Ouya CEO Plans To Release New Console Every Year

[MikeWehner]

Ouya CEO Plans To Release New Console Every Year

The first Ouya isn't even in our hands yet, and the company is already talking about number three.

It may seem like we've been hearing about the Ouya forever, but if you're already tired of reading about the tiny, Android-powered box, just wait until next year... and the year after. According to Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman, the company plans to release a new Ouya every single year. Yes, you read that correctly.

"Our strategy is very much similar to the mobile strategy," explained Uhrman. "There will be a new Ouya every year. There will be an Ouya 2 and an Ouya 3." We're not sure what the company's fourth console will be called... but we could probably make an educated guess.

Given that the Ouya is little more than gussied-up Android smartphone hardware, it makes a good bit of sense that the system will become antiquated along the same lines as your typical handset. Whether the company's strategy will resonate with consumers - and on the verge of a new home console generation, no less - will be interesting to see.

Source: Engadget [http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/07/ouya-annual/]

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[Gearhead mk2]

...I thought that this was an Android device, not an Apple.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhat?!!!

My "This is a horrendous Idea" Alarm is going off like mad!! Not only was I worried consoles like the Ouya, GameStick and the SHIELD would cause a new Video Game Crash, but now these people feel the need to release a console EVERY YEAR?!!!

I can't be the only one thinking this is a terrible idea! And an incredibly greedy one! This is like Quaker Oats making video games... Which they did in the early 80's!

Ouya Company, you've lost my support completely!

 

[Irridium]

Because nothing builds confidence more than telling people who haven't even bought the thing yet that their purchase will be obsolete in a year.

 

[IndomitableSam]

They want us to buy a new console every year for about a hundred bucks? Fuck that, I'd go out and buy the other new consoles instead, as the generations tend to last 5+ years, and the cost of a console will be less than $500 (I hope). I wanted an Ouya, but if they plan to charge that much money for someone that's outdated in a year, no way.

 

[Little Gray]

Well that is one way to kill off interest in your product.

 

[Covarr]

I understand they need to release new versions from time to time, but I think this might be too often. That said, you don't NEED to buy the latest one every time it comes out. Presumably, games will continue to come out that still run on older generations of the device, assuming the new ones are the same only more powerful. I don't expect any major changes to the platform like you see between console generations. If I have to spend $100 every three years to keep up, that's really not all that bad.

P.S. Thanks

 

[The White Hunter]

Well that means that they could have an Assassins Creed game as a launch title for every new system they make!

[small]Oh and fuck that, makes it by far the most expensive way to game, you can keep a PC near the high end for £100 a year if you sell off last years parts ¬_¬[/small]

 

[Triaed]

Yay, annual obsolescence!

 

[fulano]

This...is actually not so bad, in theory. I mean, what exactly are we expecting from them? If, like in the cellphone, every year they are adding stuff up on top of other stuff I could see the system ending up quite elaborate by the time the next generation of home systems is in its last legs. Though, that being the case, I don't why they shouldn't instead sell Ouya parts instead of full systems every year.

Barring, of course, a complete failure of the product from the beginning.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Releasing a new console every year.....guess they are using the apple business model. lol. From what i saw on wiki it has FF3 being released on it and maybe a SNES/N64 emulator and a load of other pointless shovel ware sounding games.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ouya_software

 

[lostlevel]

...I thought that this was an Android device, not an Apple.

At least it is still going to be much cheaper than any apple device. However the only apple product I own, my iPod Touch (whatever gen) I've had for over 3 years so they really shouldn't expect me to buy an Ouya every year.

 

[Twilight_guy]

They sure as shit better keep up support for there product for several years and offer the same interface on each system as well as backwards support, otherwise they aren't going to survive that second console (assuming they make it that far).

 

[fulano]

Releasing a new console every year.....guess they are using the apple business model. lol. From what i saw on wiki it has FF3 being released on it and maybe a SNES/N64 emulator and a load of other pointless shovel ware sounding games.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ouya_software

The emulators alone are worth the price of admission. It is a massive selling point for people interested in all kinds of old software, for whatever reason, not just restricted to console emulators.

 

[Scars Unseen]

...I thought that this was an Android device, not an Apple.

Because Android manufacturers don't put out new phones and tablets each year?

While this seems like a bad idea from a console standpoint, it might actually work out pretty well for them if they can retain backwards compatibility(no reason why they can't if they keep it Android) and keep the price down. The Ouya is going to be pretty low key compared to other consoles, but after a couple of iterations we could have something that rivals or even surpasses the glacial advancement of mainstream console technology.

Frankly, if they charge $100 for every version they put out (and of course assuming they can keep developers making games for the line of devices), this could be the start of something big.

Or it could flop. Not everyone can be a winner in the console wars.

 

[Jhereg42]

I think my initial reaction to this was an over reaction.

The smart phones can continue to work just fine for 3-4 years before an upgrade is needed. If they are going to continue to refine year by year they are not forcing people to upgrade yearly, just refining the product. Buying a new one for $100 or so every 4 years is not so bad.

The only harm I can think of for the console is that I (and others like me) might wait for the second gen version so they get all the kinks worked out, and that might lead to a drop in first year sales that hurt the start up.