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[SolarLune]

Hey. So, there's supposedly a new Android-powered video game console that might be under development. It's called Ouya, runs Android, and seems to be aiming for a retail of $99. Thoughts?





On the one hand, I'm not sure if another console can really pick up steam, especially since normal consoles are kind of finding it hard to keep their own ground. Also, I can't imagine it having a really awesome GPU or CPU at $99.

On the other hand, maybe that's a good strategy since you're more likely to pick this up with a normal game console for $99 extra than to replace one for $299 or something similar. Also, running Android and being more open to development might make it the indie developer game console. If it gets a good selection of games, then mainstream users might buy it. Since it runs Android, developers probably wouldn't have to do much to port games already running on Android.

The biggest things they could do would probably be to keep it open to developers, as well as have a nice and solid online framework (add-ons / DLC, voice / text chat, friends, maybe even a spectator mode like OnLive, stuff like that). A "forum" to talk to developers / other users on the console like Desura has with its client would be really cool.

EDIT: The article above says that the games will all be free? I'm not sure how that would work other than either in-app purchases, or advertisements / commercials. I wouldn't really mind the commercials if they came on, say, every 30 minutes or hour of game time or something, and only during a lull period (when you start a game or go back to the menu or something).

7/10/12 Update:

News from the Kickstarter for Ouya shows more info about the design for the console, as well as the design for distribution on it. It would seem that it's not going to be all free-to-play, but be something like XBOX / PSN is - "Developers can offer a free demo with a full-game upgrade, in-game items or powers, or ask you to subscribe." I guess there might also be free games there. So, by 'free-to-play', it's just that there will be no games that don't have some form of demos or playable entries. Sounds pretty good to me.

There's also news about the specs, and it's a bit more than I thought it'd be, though I don't really know much about specs. It'll have a Tegra 3 processor, with 8GB of internal flash storage, 1 GB of RAM (surprising, since the 360 has 512 MB, though the speed and type of RAM aren't indicated for the OUYA), and built-in WIFI. There'll be a wireless controller with the standard controls (dual sticks) and a touchpad (could be cool to work with). They also mention reserving your username with a pledge of $10, which makes me think of some sort of online functionality a la XBOX Live.

[deathtotheweird]

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

[Tanner]

can i pay $99 so this doesn't succeed

[Chris Pavia]

Wouldn't be surprised if it was basically Steam with a monthly fee but you get the whole catalogue.

[PowRTocH]

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

Those are my thoughts, bu t then again I most ly think that every game is bad not just free to play ones.

The design is pretty sexy thought, and I would like to see something come in and break up the console hegemony. As in someone without the resources of Sony or Microsoft. But it's not going to happen.

[moi]

Wow, they have samurai vengeance II !!!

[Richard Kain]

Can an approach to video games such as the Ouya be successful/commercially viable? Honestly, there is no answer at this point. These are untested waters we are wading into. While some grass-roots attempts at "open" consoles have been attempted before in the past, they've never been made by industry veterans. The pedigree behind the Ouya is impressive. These are the kinds of people who stand a pretty good chance of acquiring funding and getting boxes on store shelves.

But there a lot, and I mean a whole lot, of question marks hanging over this scenario. Will developers actually embrace a console like this? What kind of approvals process is going to be put in place, and is there even going to be some manner of centralized distribution? What opportunities will be made available for developers to monetize their software, if any?

I am enthusiastic about the idea in general. I would love to have an open console that I can just tinker with, and test software on. As a hobbyist developer, I would get a kick out of this even if it never achieves widespread acceptance. And a $100 price point is just about in the right range for a piece of hardware like this. Looking forward to what develops from this.

[baconman]

Seems almost plausible, but I'd have to have some visible USB ports to even consider it.

[BattleBeard]

wo w

i hope they hav cave store O_O

[Superb Joe]

all your android platform favourites, such as $NULL, $NULL and $NULL

[[RM8]]

It's interesting to see non Nintendo-Sony-MS consoles, but a non-portable Android table is not going to work, I think. I may consider it if it has decent emulation, though.

[Blademasterbobo]

or you could just like... buy a cable and connect your pc to your tv

[Christian Knudsen]

That name alone will ensure that it fails.

[SolarLune]

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), and that's if it's powerful enough. The fact that it's running Android should make it start off with a pretty good library of apps and games. Having a nice, solid controller and awesome Internet capabilities would help it out.

[SolarLune]

Information added to the first post.

[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.