OUYA Review - More Whimper Than Bang

ascorbius

Numberwanger
Nov 18, 2009
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Vivi22 said:
If you were hoping this would be like Little Big Planet, offering tools to create your own game, you'll be disappointed. You're simply given an avenue to upload an already designed and programmed game, which doesn't offer incentive to regular consumers.
Absolutely no one anywhere was expecting that so I fail to see why it's even being brought up. Even acknowledging that the general consensus on the Ouya is that the first release is far from perfect (but considering yearly updates to the hardware are the plan, I'd expect that to change), some of the stuff in this review is questionable. At best comments like these show an utter lack of research making me call the qualification of the reviewer into question. At worst it may demonstrate some intentional bias, but I'll give the benefit of the doubt and attribute criticism's like this to simple ignorance rather than malice.

Although we don't recommend shaking it intentionally, the OUYA is actually durable enough to be jostled during gameplay without crashing your game.
Considering there are no actual moving parts the only thing I can think is "duh."
How many people move their xbox 360 while playing it?

I did... ONCE.. then I had to try to get a new Rockband disk as mine had a massive trough dug in it from where the reader hit it.

This was a terrible review which stank of bias and elitism.
 

Frostbite3789

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Jul 12, 2010
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Xennon said:
- Not tried the wireless range, but I wired it straight away. Everyone I know who is serious about gaming has their machines wired. I don't know anyone who stored their Ethernet cables years ago :-/
That would be cool if people weren't having a myriad of problems with the Ouya outright ignoring wired connections.
 

Frostbite3789

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Jul 12, 2010
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Vivi22 said:
Absolutely no one anywhere was expecting that so I fail to see why it's even being brought up.
Except for the Ouya people themselves. Who in their KS video talked about toppling the big 3? Yeah. Nobody expected that. Except that's what they were selling.
 

saintdane05

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Aug 2, 2011
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TizzytheTormentor said:
I still stand by the fact that if the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy comes out for it, I will buy an OUYA, because Ace Attorney on the big screen? Come on people!
Or you could just use the Wiiware version. That would work.
 

Flunk

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Feb 17, 2008
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This really isn't surprising, they just don't have any software for it. No only that, the hardware is terrible.
 

Scars Unseen

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May 7, 2009
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Aardvaarkman said:
Why did anybody think Android was a suitable OS for a game console? That's a mind-boggling decision.
The Dreamcast used Windows CE. OS has nothing to do with it.
 

RicoADF

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Jun 2, 2009
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Aardvaarkman said:
Why did anybody think Android was a suitable OS for a game console? That's a mind-boggling decision.
Theres no reason Android as an OS can't be used on a console, it is after all basically Linux which PS3 also used as a basis for their OS. The hardware though is where the big questionmark lies. Personally I see the potential and honestly have no issues with a small console for older and graphically simpler games, its what the games are like to play that matters. The potential is there and I hope it takes off (if it does the next one would be more powerful and they'd quickly catch up to the big 3, baby steps mate). Not to mention for $100 it's not exactly a big risk, I've spent more on that for 1 game so really....
 

Something Amyss

Aswyng and Amyss
Dec 3, 2008
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PoolCleaningRobot said:
That's a shame.
I disagree, mostly because of the rest of what you say. It was never going to be a good product barring magic. The only shame is that people were swept up by grandiose and unrealistic premises. But that's gaming as a rule, and Kickstarter almost by definition.

RicoADF said:
Theres no reason Android as an OS can't be used on a console, it is after all basically Linux which PS3 also used as a basis for their OS. The hardware though is where the big questionmark lies.
There's also the issue not of "can," but "will." I question the wisdom of an Android console because the primary development is still going to be for tablets and smartphones. It could be done, but there seems to be little incentive to do so.

Although bringing my Droid library to my big screen would be cool.

Actually, it is cool, but I can HDMI out in the first place. And I can attach bluetooth devices, so I can play wirelessly. AND, it's truly portable, because I don't need a big screen. Now, my setup was more expensive, but it seems most of the people this would benefit HAVE a tablet or smart phone. I know it's not exclusively so.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Blame the late hour. I think my brain dribbled out my ear and into bed an hour ago.
 

NoeL

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May 14, 2011
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RicoADF said:
Aardvaarkman said:
Why did anybody think Android was a suitable OS for a game console? That's a mind-boggling decision.
Theres no reason Android as an OS can't be used on a console, it is after all basically Linux which PS3 also used as a basis for their OS.
That's not the problem. Being "Linux-based" means almost nothing. Android is a terrible gaming OS because programs are forced to run on a "virtual machine" rather than the actual hardware. While this is good for stability (if a program crashes it doesn't take the system with it - you can just force-close the program in question) it's terrible for efficiency. Where just about any other OS will let programs interface directly with the hardware components, Android only lets programs interface with the virtual machine, then Android interfaces with the hardware. This causes a lot of unnecessary overhead and why emulators tend to suffer from audio lag. There's just too much unnecessary shit going on under the hood that prevents games using the hardware to its potential.
 

josemlopes

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Jun 9, 2008
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Shit, even I am not much into the OUYA but expecting a Little Big Planet type of feature and seeing if you can play while shaking the console, wtf?

Just buy it if you are into retro games, the emulators alone are worth it (although sadly it isnt powerfull enough for the PS2 era, and the PS1 shows some struggle). The android games are just a plus.
 

MetalMagpie

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Jun 13, 2011
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Slightly strange review.

I didn't think they were promoting the Ouya as being suitable for non-techys to make games for, so the Little Big Planet comment seems a little off. Then again, Ouya have been rather strangely promoting their console as a direct competitor to the Big Three, when both the price and capabilities make it far more a complementary device like a tablet.

Asking for credit card details before allowing access to the game library seems a little bit cheeky after all the "everything is free" promotion they did. At least Google let me try loads of free games before sucking my card details off me in exchange for non-free ones.

A warning to anyone with children: The parental controls were added to the Ouya very late and (based on the comments) still appear to be a little flaky. Left unsupervised, your kids may be able to ring up huge bills with in-app purchases.
 

MetalMagpie

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Jun 13, 2011
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Just been to check out the Ouya website. The front page says this in large letters:

Once you're in - it takes just $99 - every game on OUYA is free to try, free to love and absolutely free to brag about.
"But we'll insist on taking your credit card details before letting you use the console anyway. Because we don't make any money off you playing games for free, so want to convert you to a paying customer as smoothly as possible." ;)
 

Sonicron

Do the buttwalk!
Mar 11, 2009
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To be honest, what this little console does bring to the table still sounds appealing to me, especially with the added benefit of emulators. I'll wait a few weeks to see if there are any actual problems like overheating or CC info theft, but if things turn out alright I'll probably buy one. :)
 

Quellist

Migratory coconut
Oct 7, 2010
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Whats this about limited game selection? i assumed as an Android system you could download anything from Google play store?

Does this mean SNES/PS1/Megadrive Emulators cant be downloaded?
 

Monsterfurby

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Mar 7, 2008
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josemlopes said:
Shit, even I am not much into the OUYA but expecting a Little Big Planet type of feature and seeing if you can play while shaking the console, wtf?

Just buy it if you are into retro games, the emulators alone are worth it (although sadly it isnt powerfull enough for the PS2 era, and the PS1 shows some struggle). The android games are just a plus.
I agree, the review is somewhat off, but the point still stands that the idea of the Ouya itself is... flawed at best, and always has been.

As for emulation: really? My Nexus 7 runs late-era PSX games like Final Fantasy IX perfectly. I'd definitely expect the Ouya to perform even better.
 

Chairman Miaow

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Nov 18, 2009
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Monsterfurby said:
josemlopes said:
Shit, even I am not much into the OUYA but expecting a Little Big Planet type of feature and seeing if you can play while shaking the console, wtf?

Just buy it if you are into retro games, the emulators alone are worth it (although sadly it isnt powerfull enough for the PS2 era, and the PS1 shows some struggle). The android games are just a plus.
I agree, the review is somewhat off, but the point still stands that the idea of the Ouya itself is... flawed at best, and always has been.

As for emulation: really? My Nexus 7 runs late-era PSX games like Final Fantasy IX perfectly. I'd definitely expect the Ouya to perform even better.
Yeah, If you are just buying it for emulation, just get a decent phone or tablet. Then you can do it on the go instead.
 

The White Hunter

Basment Abomination
Oct 19, 2011
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GoaThief said:
A lack of little big planet style app? Shrink wrap? Ethernet connections being redundant in this day and age? Even the highly regarded Edge magazine made a reference to plugging in an ethernet cable to the Xbone in their latest issue. Very, very poor show Escapist.
Ethernet redundant? The fuck? I use it all the time, it's faster and significantly more reliable than wireless.