OUYA

[Marc Wyzomirski]

SNIP

In regards to OUYA though, you already know that you would not make a game and release it solely for the OUYA. You need to make money and would probably release for almost everything (I hear Xbox isn't worth it anymore).

IMO making games for the Oculus Rift will be way more beneficial. But adding support for the OUYA could be good, if there is a big enough adoption rate of the thing (and you will probably have to price your game(s) very cheap).

Good luck though, in the games business, and welcome to Escapist.

Thanks!

Yes, that is correct. I see no reason to develop an OUYA exclusive currently, as it has no truly defining features you cannot get elsewhere. In fact, the way the PS4 controller is shaping up, they will likely be functionally identical (in concept) seeing as they both have the non-display touch surface at the center.

As for the Xbox, they do not allow you to self publish so that is an automatic "No." for us. Moving forward toward the future, we are looking at the WiiU, PS4, and PC as possible release platforms for future projects in addition to the ones we are currently exploring with Hamster Drop. Nintendo and Sony are warming up to the indie scene and not placing unnecessary restrictions and caveats on development that I've heard of. I am extremely happy to see that, and it is a shame Microsoft is not following suit.

 

[J Tyran]

So you think that in 4 years, the OUYA will be technologically as capable as the PS4?

No but it will certainly be somewhere between this gen in consoles and the next, the Vita uses mobile tech and its not all that different than PS3 or 360 games. In 4 years mobile cpus and gpus will have come on by leaps and bounds, I would even go as far as to claim that mobile chips will actually outperform the Wii U in four years. The GPUs coming out this year for example are 10x faster than the older Mali-400s and their likes that are common in the last gen of high end phones like the Galaxy S3.

 

[omegaweopon]

I for one am actually excited about what the Ouya's core focus is compared to the way game companies currently operate. A fully hackable, modable, and open game system, for only a hundred bucks? That, and I used to play game demos all the time for ages without ever being able to buy the games when I was a kid, so being able to enjoy the large amount of free content is great. But most importantly?

With the right modifications, this is an absolutely fantastic, and cheap media center box. A tweak here, a tweak there, and I can be streaming things from all over the internet on my TV without having to buy a modern smart TV, or a modern game console. For someone as cheap as I am, who doesn't own nearly anything in the world besides a mid grade laptop, this is a very, very interesting prospect to me.

 

[Something Amyss]

I'd buy one for my young kids to play with. Its $100, whats to lose?

$100 bucks?

It still doesn't work out a great deal more expensive than an Xbox or PS4 and for young people/students. $100 a year is a lot easier to swallow than $500 upfront I guess?

It works out to about the same if you expect this generation to last four years, I suppose.

the largest gaming expo in the world is garbage? then why do you play games? why are you here? cause obviously its not for games.

You know, it wasn't that long ago that the industry thought it was bullshit. E3 was in serious trouble. Even now, With Nintendo opting to go the "Nintendo Direct" route, one clearly doesn't need to be pro-E3 to like the industry.

Canabalt? You mean that simple, though admittedly addictive, little one button jumping game which I can already play on my computer right now for free?

Well now I'm sold.

But now you can pay for mobile functionality and a non-mobile unit. Doesn't that help sell you?

Wouldn't you rather buy $100 worth of games every year rather than upgrade your hardware? I mean, whatever if you don't mind the business model, that's fine. Just not my cup of tea.

I doubt many people who are buying an Android device are spending anywhere near that on games.

I just do not think it will be very successful. I don't think it is a sustainable business model. IMO Android is garbage.

You're free to feel that way, but even if it is garbage, never underestimate the power of parents buying a cheap knock-off.

 

[Vhite]

the largest gaming expo in the world is garbage? then why do you play games? why are you here? cause obviously its not for games.

I'm not him but yes. E3 is about dick waving, hype, shiny gimmicks and everything wrong with gaming today. So in short, garbage. And I know this because I care about games and that's why I am here. Also Escapist isn't only about games.

 

[barbzilla]

Meh, it mostly features retro pixel games, and I'm not a fan of those in general. I suppose the price is right if you're a fan of that retro crap.

we want to get into e3 without paying e3, we want attention, look at us everyone, go look up reviews of anyone that actually has one, there are no positives to it, its garbage

E3 is garbage.

the largest gaming expo in the world is garbage? then why do you play games? why are you here? cause obviously its not for games.

LMAO, you think E3 is all about games? While you are correct that E3 is the largest gaming expo, it is all spectacle and not about the games (well not completely). The Expo is literally there to generate revenue.

OT: It looks interesting, and I will need to see what the full capability of the machine is first. If it has the full functionality of an Android, I will pick it up for sure. Mostly because I currently use my cell phone as an internet TV box (it has HDMI and access to so many video apps that I could only do better by building a media center PC). As for the actual gaming side of it, I have a feeling that if they can sell enough machines they will eventually get some serious programmers working on games for it, until then though, it will likely just be whatever is in the Android Marketplace. That is to say that unless they can sell a million or so consoles, it will have very few games worth playing, and none that I can't already play without the console.

 

[wooty]

I'm not too sure about this thing. In theory its a nice idea, but how many people would just rather buy the games off Steam/PSN/N-shop/XBLA for the £5-10 they usually go for; rather than spend £100 on a new console plus the games fee.

Not to mention that people can also get the titles for free somewhere on the torrent side of the internet.

 

[Vivi22]

The makers of OUYA want you to upgrade every year @$100 a pop... That is not a business model I like.

They want to upgrade the hardware every year so it doesn't fall too far behind other consoles and mobile platforms. I don't think it can be said that they actually want the consumer to upgrade every year. But at $100 a pop, I wouldn't have a problem getting a new one every three years or so.

 

[KungFuJazzHands]

the largest gaming expo in the world is garbage? then why do you play games? why are you here? cause obviously its not for games.

Others here have already pointed out how ridiculous that statement is, so I'll just respond by saying that E3 isn't even a blip on my radar, and yet somehow I manage to play video games just fine.

If you're really so concerned about E3's effect on my personal gaming habits, maybe you could take the time to explain why I should care so much about it.

 

[Sectan]

From what I've heard from the Ouya is it has a bunch of free games with suspiciously easy to accidentally hit buttons that will use your already entered credit card info to donate money to the game's developer.

 

[Reeve]

Let's not forget that the major consoles are toxic to independent game developers. The big hardware corporations are only interested in pleasing the big videogame publishers. We need the OUYA and devices like it because they support indie devs which means we take one step away from the horror of a monopoly where everything is bland and standardised. The game industry will only survive if there is the much needed variation.

I think I'll get an OUYA just as a matter of principle. E3 is mostly irrelevant, by the way, it only exists to advertise the trash from the big publishers and big corporations.

 

[Reeve]

By the way here's a REVIEW of the OUYA from techradar: http://www.techradar.com/reviews/gaming/games-consoles/ouya-review-1141503/review

Funnily enough, you get a chance to try out all the games on the OUYA for FREE before you buy them. Which I see as a massive plus. Ironically that's essentially what Microsoft's (poorly implemented; now removed) "family shared library" feature was for the Xbox One [Eighty].

To anyone looking at this thread, go and read actual reviews of the OUYA and ignore the plants in this thread

 

[JEBWrench]

I'm not interested. Ouya doesn't really offer anything I can't get on a device I already own.

I guess it'll maybe appeal to the homebrew market. Or to people on a tight budget.

I would think the Raspberry Pi appeals more to the homebrew market, there's so much more you can do with it at a fraction of the cost.

 

[Marc Wyzomirski]

Let's not forget that the major consoles are toxic to independent game developers. The big hardware corporations are only interested in pleasing the big videogame publishers. We need the OUYA and devices like it because they support indie devs which means we take one step away from the horror of a monopoly where everything is bland and standardised.

And that was true... before this year came about. 3DS, WiiU, and soon to be PS4 have all added self publishing indies to their digital marketplace. The biggest advantage of the OUYA, having open development for a home console, has been effectively realized now by their competitors. Not to the same degree of course, but effectively enough for the majority who would be looking into it. At the very least the submission policies will help to potentially eliminate the pure shovelware.

Perhaps OUYA's pending existence influenced the bigger console developers (Nintendo, and Sony in this case) to embrace and look into the indie development scene. Nintendo has even gone to great strides for indies, such as to provide "mobile game conversion kits". This is a huge step forward for Nintendo who once held policies that actively discouraged internet based indie development (ie. needing to own a physical non-residential office).

Unfortunately the OUYA has lost some of it's unique edge to the faster acting Nintendo and soon to be Sony. I still wish the system well, but it may be more of an uphill battle for them at this point as a result of these new changes by their competitors.

 

[Fappy]

My limited experience with my OUYA so far has been lacking. The primary issue is the responsiveness and the controllers themselves. The controller is damn-near unusable in its current state.

 

[Crash486]

My limited experience with my OUYA so far has been lacking. The primary issue is the responsiveness and the controllers themselves. The controller is damn-near unusable in its current state.

I've noticed this too, it seems to be better if you're closer to the console.

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

I still can't believe that this is still a thing.

Its an android emulator, so basically its a giant (relatively) smart phone...only lacking pretty much all the other features you would get in a smart phone.

You trade all that functionality, for the ability to use a controller...and the privilege to be forced to upgrade every year out of your pocket.

With your phone, you get free upgrades for renewing, which is not required to play new games. Do you think ANY developer of an Android game will go out of their way to develop an Ouya exclusive version that utilizes the newest upgrade?

Um...no. They will cater to the specs of the newest phone/tablets because they are backed by some rather serious companies, like gee idk Samsung, etc.

It would be like making a console that only plays free browser flash applets, and charging people $100 a year for an upgrade...when you can upgrade flashplayer for free.

I'm pretty sure if you really needed to use a controller on your android device, that their is an app for that. Cause bluetooth isn't a thing obviously. And usb ports have been banned.

If only Ouya could save us from all this free mobile gaming that we all have to suffer with!

I don't actually have a tablet or a cellphone, or whatever else Android is on these days, so I'm mainly speaking from what I believe to be an entirely miopic logic on the subject.

 

[thenoblitt]

the largest gaming expo in the world is garbage? then why do you play games? why are you here? cause obviously its not for games.

I'm not him but yes. E3 is about dick waving, hype, shiny gimmicks and everything wrong with gaming today. So in short, garbage. And I know this because I care about games and that's why I am here. Also Escapist isn't only about games.

then why are you in a gaming thread?

 

[TheRaider]

If one of the big consoles opens up development like Apple store or google play store Ouya will die quickly because I would, im sure every other indie developer, would rather release on a bigger console if possible. For me it is just iOS and Android purely for cost (and my game development is as much as hobby and I have a "real" job).

 

[masticina]

It looks CUTE

But yes.. rather limited so far isn't it. Oh yes it is open I know. But how many great games are out on it.. luckily you can sideload more unto it, if not slightly less 100% legal.