I see a reason to buy. But if I already have an android device, why would I want to spend another $100 on something that can play games I already can play?

 

The prospects of this console excite me, but I'm cautious to see if developers take advantage of this thing that can do something that I already can't do on my android/i device, computer, xbox or playstation.

[Eleven]

If developers make games that run on this device exclusively I see a reason to buy. But if I already have an android device, why would I want to spend another $100 on something that can play games I already can play?

 

That is exactly the idea. Make real console games on the open, android platform. Games are limited right now to touch screen controls. They could do a lot more with gamepads.

[Waldorf and Statler]

@FDS: Adware may have been pushing it, but are you serious? Practically every major app game, even if it's casual, has an ad-riddled version that ends up draining your battery more and in some cases taking some of your info for its own purposes. Free angry birds is annoying when you get a big ad blocking the top/middle screen. Battery drain won't be a problem, but the ads could.

 

And... if we're really gonna get into how many phones can connect to an HDMI port considering they charge via micro HDMI. You could get an adapter, hell or another phone They're pretty cheap nowadays too. Get a proper ROM that can run via the android's HDMI, connect a ps3 controller via Bluetooth.... why would I go through all this trouble with my phone? I personally wouldn't since my laptop can already run the games this thing wants to run. But the same people that can hack this thing into doing all this crazy stuff, could already do this with say the Nexus tablet, plus the added comfort of being able to use it for other things on the god for $200 which is still relatively cheap even if this IS half the price. Didn't Steam just officially announce Greenlight, which would make it even easier for indie titles to come to it by having the community interact?

 

My views on F2P are narrow? Instead of just making this whole assumption on what I said and saying I'm narrowminded, I'm just going with one of the assumptions the lead developer made herself. Instead of using outrageously hilarious examples of succesful F2P games to put me in my spot as the sitcom crowd goes "OOOOOOOOOOOOH", why don't we move on to another point?

 

My computer didn't cost $99 with a controller, but by golly gee I never claimed it did. Looking back at my original question, I DO believe... wait let me check my math on that, see I too can make silly little quips in my argument to make me look like a jackass, that yes I originally asked why a person with a computer that has a more powerful graphics card than an nVidia tegra chip should bother?

 

And fuck me because I'm arguing with creativity? Excuse me but I'm asking questions that as a consumer I have a right to ask. I don't shit gold like a Lannister, I need to know why I need to buy something over something else. And out of every person in this forum, you have the LE-HE-HE-HE-EAAAAAAAAAAST right to call someone out on being a devil's advocate when your entire reason of existence is to be negative about everything. I'm hoping that last part was sarcasm because hypocrisy doesn't really mix well negative nancy syndrome.

Edited July 11, 2012 by Waldorf And Statler

[Eleven]

And... if we're really gonna get into how many phones can connect to an HDMI port considering they charge via micro HDMI. You could get an adapter, hell or another phone They're pretty cheap nowadays too. Get a proper ROM that can run via the android's HDMI, connect a ps3 controller via Bluetooth.... why would I go through all this trouble with my phone? I personally wouldn't since my laptop can already run the games this thing wants to run. But the same people that can hack this thing into doing all this crazy stuff, could already do this with say the Nexus tablet, plus the added comfort of being able to use it for other things on the god for $200 which is still relatively cheap even if this IS half the price. Didn't Steam just officially announce Greenlight, which would make it even easier for indie titles to come to it by having the community interact?

 

But see that's the thing. Even if you can do this already with your phone, which is great by the way, it's largely ignored, because most people won't do that. One thing I hate is when people say they could already do stuff with their x-thing if they hack it, and don't see the need for a product that does that without the hack. There are only a few people who do hacks like this. In turn, developers don't see any viability in developing games for this platform. But if it had a console, then that changes things.

 

I just read an article about MP3 players from creative supported wireless syncing even before the first iPod was announced. The iPod doesn't have that. The iPod also had smaller storage space. Geeks scoffed at the iPod then, but look at where it is now. Every mp3 player wants to be like an iPod. The zune is a fucking iPod.

 

It's not a console that will play indie games and touch games already on the android. It can do that sure, but the important part is opening up the console, making a system where it's so easy to do stuff and is very appealing to developers, at a great price for the consumer. Hopefully, a lot of the big companies would support the platform. Ubisoft likes to put their games on everything. I wouldn't be surprised if they were the first ones to put a real console game on this thing.

[Waldorf and Statler]

These are the points I want to hear when I ask a question dealing with 'why'. I'm liking that.

 

Either ways if I do get this, I'll be a late adopter. I like the fact they're opening consoles to indie developers since others consoles don't. But like I've stated before, as a consumer with a computer, which is where a big portion of the indie market I care about already is, I don't find the point to it. Many of the games that will be first released for it that I care about, chances are they'll be released for PC's as well. If the install base gets large enough, developers will start to focus on it and eventually might see this as the destination to release indie games. If this occurs, I'm all game. If it just ends up being another destination for indie games for people who can't play them in their computers, then that's not for me.

 

If you had asked me about this console a month ago, I'd have liked the idea more for the same big reason as loads of people in the comments section. ROMS and Mojang. I couldn't run Minecraft in my whole machine if my life depended on it, and XBLA Minecraft is no fun with mods and customization. This would've been the next best cheapest thing.

[deanb]

I'm just gonna throw out a general response:

 

It's Micro-USB that phones charge by, not Micro-HDMI. Some androids, though definitely not all, can output to HDMI though not just by plugging in the same HDMI cable you use on your PS3, usually by a propriety/specialist adaptor, which can be pricey(A quick look n Samsung sell an adaptor to normal HDMI cable, for $40, nearly half the price of this console). So for folks that have a phone without a video-out, then something like this allows them to play their stuff on the big screen.

 

Tegra is no PS3/360 competitor, but it's still a pretty damn decent platform. Especially for android gaming given the Nvidia support. And for $99 it's not to be snuffed at since you'd be looking at a fair bit more to pick it up as a phone/tablet.

 

Yes a PC can play indie titles n ROMs, though same reason get consoles is same reason folks would get this: can't be bothered to hook their PC up to the TV. It's also $99, a price not to be snuffed at. Folks are up for paying that for the OnLive Microconsole and the games on that either cost as much to own, or require a sub.

 

Potentially if this sells well you'll also maybe see more games supporting controllers/buttons on smartphones which is something a fair few "core" gaming types seem to want out of smartphones. I don't see it being the destination for indies, but given the low price of development and the large install base of devices (anything you make for Ouya will run on a fair few android phones too) it's an appealing prospect. As you may be aware from the Humble Android Bundle there's a few big name indies out on Android already (including ones not in the bundle like Minecraft n Dungeon Defenders). There's also the appeal of developing for a console. Pretty much every console to develop for now has a high bar of entry in both needing to know the right people and having a large amount of funds.

 

Even if you don't look at it from the point of gaming, a $99 micro-PC isn't bad either. It runs everything Android does just on your TV instead of a smartphone/tablet screen. So you get to turn your TV into a "Smart TV" on the cheap. Run Netflix, youtube, spotify, facebook, twitter, Steam, Chrome, productivity suites etc. It vastly blows PS3 n 360 out the water on that front.

 

For people that like to tinker and have a HDMI capable phone and so on, then yeah it's not as much use, same as you could argue against the point of consoles altogether, never mind just the Ouya. Why would I want OnLive if my PC can run the games natively, well it's not for me so I don't (apart from the £1 game deal, that was nice). But as an Xmas present for the kid, let him play Minecraft, Angry Birds, N64/SNES/PSX/etc, on his own TV instead of getting him a contract phone (or alongside). As long as they can get their production run right, and extra funding (one million ain't enough to launch a product like this) then I can see it going far. And I see them getting a lot more funding than their KS too, that raised $1million in 8hrs. It took a day for Double Fine to do that. Folks really want to see this on the market, and investors will have seen that. And you bet your ass every other smartphone maker saw it too. That'll be the main problem, there won't be PS3, 360, Wii, Wii U, OnLive n Ouya. There'll be those 6 and half a dozen more Ouya-likes from phone makers. Definitely see Samsung n LG on that market, they do TVn TV related stuff on top of phones already. They've got the plants, the hardware, all they need is to tweak their android software a bit n boom they can have one out before end of year.

 

edit: The bugger is: is this mobile gaming or not. Technically not, but given it's android I guess it can go in here.