OUYA: A New Kind of Video Game Console

[spoodie]

I'm guessing you've probably heard of this already - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouy ... me-console

I wasn't really that bothered but it's only $100 to get one before it's in the shops, supposedly. And I'm interested to see what they come up with, possibly more so than the serious hardware, general media players that the next Microsoft and Sony consoles are likely to be. If nothing else it should be useful as a decent media player, for Netflix, film files, etc. And it'll almost certainly be more open than the previously mentioned new consoles.

What do you think about this?

[FatherJack]

It looks to me like a way to play phone games on your TV. Without the touch screen. Running Android its success is likely tied to whether or not it can be registered in the Play Store.

[Dog Pants]

I've heard it similarly described to what FJ said, and I have an iPad for that. I like the idea though - given the success of the indie platforms such as XBLA I think an open source console could be the next big thing. On the other hand it could just end up as a fixed configuration PC.

[Dog Pants]

Also, why is it named after the sound you make when you stub your toe?

[TezzRexx]

On the other hand it could just end up as a fixed configuration PC.

This, I think. Struggling to see where it will fit between existing technologies of smartphone/ipad and the PC/consoles.

[Dog Pants]

This is interesting.

TL;DR? Eurogamer think this is all a bit dodgy.

[Joose]

Yeah, like the Eurogamer guy I caught the heady smell of prime bullshit off this the first time I saw it. Nothing I have seen so far has changed my mind.

[spoodie]

Pledge cancelled. I've been feeling a bit suspicious of it. I was never expecting it to change the console world, but the prospect of ending up with nothing for my money is not good enough. Especially when I could just buy one later, if it works out.

[buzzmong]

I was put off when I read down to the specs. 1 gig of RAM in this day and age? Nah, it's going to be weedy methinks.

[deject]

I was put off when I read down to the specs. 1 gig of RAM in this day and age? Nah, it's going to be weedy methinks.

The Xbox 360 only has 512MB of RAM. Sure it suffers for it, but that's not really a reason to doubt it, especially when there's the whole being basically a $300 android tablet that's supposed to do high level 1080p gaming thing to knock it for.

[buzzmong]

The Xbox 360 only has 512MB of RAM. Sure it suffers for it, but that's not really a reason to doubt it, especially when there's the whole being basically a $300 android tablet that's supposed to do high level 1080p gaming thing to knock it for.

The 360 is seven years old though.

[FatherJack]

I don't know how Eurogamer can explicity say Minecraft won't be on it. There's an Mojang-made Pocket Edition of Minecraft on the Google Play store and if they are able to get their device listed as compatible on there, then it will be on it. How you'll be able to play it without a touch-screen is another matter. Even if the device didn't work on the Play store, it's still possible you could put Minecraft on, you could test this if you can get the .apk file of the demo off your phone and run up a copy of Android in Virtual Box.

I think saying it's low specced is missing the point - it's only running apps designed for phones. With a quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM, it's not far off the Galaxy S3, probably the most powerful smartphone on the planet and likely equals the same-CPU'd HTC One X which formerly topped the smartphone power chart.

What will trouble it, apart from the aforementioned control issues is its hackability, which is sure to frighten away any publishers, so you'll likely be limited to demo versions or rogue apps.

[Legoshoes]

What irked me is the fact that the promo video shows either PC or xbox versions of minecraft. Not minecraft pocket. As for control concerns, Minecraft Pocket was originally an Xperia Play exclusive and, owning said phone, the controls are fairly well laid out.

I remain extremely skeptical about this. The amount of attention this project has got could see our very first high-profile Kickstarter flop.

[Joose]

I think saying it's low specced is missing the point - it's only running apps designed for phones.

Ignoring for a second the fact that I dont understand why anyone would *want* to run an app designed for phones on a telly, they seem to have missed the fact that you can do that already. My knowledge of non-apple smartphones is a little limited, but I know for a fact that one of my friends plugs his phone into his telly and uses a wireless keyboard and mouse to controll it. He watches films off it. In HD.

[FatherJack]

I dont understand why anyone would *want* to run an app designed for phones on a telly

I guess as a cheap way into gaming. At $100 it's cheaper than any console, smartphone or tablet. Some of the games are pretty sophisticated now, and IPs like Angry Birds are widely-known and popular.

With the promise of free games it looks attractive when compared to how much console games cost, but I agree in thinking that much of what they promise is deceitful, and I don't recommend giving money to people who lie.

It seems the controller has a touchpad on it, which I didn't pick up on before. I think the demand for something like this is there, as similar offerings from Apple and Google are strongly rumoured soon.

Plenty of times before, even going back to the 80s people have talked about some new alternative console which would take on the big boys only to fail to deliver or be bullied out of the way.

[deject]

I think saying it's low specced is missing the point - it's only running apps designed for phones.

Ignoring for a second the fact that I dont understand why anyone would *want* to run an app designed for phones on a telly, they seem to have missed the fact that you can do that already. My knowledge of non-apple smartphones is a little limited, but I know for a fact that one of my friends plugs his phone into his telly and uses a wireless keyboard and mouse to controll it. He watches films off it. In HD.

Also regardless of how old the Xbox is, it's still the #1 console, at least here in the US. Microsoft has stated that they're planning to keep it going until 2015. I think they need to update it desperately, but I think 2014 is the earliest a new Xbox will come out considering a new one was not shown at E3 already.

[deject]

I dont understand why anyone would *want* to run an app designed for phones on a telly

I guess as a cheap way into gaming. At $100 it's cheaper than any console, smartphone or tablet. Some of the games are pretty sophisticated now, and IPs like Angry Birds are widely-known and popular.

With the promise of free games it looks attractive when compared to how much console games cost, but I agree in thinking that much of what they promise is deceitful, and I don't recommend giving money to people who lie.

It seems the controller has a touchpad on it, which I didn't pick up on before. I think the demand for something like this is there, as similar offerings from Apple and Google are strongly rumoured soon.

Plenty of times before, even going back to the 80s people have talked about some new alternative console which would take on the big boys only to fail to deliver or be bullied out of the way.

As of right now you can actually get an Xbox 360 for $99* so something that doesn't have anything near the quantity nor quality of games that are available on the 360 needs something really compelling and I just don't see anything at all about the OUYA that makes me think that I would ever use it to do anything at all. Even at $250, the Xbox 360 is far more compelling of a product.

*You have to sign up for a 2-year $15/month Xbox Live Gold contract, but as should be clear to anyone who's studied US economics, we'll sign up for almost anything to save a hundred bucks upfront. The contract is not really an issue for people who are price sensitive here. I know Europe is much different though, so I am talking specifically about the US.

[Legoshoes]

Apparently, the Ouya developers are looking for money elsewhere. http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/7/1 ... ickstarter

I'm getting increasingly suspicious that once the media dust settles on this thing, it's going to disappear forever...

[buzzmong]

I'm getting increasingly suspicious that once the media dust settles on this thing Kickstarter finishes, it's going to disappear forever...

Fix'd.

[FatherJack]

They had already got some funding before, they must have spend a tidy sum on advertising - news sites are all over this and a Google search for 'new type of console' or similar is just saturated - I tried to search for former attempts at this type of thing but ended up just giving up.

Even $5M won't go far if they have to pay designers and manufacturers and advertise beyond the gaming community. I does look increasingly like the people who have left their money in (no refunds after the deadline) won't get anything in March 2013, if ever.