OUYA - A new $99 console powered by Android [Kickstarter ended, $8.5 million funded]

We'll, according to Edmund on the stream I'm listening to. He says TEGRA won't be able to run Binding of Issac at 1080P and that it can prolly run at 5fps, (He said it jokingly but serious.) Super Meat Boy is out the question. Yea, he definitely thinks low of Ouya and the state of the Android gaming scene. He also states that Minecraft would be impossible to port to Android.

PS Don't quote me on this all you gaming "journalist" out there reading this thread!!!
 
THE NO LIFE KING said:
We'll, according to Edmund on the stream I'm listening to. He says TEGRA won't be able to run Binding of Issac at 1080P and that it can prolly run at 5fps, Super Meat Boy is out the question. Yea, he definitely thinks low of Ouya and they state of the Android gaming scene. He also states that Minecraft would be impossible to port to Android.
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Thats not what they said about Minecraft, they were just talking about how Notch was tweeting yesterday about the problem with "Minecraft on Ouya" is that the Android version of Minecraft is "not that good".

And it was Tommy explaining the problems porting Isaac, I think.
 
THE NO LIFE KING said:
We'll, according to Edmund on the stream I'm listening to. He says TEGRA won't be able to run Binding of Issac at 1080P and that it can prolly run at 5fps, (He said it jokingly but serious.)
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Ok, that's just completely unreasonable and shows that he has no idea what he's talking about when it comes to tech.

(Before you jump down my throat, check my earlier posts in this thread where I criticize Tegra 3's graphics performance. But there's a difference between being relatively weak in the current marketplace of high-end SoC GPUs and being unable to run an average 2D game at 1080p)
 
jett said:
I don't understand all the people ponying up $99 for this thing either.
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Here too. I mean, what stops (for example) ASUS to release a similiar product before the holidays. Even with stock Android it would take away all the buzz from this.

I am pretty sure there will be a lot of product to choose from until March 2013.
 
Durante said:
Ok, that's just completely unreasonable and shows that he has no idea what he's talking about when it comes to tech.

(Before you jump down my throat, check my earlier posts in this thread where I criticize Tegra 3's graphics performance. But there's a difference between being relatively weak in the current marketplace of high-end SoC GPUs and being unable to run an average 2D game at 1080p)
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He said that unless they rewrite it completely, which they assume the Ouya people would not do, it would be shit.
 
Durante said:
That's irrelevant to the original point. The original post stated "program in a java VM vs Native C++". Dalvik is a VM that runs Java code. The architecture of the VM doesn't matter when the comparison is between no VM at all and a VM.
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So you made a point to mention that it was a Java VM and even bolded the 'is' and you're now saying it's irrelevant now? When did it become irrelevant? When you were corrected? Also, Dalvik is a VM that runs Dalvik bytecode.

Durante said:
This one you'll really have to explain to me. How are NDK applications more portable? If anything, they'd be less portable, since they would depend on a specific (usually ARM) instruction set.
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What language do you think all of those iOS games that have suddenly appeared on Android are written in? Games on Android and iOS are created in much the same way - write a small Java or Objective C wrapper and wrap your C/C++ game in it.
 
THE NO LIFE KING said:
I really have my doubts that he is going to port BoI but he did mention that he might make a smaller game for the Android.
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Edmund (and Florian) are definitely not porting BoI. Ouya contacted him and said they would port it themselves for him. He would be hands off with it if it actually winds up happening.
 
Truespeed said:
So you made a point to mention that it was a Java VM and even bolded the 'is' and you're now saying it's irrelevant now? When did it become irrelevant? When you were corrected? Also, Dalvik is a VM that runs Dalvik bytecode.
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Dalvik bytecode generated from Java code. The original discussion was about the performance impact of running stuff in a VM. The specific type of VM is thus irrelevant, unless Dalvik was somehow much better in terms of performance and closer to native code than other virtual machines (it's not).

When I said "Java VM" what I meant is that it is a virtual machine executing Java code. I forgot for a moment Sun's annoying move of calling their language and bytecode by the same name. So yeah, you corrected me on that, good job.

HadesGigas said:
He said that unless they rewrite it completely, which they assume the Ouya people would not do, it would be shit.
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Running a Flash game directly on the platform would suck. But that's not really a good evaluation of a hardware platform.
 
Dynamite Shikoku said:
Isnt minecraft already on android?
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bqSIj.jpg
 
Durante said:
Running a Flash game directly on the platform would suck. But that's not really a good evaluation of a hardware platform.
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Let's not forget Binding of Isaac runs like crap even on a netbook that can handle much more resource intensive games. I bought it and have never been able to play it, it's terribly optimised (probably on account of being made in Flash).
 
saunderez said:
Let's not forget Binding of Isaac runs like crap even on a netbook that can handle much more resource intensive games. I bought it and have never been able to play it, it's terribly optimised (probably on account of being made in Flash).
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It's in Flash Actionscript 2 no less. Which is why there is no hardware acceleration.
 
I changed my mind. Since the Steam sale started I no longer care about Ouya. Cancellong my preorder. $100 buys a ton of Steam games.

I wish you well thick mascara lady but I dont need your widget. I'll play those same indie games on PC.
 
Blinding of Issac just overall runs crap. Its a good game and everything but seriously its not exactly the pinnacle of Indie examples when it comes to how it runs.

Oh and yeah this entire system is silly. Anyone that makes for Android might as well just do a Radiohead and let people decide how much they'll pay for the game. The entire box is built around being open and hackable. Piracy should be rife unless theres some sort of account Cloud delivery.


Buy a Raspberry Pi if you want something thats cheap and accessible (and its a charity). If your looking for a console - buy a tablet (this is what this is but with a controller) - if you wanna play Minecraft? Buy a good PC.

Whoever gave money to these numpties is bonkers. These people could have raised the money from investors - or by partnering with another company; instead they took advantage of people who didn't really know what it was they were buying. I don't blame them for this, if you gave a lot of money for this then you were foolish.


Kickstarter is a good way for a small unproven company to raise money; one in the dumps; or someone who has tried but failed to raise money elsewhere. For people who are established and can probably raise their own money (if they had a valid business plan) its not needed.

Its the Facebook of Kickstarting - ignorant people buy first, then suddenly the value of their purchase is laid clear to them.


Waste of money.
 
I don't why people argue against it think it competes with the consoles. Until consoles are sell for 99 bux and have gazillions .99 quick and dirty game for sell, they don't compete with the OUYA. In other words, OUYA does not compete with the consoles.

There is another thing that's going for the OUYA people are ignoring. That's the familiarity of Android interface. For example, if you want to see weather of next 7 days and maybe weather of two cities on the TV, everyone knows how to do it with Android's app interface. Now how many people will bother to learn how to do it on a console, or Roku, or your Panasonic TV's "smart interface"? What about reading a magazine pdf file on your TV? What about running a customized stock information panel on your TV?

The Android interface is an added value to this console. It doesn''t need to compete directly with the home console and win, it does not compete with the consoles directly. The whole game playing part, doeesn't tell the whole story.
 
tino said:
There is another thing that's going for the OUYA people are ignoring. That's the familiarity of Android interface. For example, if you want to see weather of next 7 days and maybe weather of two cities on the TV, everyone knows how to do it with Android's app interface. Now how many people will bother to learn how to do it on a console, or Roku, or your Panasonic TV's "smart interface"? What about reading a magazine pdf file on your TV? What about running a customized stock information panel on your TV?
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You're overestimating the userbase. I've only used my friends Android phone for a bit and it confused the hell out of me.
 
There is nothing familiar about the android user interface, it can be totally different from phone to phone.

And Ouya doesn't even use that interface, it uses an Xbox-like interface.
 
Gustav said:
Doesn't look like it.
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A wireless controller, featuring two analog sticks, a directional pad, four face buttons, four shoulders, touchpad, and a system button. It won't, however, have an accelerometer or rumble. Much like the console itself, the controller was design to be hacked.
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According to the OP(quote above) it will have a touchpad, which would be wise, IMO. It obviously would make porting games to Ouya, much easier.

HadesGigas said:
There is nothing familiar about the android user interface, it can be totally different from phone to phone.

And Ouya doesn't even use that interface, it uses an Xbox-like interface.
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One thing people are forgetting is that it will be open, hackable, rooted, whichever term you prefer. I'm sure if it has any popularity at all, they can switch the skin on Ouya to match their other Android devices.
 
grimshawish said:
Blinding of Issac just overall runs crap. Its a good game and everything but seriously its not exactly the pinnacle of Indie examples when it comes to how it runs.

Oh and yeah this entire system is silly. Anyone that makes for Android might as well just do a Radiohead and let people decide how much they'll pay for the game. The entire box is built around being open and hackable. Piracy should be rife unless theres some sort of account Cloud delivery.


Buy a Raspberry Pi if you want something thats cheap and accessible (and its a charity). If your looking for a console - buy a tablet (this is what this is but with a controller) - if you wanna play Minecraft? Buy a good PC.

Whoever gave money to these numpties is bonkers. These people could have raised the money from investors - or by partnering with another company; instead they took advantage of people who didn't really know what it was they were buying. I don't blame them for this, if you gave a lot of money for this then you were foolish.


Kickstarter is a good way for a small unproven company to raise money; one in the dumps; or someone who has tried but failed to raise money elsewhere. For people who are established and can probably raise their own money (if they had a valid business plan) its not needed.

Its the Facebook of Kickstarting - ignorant people buy first, then suddenly the value of their purchase is laid clear to them.


Waste of money.
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As a feature rich media streaming device it's actually quite good value.
 
Guys, seriously. Ninety Nine Dollars. That's less than 2 AAA games on "current" (and I use that term loosely) generation consoles. It's costs 1 Wii Balance board.

If this thing was nothing more than an emulation box/media server it'd be worth a buck shy of a benji.

People kick out $89 all day long for Roku to have Netflix/Hulu and Angry Birds ... this most certainly will do at least Netflix. Is anyone complaining that Roku is a huge waste of money and offers no value? To the contrary, it's seemingly universally praised. Hardware in OUYA is waaaaaaay ahead of whats in a Roku.

As an "Android as a game platform" fan (I was first in line for a Sony Ericsson Xperia Play), this can only help bring more people to the table. I am glad to pay a small premium on hardware that has a chance to get some more titles on Android, and I think there are plenty of folks with similar feelings.
 
CrashPrime said:
Guys, seriously. Ninety Nine Dollars. That's less than 2 AAA games on "current" (and I use that term loosely) generation consoles. It's costs 1 Wii Balance board.

.
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Well that's all very relative. I roll with Steam sales. $99 buys me at least TEN "current gen console games," probably more like 15.
 
EternalGamer said:
Well that's all very relative. I roll with Steam sales. $99 buys me at least TEN "current gen console games," probably more like 15.
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You aren't buying 10 AAA titles unless they are 2+ years old. We all know steam sales kick ass, but you don't get to just go and choose any game and pay $9.99 durring a steam sale.

I'm certainly not saying $99 durring a steam sale gets you less than an OUYA, but you are going to need at minimum a $399 "console" to play them.

I understand your viewpoint, but just because steam sales are amazing, doesn't mean everything that isn't a steam sale level of discount is a total rip-off.
 
Majanew said:
$4 Million!? Holy...

I need to get people to send me some cash so I can try to make something. The hell.
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When you get Ed Fries (former VP of Microsoft Games Publishing) and Yves Behar (one laptop per child) on your team, you can probably try to give it a shot. These aren't guys in their parents' basement.
 
CrashPrime said:
You aren't buying 10 AAA titles unless they are 2+ years old. We all know steam sales kick ass, but you don't get to just go and choose any game and pay $9.99 durring a steam sale.

I'm certainly not saying $99 durring a steam sale gets you less than an OUYA, but you are going to need at minimum a $399 "console" to play them.

I understand your viewpoint, but just because steam sales are amazing, doesn't mean everything that isn't a steam sale level of discount is a total rip-off.
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I get it and you are right about the required hardware. I'm just talking about the value proposition for me. Suddenly this current sale put thing into perspective. I don't really need another widget box for $99 to play indie games I can get on my PC.
 
DeuceGamer said:
According to the OP(quote above) it will have a touchpad, which would be wise, IMO. It obviously would make porting games to Ouya, much easier.



One thing people are forgetting is that it will be open, hackable, rooted, whichever term you prefer. I'm sure if it has any popularity at all, they can switch the skin on Ouya to match their other Android devices.
Click to expand...

Touchpad is not a Trackpad.
 
EternalGamer said:
I get it and you are right about the required hardware. I'm just talking about the value proposition for me. Suddenly this current sale put thing into perspective. I don't really need another widget box for $99 to play indie games I can get on my PC.
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For sure. As I said, steam sales kick ass. It's hard to not have money put aside in a gaming budget to just go crazy when they hit. I'm slamming refresh to see what Day 2 sales are.

For some, their gaming budget just doesn't have room for another device. I think the PS Vita is cool, it's just not in my gaming budget to have one. I just don't like it when people let their opinion run away and it turns into "it's a waste of money, and the people that bought it are getting screwed out of their hard earned dollar".

For me, $250 entry point of a Vita is too high to throw another gadget in the pile. $99 is a lot more palatable. Plus it's garnered so much buzz, that it's almost destined to be a piece of gaming history .. whether it's a success or failure.

UnblessedSoul said:
How is this thing getting funded? It's a disaster
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How is it already disaster? It hasn't even made it out of prototype phase yet.
 
DeuceGamer said:
According to the OP(quote above) it will have a touchpad, which would be wise, IMO. It obviously would make porting games to Ouya, much easier.



One thing people are forgetting is that it will be open, hackable, rooted, whichever term you prefer. I'm sure if it has any popularity at all, they can switch the skin on Ouya to match their other Android devices.
Click to expand...

The person i was responding to was referring to the mass market crowd that are apparently too stupid to press a couple buttons on their smart tv. They aren't hacking shit.
 
GK86 said:
@ playouya Ok. But, I think it would be nice to hear some updates on the progress of what is happening behind the scenes and stretch goals.

@ GlennBacon - We'll announce all of this in our next KS update sooner than soon. We're just into day 4 and we want the update solid. :)
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Speaking of which, this seems to be a really long time with only 1 update, pretty much all Kickstarters that did this phenomenally would have had at least 1 update each day. Including updates when they updated how many people could get a certain reward level, like these guys have done at least twice.
 
HadesGigas said:
The person i was responding to was referring to the mass market crowd that are apparently too stupid to press a couple buttons on their smart tv. They aren't hacking shit.
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They won't have to hack 'shit'. My point is someone will create multiple skins for Ouya and from their it will be a simple download. If they can't figure out how to download a skin, this is obviously not for them and I'd argue a smartphone probably isn't either :)
 
The Binding of Isaac and Minecraft news is pretty disappointing...

CrashPrime said:
If this thing was nothing more than an emulation box/media server it'd be worth a buck shy of a benji.

People kick out $89 all day long for Roku to have Netflix/Hulu and Angry Birds ... this most certainly will do at least Netflix. Is anyone complaining that Roku is a huge waste of money and offers no value? To the contrary, it's seemingly universally praised. Hardware in OUYA is waaaaaaay ahead of whats in a Roku.
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Yeah, this is why I don't understand everyone crapping on the backers for "wasting their money". Personally, the media/emulation capabilities aren't enough to sell me yet, but it's not hard to see why that would be worth $100 for a lot of people.

It's also kind of amusing how this thing is criticized from both sides: on one hand, it's total vaporware and a scam because this company has no credibility, and on the other hand, this project is way too established and has no business being on Kickstarter.

It's totally fair to view this kind of project with some skepticism, but a lot of the criticisms I'm seeing seem really kneejerk. It makes me wonder what it would take for any company to launch a console like this. Seems like a lot of people won't accept something that's not backed by a huge player like Google, Apple, or Valve (and even then I'm sure we'd have plenty of people flinging feces before any real details are known).
 
tim.mbp said:
How does the Ouya stack up against this specs wise. ARM Cortex A9 & Open GL(Mali-400).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815645003
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512MB is pretty terrible. My phone has that much, and it's a major hassle (for me) doing basic multitasking. Apps have to reload constantly. Granted, it all depends on use cases*. I was frankly disappointed to read that 1GB is a hard limit for the Ouya (they're considering being flexible with other specs, but not the amount of memory).



Sayyyy, is the Ouya supposed to be HDMI only? As in, I won't be able to hook composite cabling up to my current television set?



* edit: I meant here that certain uses, like media center and dedicated gaming, wouldn't really involve heavy multitasking, so it mayn't matter in such cases
 
I'm not convinced this will be anything but a niche console, but calling it a disaster or failure is pretty ignorant. It should at least be considered the next gen Roku device + android and emulator gaming for your TV.
 
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