OUYA Thread

A new android based video game console project has been added to kickstarter, with a starting price of $100 USD. According to GI, it reached its goal in 8 hours.

Specs are decent, looks like upcoming tablets, running NVIDIA's Tegra 3 with 1gb of RAM, with full 1080p HD output. I think the controller looks quite sexy, but the console itself... not so much. The best part is that development for it is open, like for android. Hoorah!

When I first checked out the page, it had already raised $1,300,000. At the time of writing this, it was almost double the goal. Just insane. Here is an interview with the founder.

It is expected to release early next year.

What do you all think?

Edited by: x3nu

I really excited about it. A free open platform nonetheless, I hope it become a trend. Also show as a much awaited and desirable Linux as gaming plataform.

Desura; anybody ?

The downside is that all games apparently have to adopt a 'free to play' model :/

That's very interesting and innovative approach, requiring games to be free to play.

To me it suggests that only a very limited number of developers actually stand to make anything out of it.

Actually, they worded it this way:

We're handing the reins over to the developer with only one condition: at least some gameplay has to be free. We borrowed the free-to-play model from games like League of Legends, Team Fortress 2, Triple Town, and many others. Developers can offer a free demo with a full-game upgrade, in-game items or powers, or ask you to subscribe.

So, well, it's not actually a free-to-play model, at all. It's just a requirement that a specific game either 1) offers a free demo, or 2) is free-to-play

Edited by: feillyne

Demos are fine

$3,500,000 raised. Damn.

It has got potential. It covers a whole area of the market that the three haven't cared to explore. I wonder if any of AAA developers will gain interest? It would be sick to have a title like Assassin's Creed or Street Fighter on it.

I call it being a flop.

Personally, I'm kind of excited for it. The introduction of this type of console is rather interesting and potentially ground-breaking. I might lay down that $100 for a chance at trying it. I'm confident that it will promote developers to create exciting new games. It would be more than sick if we could grab titles like AC and SF.

I really hope it doesn't fail.

vfn4i83 wrote: Desura; anybody ?

Maybe a website addition is in the future...

I hope it works out. It's a lot more powerful than the current android devices I'm targeting, and I think it's a good idea to offer a demo of any paid app so people know it works on their device before spending money and giving you a 1 star rating.

Already targeting Google Play, Kindle, maybe even the Nook, what's wrong with another channel to distribute through, assuming it has a large market by release?

shindig wrote: Already targeting Google Play, Kindle, maybe even the Nook, what's wrong with another channel to distribute through, assuming it has a large market by release?

Well, It already has over 30,000 sold after 4 days... (looking at $99 and up pledge rewards). Chances are it will have a fairly good sized market by March.

I backed it!

Arky_ wrote: I call it being a flop.

With 3.5 million to throw at it, it's going to be difficult to flop I hope

Glad to hear about the free to play model, although I agree forcing game demo's is a good model.
Way too many games out there that look good, but when you actually play them you feel cheated of your hard earned money.

ambershee wrote: The downside is that all games apparently have to adopt a 'free to play' model :/

That isn't a downside. The free to play means either a demo or F2P full version of the game. So you try it, then you can buy it. Its almost like developers should be making demos for most of their games anyway... ones that players can actually play rather than watch at PAX, Gamescom, and/or E3...

Reqieumthefallen wrote:

ambershee wrote: The downside is that all games apparently have to adopt a 'free to play' model :/

That isn't a downside. The free to play means either a demo or F2P full version of the game. So you try it, then you can buy it. Its almost like developers should be making demos for most of their games anyway... ones that players can actually play rather than watch at PAX, Gamescom, and/or E3...

Having a demo isn't "free to play", and I'm sure almost everyone will agree. Thankfully it's been clarified this does not have to be the case.

To me hearing the term "free to play" really cheapens a game for me personally as I'm still not entirely convinced that it is the way forward(few games that have convinced me so far are League of Legends, Blacklight and Tribes to a certain extent), I love the idea of an open console and potentially down the line it may turn into a way for the free to play developers to expose their games exclusively but I am drawn to the console, if they manage to get a real high standard of free to play games such as Blacklight or Tribes(A MOBA game would be really hard to effectively create but still possible on a console so maybe even games like League of Legends) exclusively that may give me a reason to actually get the console but if it is only for demos and/or games I can already play F2P on my PC why would I spend the 100 Dollars?

f2p works if it doesn't hinder the actual game experience as mentioned lotr, blacklight have f2p implemented very well, however with most android games that have micro transactions, you get the game expecting more than you get, then spend more money to get what you want only to find out you need to spend more money in the later levels... and by then you have already payed out your cash and have lost interest in the game, this cheapens the whole gaming experience and just invites devs, that are in it for a quick buck no matter how they get it, to take over the industry

The concept of ouya (oh ya!) is a good one, its a fresh aproach, but has that online gaming style about it, like this... Onlive.co.uk and that puts me off for some reason.

For me, it will be like any games console, it will be the quality and the selection of decent titles that grabs my attention, and for that the pc is still supreme.

TKAzA wrote:
For me, it will be like any games console, it will be the quality and the selection of decent titles that grabs my attention, and for that the pc is still supreme.

+1

As long as it doesn't end up like online (poor selection, shitty quality, lag like no other, I can go on) I kinda wouldn't mind an android console. As long as it's cheap

MeltdownZA wrote:

Arky_ wrote: I call it being a flop.

With 3.5 million to throw at it, it's going to be difficult to flop I hope

Glad to hear about the free to play model, although I agree forcing game demo's is a good model.
Way too many games out there that look good, but when you actually play them you feel cheated of your hard earned money.

Projects with alot more money behind them have flopped.

The big thing that gets me is how shady they seem. "We will have Minecraft(because that's super popular )!" *shows minecraft pc" Really all they will have is the android version of Minecraft, and as notch said its not so great.
"All games will be Free 2 Play", what they really mean is, oh it just has to have a demo. What most people probably thought was "omg all the games will be free, I'll back this for 99$ and save money"
And the survey they sent out for games to port Surveymonkey.com pffft. Nice job on raising player hopes.

Also on the "The revolution will be televised" note, eh you can plug some phones and tablets into a TV and even a controller. Boom same deal but you have the advantage of using it on the go as well Or the best option plug your pc into the tv, controller optional.

The whole Kickstater page reaks of scam to me, or maybe I'm too skeptical. If it proves me wrong great, if it flops meh. It's kinda sad that the Pandora didn't get this much attention.

Edited by: Ark_

Arky_ wrote: Also on the "The revolution will be televised" note, eh you can plug some phones and tablets into a TV and even a controller. Boom same deal but you have the advantage of using it on the go as well Or the best option plug your pc into the tv, controller optional.

The point there is something else. PC (or better said Windows) is a problem to play games with. Wrong/incompatible hardware/drivers/OS and trying to play a game becomes a nightmare. I just wanted to play a mod the other day and Steam pissed so the fuck out of me with errors and failings and tons of not-able-to-do-this-and-that-because-Gabe-didn't-give-me-fucking-breakfast-yet stuff that I had to hardwire the bugger and run from a manual shortcut to get it working. Consoles (aka TV) are about switching on the box, plug in the disc of whatever you want to play and play. Majority of people in here know there way around a computer otherwise they would not be modding. The majority of people though can't tell apart an on/off button from a reset button. For them branching a PC to a TV and installing/playing a game from the PC to the TV already mentally burns them out.

That said I don't know yet what to think of the console. Open source is always on my list, that's clear, but I'm not a fucktard like many others calling anything gold just because it wears a certain name-tag. It could turn out well. But it can also turn out crap. Time will tell. I certainly am not going to pitch in there since they said the SDK will be included with any unit later on so wait-and-see is my motto in this case.

ambershee wrote:

Reqieumthefallen wrote:

ambershee wrote: The downside is that all games apparently have to adopt a 'free to play' model :/

That isn't a downside. The free to play means either a demo or F2P full version of the game. So you try it, then you can buy it. Its almost like developers should be making demos for most of their games anyway... ones that players can actually play rather than watch at PAX, Gamescom, and/or E3...

Having a demo isn't "free to play", and I'm sure almost everyone will agree. Thankfully it's been clarified this does not have to be the case.

They stated it would be a demo or F2P version. Notice that "OR" there?