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[Tuba]

Here's some kinda optimistic view on it: http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/ouya-developers-share-enthusiasm-reasons-for-support-and-lack-of-piracy-fea

“For now, our reasoning to possibly support the platform is simple: it might work,”

I guess, if you are already developing for Android, you don't have much to lose by porting your game to OUYA.

[Udderdude]

Here's some kinda optimistic view on it: http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/ouya-developers-share-enthusiasm-reasons-for-support-and-lack-of-piracy-fea

“For now, our reasoning to possibly support the platform is simple: it might work,”

I guess, if you are already developing for Android, you don't have much to lose by porting your game to OUYA.

OUYA has a lot to lose, by gaining a reputation as "That console with all the old phone games you can run on your TV."  Not exactly a niche you want to be in.  Games designed for tiny phones and touchscreens usually don't work well on TVs with controllers.

It's going to be pretty obvious when you load up a game on OYUA and the controls seem completely out of place or slapped on, and the game's content is so shallow that it could only work as a time killer phone game.

[Tuba]

OUYA has a lot to lose, by gaining a reputation as "That console with all the old phone games you can run on your TV."  Not exactly a niche you want to be in.  Games designed for tiny phones and touchscreens usually don't work well on TVs with controllers.

It's going to be pretty obvious when you load up a game on OYUA and the controls seem completely out of place or slapped on, and the game's content is so shallow that it could only work as a time killer phone game.

Of course, if your game was made with touch controls and mobility in mind, you should at least rethink the controls and make the necessary changes.

The sad thing is that a lot people will just recompile the game, put the touch controls on the touch pad and call it a day. Just like a lot of console/pc developers port their games to iOS/Android with a virtual analogue stick and buttons.

[SolarLune]

That can be the case with a lot of games, yeah. Maybe that's why the developers of the Ouya didn't make the touch-pad really large. If it was large enough to be a preferred method of input, then simply pushing a touch-heavy game onto the Ouya and have it use the touch-pad would be acceptable. By making the pad smaller, it kind of encourages developers to program in normal gamepad input if they want their games to perform well. Maybe they just wanted to save the cash on a larger touch pad, though.

[Tuba]

So, apparently the OUYA has a challenger! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/872297630/gamestick-the-most-portable-tv-games-console-ever

[nikki]

ooh, nice controller I like.

as in Android on a stick there are a few out there already for example:
mk802
mk808
ug007

and with gnu/linux instead of gingerbread
raspberry pi

but none of the above has nice gamecontroller that comes with it..

[Christian Knudsen]

ooh, nice controller I like.

Really? I think it looks decidedly unergonomic.

[SolarLune]

I like the idea of a really small controller that really is a console in itself, and I like the way the controller looks (though the lack of handles might be unergonomic). It's kind of unfortunate that the Ouya started first and without any fanfare - just showing up on KickStarter.

I can only imagine that the developers of the GameStick felt a little crushed to see something so similar to their project launch ahead of time, and especially achieve so much buzz that it makes their console look 'young'. Basically, I don't see this getting nearly the amount of cash that the Ouya did. If the Ouya had been a little more hyped before going to KickStarter, maybe the GameStick developers could have found a place there as developers / technicians instead.

If the GS had Linux instead of Android, it might be a competitor, but just offering the same thing but smaller and weaker (I assume, since it defaults to drawing power through weaker interfaces than an AC adapter and doesn't have a fan) doesn't sound too convincing. I'm not sure if it will do very well. But yeah, competition's always good.

[Christian Knudsen]

You honestly don't think the GameStick exists because of the Ouya's crowdfunding success instead of in spite of it?

[IndieEmma]

Raspberry pi?

[Richard Kain]

The GameStick is kind of a neat idea. An even more minimal hardware system than the OUYA, squeezing everything necessary for a basic game system into an HDMI stick. I'm assuming that its going to be able to draw power through the HDMI port in order to power the system? (and then the Bluetooth controller will have batteries of its own?)

The Kickstarter has already reached its goal of $100k. I'm not sure I'm going to drop money on this Kickstarter. But if they bring it to market, I will probably buy one.

[Christian Knudsen]

I'm assuming that its going to be able to draw power through the HDMI port in order to power the system? (and then the Bluetooth controller will have batteries of its own?)

Yup. At least the HDMI-powered part:

How is GameStick Powered?

1) MHL - GameStick will work on all MHL compliant TVs where it will draw power directly from the HDMI slot.
2) For older, non-MHL Compliant TVs we will supply a USB connector cable to draw power from the USB port.
3) For older TV's which do not support either MHL or power through the USB, there will also be a power adapter.

[SolarLune]

You honestly don't think the GameStick exists because of the Ouya's crowdfunding success instead of in spite of it?

No, not really. Looking at:

- The amount of work that seems to have gone into it already, and

- The fact that it seems to be offering a similar package to the Ouya (Android-based OS, pushing games from an indie-friendly ecosystem to the big screen, disrupting the console market),

I think it started development after the Ouya did, but before the Ouya went 'public' with their KickStarter.

EDIT: Looking at their page, they might be underselling the amount of games that could be there (I don't notice a list of developers / teams that they've been working with). It seems like they have a lot of connections that might be willing to work with the system, or at least endorse it (Media Molecule, for example).

[deathtotheweird]

yeah, but perhaps the GameStick kickstarter exists because of the Ouya's success.

[SolarLune]

^ Ah, I hadn't thought of that. That might indeed be the case.

[richardjames13]

I'm going to try using my PS3 Sixaxis controller on my Raspberry Pi but I need a compatible Bluetooth dongle first. The

Raspberry Pi is designed to be an educational toy rather than a game console. It is not as powerful as other systems out there but it has what I need (USB, HDMI and Linux)

[Blink]

GameStick has really caught my eye. This and Ouya seem to be pushing Android as a competitor to PC more than anything else, making it a much broader OS than any game console. I wouldn't be surprised if eventually, Google released Android as a PC OS at some point.

Regardless, I'm just glad we have options for Android games to stop using virtual buttons. Anything to get better controls, and I like the more open picture idea too. (no virtual buttons == no HUD clutter)

[Aik]

Looking at the GameStick kickstarter ... I dunno, is it just me, or is there something really weird about this whole 'pay oodles of money to be a beta tester' thing? Isn't it meant to be the other way around (minus the oodles)?

[tacograveyard]

I got my OUYA devkit yesterday. I didn't have time to start any actual dev but I took some photos, hooked up the hardware, and played around for a bit. Overall I feel pretty positive about it. I definitely look forward to building games for it. The biggest flaw was that the controller still needs a bit of work to feel right. In particular:

• The joysticks, particularly the right one, would be well served by more texture on the surface.
• The top two trigger buttons feel shifty and I am concerned about breaking them.
• The touchpad will only have very niche uses as it is hard to reach.
• Opening the battery compartments is terrifying.

I posted some more thoughts and the photos here: http://blog.tacograveyard.com/ouya-unboxing

[s_l_m]

GameStick has really caught my eye. This and Ouya seem to be pushing Android as a competitor to PC more than anything else, making it a much broader OS than any game console. I wouldn't be surprised if eventually, Google released Android as a PC OS at some point.

Regardless, I'm just glad we have options for Android games to stop using virtual buttons. Anything to get better controls, and I like the more open picture idea too. (no virtual buttons == no HUD clutter)

I think their is a x86 port of android, it might not be the most stable thing in the world, but it exists


edit:
just looked it up: http://www.android-x86.org/