New video game console Ouya

[ignite09]

Anyone heard of this thing yet? Supposedly an open system running off of Android 4.0. Will be priced at $99 dollars and will be out in March 2013. Haven't heard much else, but sounds promising from the limited info I've seen. Games will be FTP and the system will be "hacker friendly".

[Ashasx]

I don't get it. Do they meet and discuss video games?

edit: well now my joke doesn't make any sense.

[getbak]

New video game console? OooooooooooooYeah!!!

[Itse]

Kickstarter has pretty good info. I put money into it. My Wii is old but games for other consoles are just too expensive.

If Ouya delivers, it will be exactly what I want. They put a special focus on helping indie developers get in on it, something which has been almost impossible before. That should mean some nice midpriced games and a good variety of games, propably many games that you would not have seen on console otherwise.

AFAIK not all games will be FTP, but the game developers will have to provide free demos. (to start with. I doubt they'll enforce this all the way.)

[sclitheroe]

I agree with pretty much everything written here:
http://penny-arcade.com/report/edito...-should-be-ske

[Itse]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

I agree with pretty much everything written here:
http://penny-arcade.com/report/edito...-should-be-ske

While many of the caveats are true, I'd like to make some counter-arguments.

First, this. http://www.slashgear.com/ouya-poache...neer-18239179/

Behind the link there's an announcement that Muffi Ghadiali from the Kindle team has been working with Ouya all this time. Not only is this exactly the kind of guy the article is calling for (someone with experience of delivering fresh finished products to the consumer market), his mere presence gives a ton of credibility to the project. These kind of people can pick their jobs, and he propably didn't pick Ouya for the money. He also answers a lot of questions raised on that article. By his words this can be done, and the very fact that he is in this project is proof that he believes it can.

As Muffi himself says, Ouya is not technologically anything special.

Second, the piracy thing. PC gaming is fine despite being both hacker friendly and pirate friendly. It's only an issue in comparison to other consoles, but not to gaming in general.

(I believe the "hacker friendliness" is mostly a cost saving measure. It's propably much cheaper to not protect your system.)

Third, I think the article does not properly take to account what the core audience will be. It's a cheap gaming console, propably for people who buy their own stuff and don't care enough to pirate. Propably a lot of people who feel their Wii's are outdated and are looking for some other cheap alternative. People who want cheap consoles propably also want cheap games. This is why supporting indie developers makes a lot of sense. The hacker thing is irrelevant.

Fourth, the idea that indie developer friendliness has already been tried. You only need to look at the examples to know this is a questionable claim. The platforms mentioned were afterthoughts on the systems, essentially set up to fail. They were not in any way cheap or easy for developers to get in on, and they were set up in unattractive sidepaths from the main gaming market for those consoles.

Also, the big consoles have generally not been targeted to the kind of people who buy midprice / indie games.

[Itse]

Finally, the big question: why would developers be interested? This is the ultimate questionmark so far.

It's not surprising that no major developer has yet to announce it will release a game on Ouya, although a lot of that has simply to do with how fresh the whole thing is.

It's very true that porting your interface from touchscreens to the TV screen is no small task, and the reward is questionable. However I believe the article kind of forgets a large reason for why games are made: because people like to make games, and they like their games to be sold. This is especially true for the indie developers. The handheld + touchscreen is very limiting in what can be done. TV-screen plus a proper controller gives huge new possibilities. This is attractive in itself.

Financially speaking, the plan is propably to make more expensive Android games. You can charge more for console games than you can for handheld games.

(A long term angle for game developers is that Google wants Android to be a PC OS too, which, if it ever happens in a significant way, would mean a market for games on non-touchscreen interfaces and "bigger" games for bigger devices.)

Of course this is all just a lot of speculation. However it's a positive sign that the Ouya team seems to be very well aware of the problem of "who's going to make our games". As Muffi puts it, the way the Ouya team works with game developers is kind of supposed to be the innovative part.

We'll see. They have put out their first game announcement:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...e/posts/270629

It's a small start, but it's a start. It's a promise of a prequel to an actual game (propably a demo of sorts) due to be released in 2015. Basicly it's a promotional sideproject. It's still some good PR.

All things said and done, it's still a Kickstarter project. At this point you are always buying promises. I thought it was a worthwhile project.

Obviously unless you actually want to support making it happen, there's no reason to care one way or the other at this point. Heck, their Kickstarter still has more than two weeks left in it, so there's even no rush to get in on that.

We'll see. It's an interesting idea.

[PowerPlayoffs06]

Probably.

Aside from that, excellent posts Itse. Thanks.

Not sure I care much for the console name, but I didn't like 'Wii' either.

[Fire]

It will flop.

[saskflames69]

Will I be able to play NHL 14 on it though? That's the question.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Fire

It will flop.

The success of Steam hints otherwise, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

The success of Steam hints otherwise, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I just have a hard time seeing it compete with Xbox, PS3 and the Wii. I'm not sure what Steam has to do with it, will it be using it?

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Itse

Third, I think the article does not properly take to account what the core audience will be. It's a cheap gaming console, propably for people who buy their own stuff and don't care enough to pirate. Propably a lot of people who feel their Wii's are outdated and are looking for some other cheap alternative. People who want cheap consoles propably also want cheap games. This is why supporting indie developers makes a lot of sense. The hacker thing is irrelevant.

In my opinion, I don't think this is the target audience at all. Gamers are either enthusiasts; teens or young adults (or older adults with a passion for the hobby), both of which are willing to use significant disposable income on the latest and greatest consoles, plus AAA titles. The other side of the equation is parents, who will mostly buy the console that little Johhny or Jenny wants based on what their friends have, and generally won't put much more thought beyond that into the purchase.

I think it's foolish (again my opinion) to look at current iOS and Android game markets as being indicative of a demand for indie games - it's not. The demand is for mobile gaming on devices people already own. Games that can be bought cheaply, that work with the hardware you have, and that don't require casual gamers to tote around an additional device. I think chaining these types of casual games to a fixed television set is suicide.

My prediction? It'll make a passable MAME console, and will spawn a generation of copies of successful mobile games - you won't get Plants vs Zombies, you'll get Rutabaga's vs Vampires, and I'm not sure who really wants to sit inside at home playing that.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Fire

I'm not sure what Steam has to do with it, will it be using it?

Steam is an indie developer's paradise compared to the rest of the consoles out there. Steam also shows that there is enough interest in indie games, even outside of the deeply discounted sales. It has the possibility to translate over to other platforms if they follow a similar model (cheap/simple to add your games and update them).

[HPLovecraft]

Steam is an entirely different beast, catering to a PC audience that's never had a unifying force like Steam before. Ouya is going to be competing with the other consoles. Steam has never had to compete with anything, and has only had to get PC gamers to think a little differently about how they want to get their games. I'm not so sure the comparison is apt.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

Steam is an indie developer's paradise compared to the rest of the consoles out there. Steam also shows that there is enough interest in indie games, even outside of the deeply discounted sales. It has the possibility to translate over to other platforms if they follow a similar model (cheap/simple to add your games and update them).

I can agree that it will be easier for Indie developers, but that is not going to get the average console consumer to buy this console. People who like the Steam format for Indie games will just use their PCs for gaming. I don't see them buying a console.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

In my opinion, I don't think this is the target audience at all. Gamers are either enthusiasts; teens or young adults (or older adults with a passion for the hobby), both of which are willing to use significant disposable income on the latest and greatest consoles, plus AAA titles. The other side of the equation is parents, who will mostly buy the console that little Johhny or Jenny wants based on what their friends have, and generally won't put much more thought beyond that into the purchase.

I think it's foolish (again my opinion) to look at current iOS and Android game markets as being indicative of a demand for indie games - it's not. The demand is for mobile gaming on devices people already own. Games that can be bought cheaply, that work with the hardware you have, and that don't require casual gamers to tote around an additional device. I think chaining these types of casual games to a fixed television set is suicide.

My prediction? It'll make a passable MAME console, and will spawn a generation of copies of successful mobile games - you won't get Plants vs Zombies, you'll get Rutabaga's vs Vampires, and I'm not sure who really wants to sit inside at home playing that.

All throughout this thread, the only thing that I thought this device would be useful for is streaming media, if it supported it well. This is the first suggestion that is actually something that would make it worthwhile as a gaming platform.

[Huntingwhale]

[cKy]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

I still have one of those hooked up to my TV downstairs. I F'n love that system. No disc protection.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

In my opinion, I don't think this is the target audience at all. Gamers are either enthusiasts; teens or young adults (or older adults with a passion for the hobby), both of which are willing to use significant disposable income on the latest and greatest consoles, plus AAA titles. The other side of the equation is parents, who will mostly buy the console that little Johhny or Jenny wants based on what their friends have, and generally won't put much more thought beyond that into the purchase.

I don't agree, because most of my friends game, but only a few of them would spend money the way you mention. Most are more like me, playing 4-10 year old AAA games or indie games, because that's what their laptops will run and because they are cheap to buy. They buy consoles when they are old and cheap, possibly used with a stack of games on the side. They have the money to spend, but don't care enough to spend huge amounts at a time.

Essentially, only a small percentage of people in any large hobby are enthusiasts. Games are mainstream now, and casual gamers are as a result a huge market now. The question is, will they find this console at all, and will they care enough to buy it? Does the big screen have a special draw to these people?

The Ouya isn't going to challenge the big consoles, and it's not even trying. It's obvious just looking at the spending on advertisement. (Basicly none.)

What they are IMO betting on is that there is an untapped sustainable console market below the AAA budget. Nobody knows if that's true yet.

An interesting sidenote is Gabe Newells (Valve/Steam) comments about Windows 8.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/07/...-a-catastrophe

I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space. I think we’ll lose some of the top-tier PCs, and OEMs who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that’s true, then it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality.

...

With Newell at the helm, it seems Valve is well-positioned to react to unexpected market transformations, whether that lands them on Windows, Linux, OS X, Chrome OS, or, who knows, whatever comes next.

If the Windows 8 causes developers to look for alternate platforms, Ouya might very well catch some of that.