Ouya Announces $60/Year Subscription to Unlock All Titles

Steven Bogos

The Taco Man
Jan 17, 2013
9,354
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Ouya Announces $60/Year Subscription to Unlock All Titles


For just $60 a year, you can play every single title in the Ouya library.

It's no secret that the Ouya didn't quite perform as well as the company had hoped [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/editorials/reviews/10469-OUYA-Review-More-Whimper-Than-Bang], and has introduced a new "all-access" plan as its latest move to increase its user-base. The "Ouya All-Access Pass" is a limited-time yearly subscription, where just $60 will unlock seemingly unlimited access to the entire Ouya library.

There are, of course, some provisos, namely, that the pass only unlocks "one-time purchases under $30 such as full-game unlocks and level-pack add-ons," but does not include downloadable content designed to "enhance gameplay" with options such as "extra lives and power-ups".

The new All-Access Pass follows a March change in Ouya policy allowing developers to make paid games that don't include free demo versions (which was touted as a staple of the console at launch) or in-app purchases.

Ouya sent a statement to Ars Technica [http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/06/ouya-announces-60year-subscription-to-unlock-its-full-games-library/] about the promotion, calling the All-Access Pass a "pilot subscription program" and saying, "For the price of one console game, players receive access to the entire OUYA catalog of more than 800 titles for a full year. It's just one of many things we're exploring to give players the best value and developers the best visibility. Results of this test will dictate if/how we proceed with an official subscription program."

Source: Ars Technica [http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/06/ouya-announces-60year-subscription-to-unlock-its-full-games-library/]

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ascorbius

Numberwanger
Nov 18, 2009
263
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A link to the Escapist's own review is not evidence that the OUYA did not perform as well as the company had hoped.

If there's a link to actual numbers, I'd be interested to see them but you can't include an opinion piece as evidence of failure.


Personally, I'd like to see the OUYA do better and would welcome any program which promotes it.
 

Dendio

New member
Mar 24, 2010
701
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As bad as the wii u had been doing, at least we were aware of it.

I honestly forgot the Ouya existed. In fact talking about it now makes me think of 2013...

My laptop pretty much does what i'd look for in an ouya, but good luck to them regardless
 

Adam Locking

New member
Aug 10, 2012
220
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$60 isn't a bad deal considering how many games are on there. Yes, there's a lot of shite, but there are also some quality games which are very easy to find via the playlists and ratings filters. A sample of some of the "better" games would be:

Multiplayer Brawlers
Towerfall (Previous Ouya exclusive)
Duck Game (Ouya exclusive)
Bombsquad (Ouya and Mac exclusive)

Single player
Sonic 4 episode 1+2
Sonic CD
Final Fantasy 3 (3D remake)
Clark (Ouya Exclusive)
The Bard's Tale (original xbox game
Zombie Driver HD
The Ball
Ravensword

"Mobile Games"
Nimble Quest
Hidden in Plain Sight
 

Vault101

I'm in your mind fuzz
Sep 26, 2010
18,863
15
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Hixy said:
I have an Ouya, I use it as a SNES/SEGA/GB/N64. I wanted a cheap little emulator box with a pad to attach to my TV so I wouldnt have to use a PC. I think for this purpose it works very well. On my way to my emulators I do see the games that they have on the platform, most of it looks shit in my humble opnion so I wouldnt pay 60$ for access to shit. Even if it's a massive pile of shit.

So for me I dont really need the console to be supported anymore I have what I want. But I wish them well it was a good attempt.
emulator huh? how does that work?

that actually has me itnerested....but then I doubt its availible in Australia
 

Ten Foot Bunny

I'm more of a dishwasher girl
Mar 19, 2014
807
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Every time I see something about the Ouya, I'm reminded of the fact that it exists. That recollection usually passes within an hour, reemerging only when I stumble across another article three months later.

One wonders how much longer it can last.
 

Eirreann

Still only counts as one.
Aug 17, 2013
21
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Vault101 said:
Hixy said:
I have an Ouya, I use it as a SNES/SEGA/GB/N64. I wanted a cheap little emulator box with a pad to attach to my TV so I wouldnt have to use a PC. I think for this purpose it works very well. On my way to my emulators I do see the games that they have on the platform, most of it looks shit in my humble opnion so I wouldnt pay 60$ for access to shit. Even if it's a massive pile of shit.

So for me I dont really need the console to be supported anymore I have what I want. But I wish them well it was a good attempt.
emulator huh? how does that work?

that actually has me itnerested....but then I doubt its availible in Australia
There are quite a few decent emulators in the Android appstore that have controller support. I used to play The Legend of Zelda a lot on my old ASUS tablet, however I would much prefer something like the Ouya, that has a physical controller.

But sadly emulation seems like the only good thing going for the Ouya at the moment, which is a shame. It had so much potential...
 

Scrythe

Premium Gasoline
Jun 23, 2009
2,367
0
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I thought about getting an Ouya as an "emulator box", but from what I've read on Amazon reviews, the Raspberry Pi actually runs emulators better than the Ouya. Considering that emulation was one of the only real things going for it (other than having it's own controller, but it loses points on it being as functional as the Retron 5 controller), that puts me off considerably.

Also, apparently the RPi can run XBMC much more smoothly than the Ouya. According to Amazon review (again), the Ouya lags horribly with XBMC, even on the menu

So yeah, I'll just stick to my Pi. Sure, it doesn't have that sleek "Designed by Yves Béhar [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yves_B%C3%A9har#Design_ventures]" look to it, and it's a machine you kinda have to build yourself (software, mostly), at least it's a hell of a lot cheaper than this block-shaped paperweight.

It is pretty small though, so I may be able to replace my current [http://www.arcade-gear.com/Games/Sega/Sega_Dreamcast_00.jpg] paperweight.
 

ascorbius

Numberwanger
Nov 18, 2009
263
0
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Why does anyone complain about shelling out for the OUYA2 to get improved hardware? No-one's forcing them.

What OUYA should do is make the OUYA2 completely incompatible with previous games, bundle some gimmicky hardware with it and charge a load of extra cash for it - relegate your previous games to the dustpile. They should also remove support for Indie devs - Oh wait, that's Microsoft's trick and if they did that, they'd be accused of copying.

Bombsquad and Towerfall have justified my purchase for sheer belly laughs with friends.
 

Hairless Mammoth

New member
Jan 23, 2013
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Ooh, this could renew interest in the Ouya. Wait, they're more than a year too late for this idea. It's probably more of a crutch to keep the Oyua limping until they can find the next life support strategy for the thing.

Sixty bucks a year for unlimited access to most of the catalog doesn't seem bad. Most Android games get virtually all the attention from a person within the first couple weeks of downloading. Then, I read the part about not including "downloadable content designed to "enhance gameplay" with options such as "extra lives and power-ups" and cringed. I can just see the majority of new games released on it will be those "pay $1 for extra tries or to get to the next level now" types of filth. Some shady publisher like King will see the new Ouya service as a way to get people to play their games ("Hey you're paying $60/year for these, might as well try out the most popular games with Candy and Saga in the titles!") and then milk their wallets. Now it probably won't matter much, though, since the Ouya is pretty much a zombie console.

That's right. The Ouya is a zombie console. Just like the Vita (is slowly becoming), Saturn, 32X, N-gage, and any other system with poor marketing/executive direction and/or no first party support.
 

Raziel

New member
Jul 20, 2013
243
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Objectable said:
Ah, yes. All five of them
Wow 5? When did the other 4 come out? Towerfall is the only ouya title I've ever heard was worth playing. Of course $60 seems high for 5 ouya games, let alone $60 each year.
 

weirdee

Swamp Weather Balloon Gas
Apr 11, 2011
2,634
0
0
if you link the url, it reads "ouya announces 60 year subscription to unlock all titles"

which i guess is technically true because it'll take 60 years for a good game to come out on the ouya BAZING
 

Eiv

New member
Oct 17, 2008
376
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0
Eirreann said:
Vault101 said:
Hixy said:
I have an Ouya, I use it as a SNES/SEGA/GB/N64. I wanted a cheap little emulator box with a pad to attach to my TV so I wouldnt have to use a PC. I think for this purpose it works very well. On my way to my emulators I do see the games that they have on the platform, most of it looks shit in my humble opnion so I wouldnt pay 60$ for access to shit. Even if it's a massive pile of shit.

So for me I dont really need the console to be supported anymore I have what I want. But I wish them well it was a good attempt.
emulator huh? how does that work?

that actually has me itnerested....but then I doubt its availible in Australia
There are quite a few decent emulators in the Android appstore that have controller support. I used to play The Legend of Zelda a lot on my old ASUS tablet, however I would much prefer something like the Ouya, that has a physical controller.

But sadly emulation seems like the only good thing going for the Ouya at the moment, which is a shame. It had so much potential...
Raspberry Pi is cheaper and you can do the exact same thing. Also possible with a first gen PSP (homebrew). Ouya was trying to fit in to a marketplace when it really wasn't needed.
 

Zombie_Moogle

New member
Dec 25, 2008
666
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Often seems like I'm the only one who's genuinely disappointed the Ouya didn't live up to the hype

A crowdfunded, 3rd party, indie-focused console for a low price? When that Kickstarter took off, I can't say I expected a paradigm shift, but I hoped it would at least rattle a few gilded cages

I was on the Kickstarter. Played it plenty. Enjoyed it a great deal; the hours sunk into Towerfall with friends over a few drinks more than justified the money I put into it.
I also loved that it was a cheap, pre-rooted android box with HDMI out. To a nerd like me that loves hacking pretty much everything I own, a network-capable & easily portable game console was a no-brainer (still love being able to play my Skyrim characters from anywhere through VNC on the Ouya; no real purpose to it, just enjoy being able to)

But the death-knell sounded when they polled their Kickstarter backers on what they wanted to see on their market... & that answer was Call of Duty...

...I suddenly realized that the majority of backers weren't investing in the same console that I was. It became clear that the market-disrupting movement that it appeared to be from a distance was little more than a whole lot of people throwing money at a trending campaign, likely never even reading the description & dooming the console to disappointment
 

Nurb

Cynical bastard
Dec 9, 2008
3,078
0
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You'll have a game library in the technical sense, but when you stop subbing, your library disappears. They sure solve that nostalgia problem for you. I'm going to play TIE-Fighter again.