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talles

Member

Registered: 2012-07-11

Posts: 31

OUYA: A New Kind of Video Game Console

Have you guys seen this?

What is OUYA?
OUYA is a new kind of game console for the TV that upends the console market: by bringing the openness of mobile and Internet platforms to console games for the first time.

OUYA is:
• A game console that plugs into your TV, and includes a beautifully-designed game controller
• Built on Adroid, with a custom user interface and game store
• Open to any developer to publish a game – unlike any of the current game consoles
• Powerful enough to play great games in HD – with a Tegra3 chipset
• Designed by Yves Behar and fuseproject – made Jambox, SAYL chair, other award-winners

For gamers – a powerful but inexpensive alternative to traditional consoles, with great games:
• Inexpensive – priced under $100
• All games are free-to-play (with in-game items, paid version after free trial, etc.)
• Well-designed controller – standard controller with a touchpad
• Will play great games – from AAA to indie – including hardcore and more mainstream titles
• Can support other Android apps – will launch with TwitchTV (live-streaming for games, watch games like StarCraft and League of Legends on your TV)

For developers – this is your console:
• Supported by respected developers: Notch (Mojang), Brian Fargo (inXile), Adam Saltsman (Canabalt), Ed Fries (original Xbox team), and others
• Any developer can publish a game – every console includes an SDK, no extra fees
• Custom OUYA SDK will be built on standard Android platform, with links into OUYA game promotion and in-game purchase API
• Developer chooses pricing, as long as initial download is free (standard 30% to OUYA)

For hackers – built to be hacked:
• Rooting the device will not void your warranty; easy to root; every unit has a debug console
• For hardware hackers, opens with standard screws; USB port for making peripherals; PCB designed to hack (clearly documented test points)

Kickstarter campaign:
• Launches July 10
• Asking for money to complete the product development (both the hardware and software platform), do the initial production runs, and support initial game development
• Goal is $950,000 -- OUYA only gets funds if campaign hits this goal

OUYA the company:
• Founded by Julie Uhrman, who started in the video game industry 10 years ago (GameFly, IGN, Vivendi Universal)
• Raised money from individuals, no venture capital – investors include Jay Adelson, founder of Digg; Joe Greenstein, founder of Flixster; Hosain Rahman, founder of Jawbone; Eric Hautemont, publisher of Ticket to Ride and other award-winning board games

Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouy … me-console
Title survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ouya
Unofficial forum: http://www.my-ouya.net/forum/index.php

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What you think?

I truly believe that this is a good idea and it got potential, but I got mixed feelings since I saw something very similar to this before.

I'm Brazilian, and here we got a video game company called TecToy that developed a game console (plugged on TV with a joystick, typical console) called Zeebo. It was a gaming console with a 'smartphone hardware', that you could pay and download the games, there was some classic games, 'lightweight new games', cellphone games and eventually they formed a crew to develop exclusive games for it. It was a clearly different proposal from current generation consoles, but in the end it was fun. Even as being "hardcore gamer" I enjoyed playing on it.

In the end they stopped releasing games for it and abandon it all. Mine is getting dust somewhere in my house

OUYA is different, but...   I don't know...

Last edited by talles (2012-07-12 13:47:41)

blue

Member

Registered: 2011-09-23

Posts: 20

Re: OUYA: A New Kind of Video Game Console

Yeah its interesting, but Android... I don't know. I can see why they picked Android as a quick win to get lots of games on the platform but I can't help but wonder if its the best option for developing games. Maybe its just me but I don't really see Android as a real OS and can't see it as something that runs the next Elder Scrolls or Gears... Really they could have done with getting this out a year ago. With the Wii U expected at the end of this year and you would expect MS or Sony fairly close behind with their next offerings, they'll be up for some fierce competition.

mynis01

#! Die Hard

From: 127.0.0.1

Registered: 2010-07-02

Posts: 2,005

Re: OUYA: A New Kind of Video Game Console

There's all ready some pretty graphics intensive titles for android out there, like shadowgun. The only real issue I would see is storage space, since it only ships with 8 gigs. People who have several hundred dollars to burn on a new system will likely get something from nintendo/sony/microsoft instead, and that's ok.

Awebb

The Singularity

Registered: 2009-07-23

Posts: 2,812

Re: OUYA: A New Kind of Video Game Console

Android is a bad gaming platform, unless they dodge that dalvik crap. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed every single android game I played so far, including Mass Effect Infiltrator and Dead Space, which both had graphics better than the don't need much CPU, since most of the power comes from the graphics chip. I have yet to be impressed by a strategy game written in that Java bastard, left alone providing the horse power to run a game like chess (without a fine tuned opening database), Go or even Abalone.

Oh, excuse me, it's 2012, I keep forgetting that. Fine project, fine project...

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I'm so meta, even this acronym