Ouya Courts $8 Million, Namco-Bandai

[Greg Tito]

Ouya Courts $8 Million, Namco-Bandai

The tiny Android-powered console company updated its Kickstarter page with hours left.

The Ouya made a big splash when the announcing Final Fantasy III earlier [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/118375-Update-Open-Source-Android-Console-Fully-Funded-with-1-Million], Uhrman said she's in negotiations with many game companies to bring games to the console, but can only confirm one such company as the veteran Japanese developer and publisher Namco-Bandai. That news may draw even more support and push the total funds raised to more than $8 million, but as of press time the total sits at $7,847,892.

"Throughout our Kickstarter run, we've been having some exciting conversations behind the scenes. We'd love to fill you in on everything, but it's just not possible," Uhrman said. She was able to release this statement from Carlson Choi, Vice President of Marketing at Namco-Bandai Games America:

Namco Bandai Games and Ouya are currently in active discussions to bring some of the world's biggest gaming properties to the exciting new open gaming platform. Namco Bandai brings with it a rich history of iconic gaming franchises, from classics like Pac-Man and Galaga, to seminal franchises like Tekken and Ridge Racer, and we're excited to explore how we can work with Ouya to bring some great titles to the forthcoming console.

The graphics power of the Ouya will likely make those classic games work just fine, but I doubt we'll be seeing any of Namco's latest releases such as Soulcalibur V or Dark Souls soon. Still, a console needs Pac-Man on it to be real.

While the reward tiers for a console only deliver one controller, the update also announced that the Ouya will support up to four concurrent gamers. You'll have to add $90 to your contribution, but four of those fancy controllers will come in handy if you anticipate playing games that support that kind of multiplayer.

Finally, the Ouya Kickstarter page previously announced the Ouya would support Plex [http://xbmc.org/], a competing application that does the same thing. With either of those apps installed on your Ouya, it will become much easier to watch the movies, TV, music and other files available on your home's network. These announcement position the Ouya to be an open-source home entertainment alternative to Microsoft's closed Xbox 360.

Naysayers probably still believe the Ouya is more smoke and mirrors than an actual product, but the developments and announcements I've seen so far have been encouraging.

Source: Kickstarter [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console/posts/283782#comments]

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[Fappy]

This thing needs a fucking-full-fledged-in-house-developed arcade stick. I would totally switch over to the Ouya for my fighting games if they support the genre properly. New BlazBlue on this thing please!

 

[keideki]

I have so much love and hope for this project. I really hope this does not turn into vaporware or come out half baked. I am gonna be all over this thing like white on rice if can actually do everything they are talking about having it do.

 

[RaikuFA]

So another reason for Namdai to not localize games.

"We'd love to but we're busy with Ouya."

 

[The Human Torch]

It doesn't seem to be vaporware, way too much work went into all this. Still, I am holding on to my money until this thing has been released and we actually know what it can do.

Captcha: Trust me.
... NO!

 

[V8 Ninja]

Alright, Ouya is starting to make me a believer. Now all that is left is the delivery, the easiest part to screw up of any promise...

 

[cidbahamut]

It's cute how people are still buying into this train-wreck.

 

[Worgen]

They are at least trying to make it seem like its not a phantom. I still doubt they could develop and manufacture a console for a meager 8 mil.

Captia: In limbo; how appropriate.

 

[Eric the Orange]

Open source will save the next generation.

It's cute how people are still buying into this train-wreck.

It's nice that I have 2 quotes neatly encapsulating the two Sides that people seem to fall under. either it will never work and will collapse without anything to show for it like so many others, or it will show the world that our technology has advanced to the point where we no longer have to be under the thumb of large corporations.

Honestly I think both are to extreme. I've said it before but to reiterate, I think the Ouya will become the Linux of consoles. Loved by tech enthusiasts but ignored by the general public.

 

[Eric the Orange]

They are at least trying to make it seem like its not a phantom. I still doubt they could develop and manufacture a console for a meager 8 mil.

Captia: In limbo; how appropriate.

But the thing is the people behind this have poured much much more money into it before this. They haven't gone into specifics but from what they've said I would estimate at least $50m before this Kickstarter launched.

 

[LawlessSquirrel]

If this leads to a sudden return of arcade and retro-styled games, I'm fully on board. Developers could use the 'modern console' excuse to jump back into those kinds of games. They're pretty easy to make nowadays, even at higher technical quality than before, but there's still a market there that's relatively untapped.

Sure would offer a nice out for the plethora of studios claiming 'development costs are too high!'

Wishful thinking, probably, but I miss the Genesis-era of games. Too many dead genres nowadays.

 

[ANImaniac89]

I really think the Ouya could be a really shot in the arm to help the game industry's current stagnation. But I do see some glaring issues that would need to worked out before launch.
First I wanna know what kind of ratings system Ouya will use, will it go with the ESRB or Androids rating system? and how will the Ouya implement these ratings?
some might say that a rating system isn't that important at this stage but when you have doctors saying the government should be charging Adult parents for buying violent or mature games for there kids, it kinda becomes a bigger issue.
Also speaking of which What kind of online accounts will the Ouya support for online gaming and purchases? (since only a fool would believe that everything on this console would be 100% free) Also given that every bit of software for the Ouya will be digital with no option for physical content, How will minors buy games? Will there be Ouya/Android gift cards? or maybe a digital wallet that parents could add funds to?


But Honestly as long as I can get some good emulators (NES, SNES, N64 etc) I'm sold.


Actually that brings up another issue: How will the Ouya handle copy protection, I mean right now I don't think Nintendo really cares if someones walking around with an NES emulator on there phone, but I think they might take issue with the same emulator running off an other companies system (and cutting into vcon profits).



Edit: also why does a console that is being marketed as the console for hacker only have one USB port and 8 gigs internal? I was hoping that a whole side of the unit would be nothing but USB ports (like 9 of um)

 

[Rainboq]

Edit: also why does a console that is being marketed as the console for hacker only have one USB port and 8 gigs internal? I was hoping that a whole side of the unit would be nothing but USB ports (like 9 of um)

Its the size of a rubiks cube, not much room for that.

OT: And now it just needs to ship...

 

[Azuaron]

I'm not a console person (the only console I have is a Wii that's primarily for watching Netflix/Hulu and for my wife to play Zelda games), but I can at least understand consoles as a concept.

But what's the actual benefit of an Ouya? They haven't announced a strong launch lineup, or even a decent launch lineup, or even much of a lineup. It's nice to see Namco on board, but we're just hours away from the Kickstarter close. Why do people care so much about a console without games? Are we that frustrated with Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo?

And if we are that frustrated, I've got a game console I'd like to tell everyone about. It can (though it doesn't need to) hook up to your television. Controllers? Yes, sir, but it also supports keyboard and mouse. Split-screen and network play? Got it. And I can say with 90% certainty that you already own at least one.

Spoiler

It's a computer.

It's cute how people are still buying into this train-wreck.

Have any evidence to back up your claim? I know I don't understand why people want it, but they do, and it seems to be doing better than anyone could have possibly hoped, and they've already built prototypes so it's just a matter of manufacturing.

 

[Veylon]

This is a lot more substantive than the Phantom ever was. We've got actual companies signing their IPs onto this thing. The Ouya train may well end up a wreck, but at least it's got more cars.

Also, one USB port, seriously? I second the guy who said a whole side ought to be USB. Or at least allow a hub to be added. They should also make sure to allow support for all kinds of devices, if they haven't already. Being able to hook up a keyboard, XBox controller, and external hard drive would do a lot to make the thing tech-savvy-friendly.

 

[The_Craig1986]

I'm not a console person (the only console I have is a Wii that's primarily for watching Netflix/Hulu and for my wife to play Zelda games), but I can at least understand consoles as a concept.

But what's the actual benefit of an Ouya? They haven't announced a strong launch lineup, or even a decent launch lineup, or even much of a lineup. It's nice to see Namco on board, but we're just hours away from the Kickstarter close. Why do people care so much about a console without games? Are we that frustrated with Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo?

And if we are that frustrated, I've got a game console I'd like to tell everyone about. It can (though it doesn't need to) hook up to your television. Controllers? Yes, sir, but it also supports keyboard and mouse. Split-screen and network play? Got it. And I can say with 90% certainty that you already own at least one.

Spoiler

It's a computer.

Not everyone can get away with moving their computers next to a TV all the time. I think my girlfriend would shoot me. $100 is much less than it would cost to go out and buy a cheap computer and controller that i could keep beside my TV.

 

[Sennune]

You know, I see a lot of skepticism about the money being able to produce the Ouya, but what I think a lot of people are overlooking is that the Ouya is a gaming platform made from pretty standard parts. It's a device that is purposely inexpensive.

It's not meant to be in direct competition with the primary consoles like Microsoft's and Sony's. Realistically it's main competition is with smartphones and tablets and possibly the WiiU. Granted with OnLive support it can pull some of the big titles that are home on the $200+ consoles.

I'm really excited to see what will happen with the Ouya. I'm not a kickstarter supporter, but I definitely have an enthusiasm for this project. With a hackable/open source project like this, I think the potential is far more expansive than the current consoles and will be a great precedent for developers and console designers in the future.