next »

[Richard Kain]

That name alone will ensure that it fails.

Really? Because I recall quite a few people saying the exact same thing about the Wii. And we all saw how that turned out. The Ouya may indeed "fail" but it won't be due to the name. The name isn't nearly as important as most people think.

I don't see the advantage of this compared to a PC except for the price (I don't know how powerful a computer $100 would get you)

Fixed hardware specification. One of the biggest advantages of dedicated consoles over PCs is still the fixed hardware specification.

Of course, a fixed hardware spec is less significant to a smaller indie developer who isn't looking to push graphics. But it is good to hear more details on the pricing models they're thinking about. Sounds like it will be a more typical digital distribution model than some manner of add-supported everything-free model.

[Christian Knudsen]

That name alone will ensure that it fails.

Really? Because I recall quite a few people saying the exact same thing about the Wii. And we all saw how that turned out. The Ouya may indeed "fail" but it won't be due to the name. The name isn't nearly as important as most people think.

The Wii came from one of the biggest console developers in the world. We also had a frame of reference for the pronunciation of that name Wii = We, Mii = Me. Not so with this thing. So, yes, the name is really, really important. And it's really, really terrible. Most people will think it's for communicating with the dead.

[Richard Kain]

The Wii came from one of the biggest console developers in the world.

That is a significant point, but it has nothing to do with the name. Also, Nintendo's console reputation was not nearly as strong before the Wii came out. While the GameCube had been financially stable for them, it had been a huge hit to their branding. Going into this console generation, Sony and Microsoft had far superior branding behind their machines. The Wii was at a substantial disadvantage in that regard.

We also had a frame of reference for the pronunciation of that name Wii = We, Mii = Me.

Actually, we didn't. It was one of the biggest early complaints over the Wii's name. No one knew how it was supposed to be pronounced, and Nintendo had to continuously explain this. It wasn't until repetition and publicity exposure that the general populace became familiarized with the intended pronunciation. What worked for the Wii could also work for the Ouya.

So, yes, the name is really, really important. And it's really, really terrible. Most people will think it's for communicating with the dead.

Again, the situation is pretty much the same. Everyone will claim that the name is terrible. They will claim that it is the end of the world for this product. But if the branding and publicity for the Ouya is strong enough, none of that will ever matter. "A rose by any other name..." What you call the product isn't nearly as significant as the branding that surrounds it. The name itself is little more than a label, a placeholder so that everyone knows what you are referring to.

The truth is, shorter, abbreviated names tend to do better.

[SolarLune]

Yeah, if the console's good, the name doesn't matter, although I think it sounds pretty good. Even if it isn't, the name won't be the end of the console - it sounds unique.

If it's THAT bad, then it would only take a little publicity and promotion to get the name out there. It's not like it can't be pronounced or sounds weird - just being used on videos would give everyone an idea of how it should sound.

@Richard Kain - Yeah, I see what you mean. The fact that I know that everyone's console runs the same way means that it's easier to develop for it.

[Richard Kain]

@Richard Kain - Yeah, I see what you mean. The fact that I know that everyone's console runs the same way means that it's easier to develop for it.

All this is not to say that the Ouya doesn't have an uphill battle in front of it.

Selecting the Android OS as the basis for the system is a good choice. A lot more developers have been familiarizing themselves with that OS in order to develop smartphone games, and quite a few development tools have been optimized to support it. The only other option for an open platform would be a custom linux distro, and that would not have been nearly as friendly for open-source cross platform development. A lot of developers operate with either Windows boxes or Macs, not with Linux. Using the Android OS keeps development open to all platforms.

Development support from smaller teams and indies will probably be fairly strong for a system like this. When the hardware is itself the SDK, a lot of indie developers will be fine with picking one of these up just to play around with. The real issue is convincing larger studios to support it. A lot of high-end graphical powerhouse games won't work on this system. It is designed to be affordable and cheap to produce. It is unlikely that any one is going to throw any big-budget titles at this hardware. This could prove to be either a weakness or a strength. The current direction big-budget development has taken has actually been a little self-destructive. Going with a more modest hardware spec could force game budgets for the Ouya into a more realistic frame.

[whale]

I think this idea is genius. A console for indie games! Play games on your tv with a real controller, give game devs an incentive to make smaller games with real controls. I know I and many of you have controllers plugged into their pc's or pc's hooked to TV's, but lots of people don't. An device like this is fantastic, but I'm not sure Ouya will be enough. even if they hit 1000000, I worry about the exposure... if only something like Roku, that already had an huge install base... then again you never know. I'm going to plop 100$ on this thing because I want to play with it, I hope it does well.

[Lauchsuppe]

I'm not quite sure if it's really that many people that want to play temple run on their 42" full hd tv. Android games are successfull, because they're easily accessible on the go. However, most people who consider themselves to be "gamers" will still be waiting for those big AAA titles, which probably won't get an ouya release.
Then again, the indie game scene is booming and despite having a relatively small community nowadays, I could imagine the ouya to become a kind of fashionable lifestyle product for future hipsters (let alone that name lol).Or, in a more positive way: the ouya will probably be a comfortable way for interested people to appreciate some android indie gems on their couch on a big flatscreen.
But apart from being fashionable or comfortable I see no real innovation here. Everyone can easily access a computer and a good gamepad these days (and connect it to a tv if neccessary). Nevertheless, the price of 99 dollars for a fashion accessoire seems quite okay - i think a lot will depend on the quality of its gamepad.
I'm highly excited to see if this will be a commercial success. Because if so, the video game industry might finally have gained a lifestyle constituent like popmusic or films already have.

[SolarLune]

I think it's not just a PC with a controller, and not a phone with a gamepad. It seems like there's a little more depth. There seems to be at least a little networking capability, and the controller's not just a simple controller (the touchpad is a somewhat interesting addition). It seems like it could actually pump out some pretty good-looking graphics, as well.

The speed that this kickstarter's reaching its goal is astounding, so the demand (and possibly the user and developer base) is there to have this reach its goal. I think indie developers need to deliver now, and port some great titles over or make some really interesting games for this.

I'm thinking that it might start with some "Temple Run with a controller" kinds of games, but may quickly blossom into an interesting system with cool and unique games. Best of all, if it supports firmware upgrades over WIFI, then new features (like voice chat, achievements, streaming, etc) can be added later. A lot of people would pay money for just a streaming box that gets you NetFlix or something similar - this thing can do a lot more. Hopefully it will be able to run normal Android apps, and stuff won't have to be ported over to it.

[phubans]

It's funny... I wanted to develop a pocket-sized console to run Windows exes with audio, video, and control input. It would have to be something small enough to fit in your back pocket (or slightly larger) with RGB out, a A/C in, and two USB ports that would be used to transfer files (if you had it hooked up to your PC) or plug in controllers like gamepads or mouse/keyboard (if you've got the console hooked into your TV already).

The OS would simply have a HUD listing your files that you could select and run, as well as on-board controller configuration and other settings (like an emulator). The console was meant to be a way to play indie games on your TV with controllers to get the console experience away from your PC. Now that most people use HDTVs, it's a lot easier to output video games to their TV from their PC.

[John Nesky]

This kickstarter has reached a million dollars in half a day, with 29.5 more days to go. Clearly this idea matters to people, and if it's not a runaway success when it's launched then all these people who care about it will keep pushing it until it's a success. If you don't like it, you don't have to develop for it, but there's not much point in being skeptical now.

The developer-friendly attitude is the thing that excites me most about it right now.

[allen]

it won't ever be a success. even if they manage to get 1 million dollars every single day from now to the end of the kickstarter, it won't be a success.

if it does, I will eat my shoe on webcam.

[Richard Kain]

Um, Wow! I certainly wasn't expecting such an outpouring of popular support for this project, so soon. Clearly someone (some 8000+ someones) think there is promise in this endeavor. The Kickstarter for this was at about $300,000, six hours ago. I figured that maybe in a week or two, they had a pretty good chance of hitting their roughly $1 million mark.

They hit that mark in a single day. It appears that the team behind this project will likely have some extra scratch to throw at advertising and marketing their new device.

[John Nesky]

free to play games are generally always bad. a console with exclusively free to play games? no thanks.

Free-to-play is also my biggest complaint with the console. However, their kickstarter FAQ makes it clear that having a free demo for a full game counts as free-to-play by their rules, which is basically a good thing to do anyway. So I'm not as concerned about that now.

[SolarLune]

Um, Wow! I certainly wasn't expecting such an outpouring of popular support for this project, so soon. Clearly someone (some 8000+ someones) think there is promise in this endeavor. The Kickstarter for this was at about $300,000, six hours ago. I figured that maybe in a week or two, they had a pretty good chance of hitting their roughly $1 million mark.

They hit that mark in a single day. It appears that the team behind this project will likely have some extra scratch to throw at advertising and marketing their new device.

Yeah, it's really jumped up there quick. Marketing will be pretty important; they can't make it seem like it's an alternative to a 360, PS3, or Wii; I don't think that'll fly. But if they can market it like an alternative console with a large set of unique, fun, interesting games, then it might be very, very successful. I wish I could back it to get an early console, but I can't right now. I guess I'll just have to wait it out to get an 'official' console.

[thatshelby]

it won't ever be a success. even if they manage to get 1 million dollars every single day from now to the end of the kickstarter, it won't be a success.

if it does, I will eat my shoe on webcam.

I would pay 29.5 million dollars to see this, if i could. Eating a real shoe. That would be cool.