OUYA - A $99 Android game console for indie games

[VDZ]

The idea of the project is to produce a cheap console that developers can develop on for free - as opposed to other consoles like the Wii, X360 and PS3, where developers have to buy expensive SDKs and pay significant licensing fees. This is supposed to encourage indie developers to create games for the platform. Since it's Android, Android phone and tablet games can apparently easily be ported over.

Of interest for gamers is that for the console's online game store, every game must be free to some degree - be it a playable demo, a freemium model or ad-supported, there needs to be some kind of free gameplay.

Both as a developer and as a gamer I'm really interested in this.

[j0x]

lol i just seen this just a while back.

in summary its an open game console for only $99, fully hackable, fully open source, Tegra 3 Quad Core processor, 8GB of Storage, running Android 4.0 and that is all the significant infos i remember

[Daniel E.]

Sorry guys, but soliciting and petitions are not allowed in any form here.

1.5 Do not solicit our members
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You are more than welcome to discuss and speculate about the console itself, but please leave any form of petition out of this thread. By this I mean any sort of funding drive, petitions for donations and so on.

EDIT:

You can add more info here such as the currently known specs, the video that shows the device and the people behind it, images, etc, etc.

[Paranoid Android]

Specs:
Tegra3 quad-core processor
1GB RAM
8GB of internal flash storage
HDMI connection to the TV, with support for up to 1080p HD
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth LE 4.0
USB 2.0 (one)
Wireless controller with standard controls (two analog sticks, d-pad, eight action buttons, a system button), a touchpad
Android 4.0



-======-

I consider the group developing this to be rather ignorant of the software industry. And the lack of originality will bring them to a similar fate as RIM.

They have over a million dollars in pledge now.

They're not opening a new industry. The indie game industry exists, the console industry exists, the gaming industry exists. They're linking two things that aren't even compatible in terms of marketing. Indie game developers make their games for an audience. They are individuals or small groups that spend a very long time to produce some original content.

Why would a video game developer invest their time into developing a game for this platform? It might say the OS is Android but a game designed for Ouya and a game designed for a smart phone cannot be interchangeable. I'm pretty sure the smartphone Android apps aren't programmed to take in game controllers and be attached to a giant TV screen. Games like Touhou and Minecraft didn't begin with 'hey let's write a program for a system that nobody uses'. They always go for a hardware that is the mainstream. An indie game developer isn't some gigantic company that can remake the same game over several platforms. They only have time to write the game for one platform and it would be irrational to design it only for this where the community is a fictional number of online supporters.

This company is ignoring the 'mobile' part of how indie apps for mobile devices became so successful. They don't have the PC as a competition because PC is immobile, just like this console. Mobile games became popular because because consumers had the need to play games while not at home where their console/PC is. But PC is the dominant device when it comes to indie games on immobile platforms. Indie developers are very similar to modders. How many indie/modders are there that make them for 360/PS3/Wii games? Console gaming survives because the product owner is pushing other giant game-developing corporations to make a game for their console which they can easily do for the manpower they have. That doesn't work for the anonymous talented programmers swimming on the internet.

It's a lot easier to drag your PC tower to the TV and hook it up, than it is to write the game twice so it works on PC and Ouya.

If this console came with its own keyboard, programming language and editor UI like Game Maker (something that's amateur friendly), it will then carve something much different into the gaming industry. It needs to support itself without depending on PC users to maintain the game library of this console.

*EDIT:
They have probably the best specs for gaming consoles as PS3/360/Wii are so outdated. But they didn't provide FLOPS on their processor so I could be wrong. Some people claim it's still worse than 360 in processor.

4 GB Random Mem is mediocre. This is indie game developers we're talking about. Minecraft with mods takes up 6 of 12 GB on my computer and lags my GPU shaders. Also indie games are terribly inefficient and will fill up 8GB of storage in no time. Touhou music (depending on quality, I hate midi), or VN's. Jeez do VN's take up an insane amount of space. However the hardware isn't really critical as they can just increase it during development.

[kenjiharima]

OUYA!!! You got screwed

YouTube

https://youtu.be/8bF0ChyLPMo

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

[Tempester]

I already have an excellent platform for playing and developing indie games on. It's called the PC.

[saravis]

Originally Posted by kenjiharima

OUYA!!! You got screwed

I've never looked into Kickstarter, but from what I've read of these stories it needs a better system for funding. 'Promises' mean nothing, there needs to be a contractual system so that these companies can't screw over funders.

[DragoonKain3]

Originally Posted by Tempester

I already have an excellent platform for playing and developing indie games on. It's called the PC.

Cancelled my preorder as soon as I heard PS4 was letting indie developers self publish, and that PS4 would be relatively easy to develop games for. Like I was thinking then that there's already the PC indie scene and the mobile indie scene, but I'm gonna wait till the PS4 has come out for a couple months to gauge where the console indie scene is at.

But hearing how they screwed up kickstarter backers, I am so glad that I cancelled my order, and I don't think I'll ever get the Ouya out of principle even though I want to play Pier Solar on a console.

Which reminds me, I hope I don't get screwed up the same way with my Pier Solar pledge. XD

[Duo Maxwell]

What happened? I haven't followed with the Ouya scene for awhile.

[DragoonKain3]

How about backers not even getting their consoles on the day of its public release (they were supposed to get it like 2 months before launch date), when its literally sold out on retailers the day of launch?

[kenjiharima]

Originally Posted by saravis

I've never looked into Kickstarter, but from what I've read of these stories it needs a better system for funding. 'Promises' mean nothing, there needs to be a contractual system so that these companies can't screw over funders.

that's why that money is better off to charity

[ArchmageXin]

People play on Android pad system for its mobility, right? I certainly aren't expecting Starcraft III on my Samsung Pad, but a nice turn based strategy game is nice while I am traveling.

So why would they hook it back onto a immobile system? If I have an immobile system, wouldn't it be better to get an actual PC/PS?/Wii/Waa, etc?

[Duo Maxwell]

The point is it's a system for indie developers, but that point is kinda lowered in value after Sony's encouragement for indie games on the PS4.

[saravis]

Originally Posted by Duo Maxwell

The point is it's a system for indie developers, but that point is kinda lowered in value after Sony's encouragement for indie games on the PS4.

That and there's a lot of support for indies on the PC. Hell, most indie games can be run on just about any modern computer. Personally, I don't see any point to this system, but I guess there are people who do, otherwise it wouldn't have received the funding that it did.

[VDZ]

Kickstarter backer here.

The problem people have is that they misunderstand what Kickstarter is and what 'backing' means. Backing is NOT pre-ordering a product. Backing is not an investment that inevitably gets some return. Backing means donating your money to have a project succeed, generally with the promise of receiving something in return if the project does succeed. When you back a project, you have no guarantee whatsoever that you'll get anything in return - the project owner could even just run off with the money and it'd be your own fault for trusting them.

Most Kickstarter projects go well past their deadlines, even ones much more simple than Ouya. For example, I backed the 'Sad Pictures for Children' kickstarter (to print the second pictures for sad children book) all the way back in May 2012, with an estimated delivery date of July 2012. It's currently almost July 2013, and while I've received the reprint of the first book, I'm still waiting for the second one. That's just how Kickstarter works. Ouya is only 2 (soon to be 3) months past its deadline at the moment - it's pretty mild compared to many other projects.

Also, a thing many people (both project owners and backers) don't realize is that a kickstarter being too successful can often end up delaying the product. It may seem logical that more money = faster project, but in the case of physical goods the opposite is true; they suddenly have to ship 10 times as many units in the same amount of time. (This is especially bad with projects with stretch goals that require additional development time, though Ouya is fortunately not one of those.)



Of course, I'm kind of bummed that I still don't have my Ouya (it should be arriving any day now), and it looks like I got sent one controller instead of two, but I'll sort that out with customer service later when I've confirmed that I actually did only get one and when customer service isn't being completely flooded by angry backers. But Ouya exists and I'm getting one, and that's what I backed the project for - I knew what to expect, and I got what I expected.

[DragoonKain3]

That's great and all, but still, backers getting the short end of the stick when non-backers are walking out with the console on launch day still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It's like giving a big middle finger for being the one who supported the project in the first place.

I mean, I backed Tides of Numerra knowing that I want those games developed first and foremost, and know that my money may very well go to waste if the project is canned for whatever reason... but I know I'll be very pissed if for example I could buy Tides of Numerra on Gamestop on launch day when my backed copy hasn't even shipped yet.

[Freeter]

Not buying it at all. If you promise to give me something in exchange for my hard earned money, then you'd better deliver. My contribution no longer becomes a 'donation' once that's established. There's something in it for me, so naturally I expect compensation.

Ouya may have gotten off the ground, but if it doesn't appease this situation soon, it's going to crash and burn. Let this be a lesson to all Kickstarter projects now and in the future - don't make promises you can't keep.