Update: Open Source Android Console Fully Funded with $1 Million

[Doogan]

they've managed to raise over $3.1 million now.....bloody hell and it's only the first day!

 

[Andrew_C]

To the guys who are saying "Ooh, its already developed, this is just to get it into production", get real.

1 or 2 million dollars is what it takes to get something like the Beagleboard or Raspberry Pi into mass production. This is going to cost way more than that to get into production at a $99 price point, 5 to 10 million dollars IMHO.

That being said, I don't think this is a scam, I just think the developers are massively deluded. Either that or they are hoping to attract a venture capitalist with the publicity from the Kickstarter.

They could probably do it as a smaller run even if they just had the kickstaeter money. BUT It sounds to me like they have some serious backing already. The kickstarter is basically there as a massive promotional tool and extra cash source. If you look at what has been established already all their prototyping has been done, they have a workable version already.

The people developing and backing this already are not exactly poor. We have the creator of the kindle involved, the ex head of IGN, the maker/designer two very high profile electronic devices. They probably have 2-3 million from their 'family and friends' already.

And one of the idiots behind the OLPC, which ended up costing at least twice the original estimate, and wasted a huge amount of money that could have been better spent elsewhere.

I also get the feeling that a lot of the Kickstarter backers are expecting something along the lines of the XBox 360 or PS3 but cheaper, when its really just something that will let you play Angry Birds on your widescreen TV.

EDIT: twice the originalprice , not 2.5 times
EDIT 2: if they can get it in at $99, it will make a decent XBMC box. Pity it only has 1 USB slot.

 

[Andrew_C]

And one of the idiots behind the OLPC, which ended up costing at least twice the original estimate, and wasted a huge amount of money that could have been better spent elsewhere.

I also get the feeling that a lot of the Kickstarter backers are expecting something along the lines of the XBox 360 or PS3 but cheaper, when its really just something that will let you play Angry Birds on your widescreen TV.

EDIT: twice the originalprice , not 2.5 times

The OPLC program was a mess for a whole host of main administrative reasons, not purely its design, and had a massive amount of people involved in the project. The whole undertaking was badly thought out and demonstrates perfectly the reasons why i think big charities are a whole heap of fail but that beside the point.

The point is this is a development system. No one thinks this is an Xbox 360. You missunderstand the aims of the project. Its an SKD for all, akin to the days of the BBC micro, ZX spectrum, Amigia, Acorn or Apple II. This is meant to be a system for bedroom coders and for that reason is a fantastic idea. Im not sure you grasp what is going on here.

I understand what they are aiming for. I just wonder if a lot of people backing it on Kickstarter understand. There do seem do be some unrealistic expectations for it.

I was also just thinking it might even make a decent media streamer box with XBMC on it, if they can bring it in on price (and if there was an Android version of XBMC).

You are also right that the OLPC's problems were largely political and administrative. I also think it was a solution looking for a problem, and the project showed a vast misunderstanding of the needs of education in the 3rd World, but that's another story.

 

[Alterego-X]

So far, it exactly doubled the Pebble's incomes. Pebble collected 10 million, so if it will continue in that trend, it will end up with $20 million collected.

 

[Eric the Orange]

weather you think this is the new wave of innovation or will fail horribly. You have to be impressed with the amount of money they've managed to get. I'll be interested in seeing how much they manage to get.

 

[neoontime]

Eh, I'm kinda annoyed by the statements like, "some of the best, most creative gamemakers are focused on mobile and social games," and "You proved consoles aren't dead," but I'll hope that this console turns out to be what the people wanted and not fail horribly. After all, I'll have to get one if it does turn out great.

 

[Laughing Man]

Let me just throw an additional spanner in the works here. If Ouya even looked like it was going to be a threat, given that it uses Android and that Android is totally open source then what exactly is stopping either Sony or MS from including Android emulation in their consoles? I was going to say that they could do it for the next gen consoles but I am sure if push came to shove they could very easily role out a firmware update for the current gen consoles that would allow them to essentially do EVERYTHING the Ouya could do.

That's the problem with making a low spec console using an open source platform that anyone can use, if you look like you are even remotely a threat then the guys with the bigger more established hardware can turn round and crush you by doing exactly what you are trying to do.

 

[notimeforlulz]

Please stop with the linux is better than android 4 for hobbyists.


By the end of this year it'll be entirely possible that the ouya will be able to ship with linux ubuntu installed on it. That's on top of the android install, not replacing it, the two working together. Or you'll be able to download ubuntu to be installed side on to the android 4 that's on the console.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57424335-94/androids-new-ally-against-the-iphone-ubuntu/

 

[DanDeFool]

I can't stop thinking about this now:

<youtube=8Igui65gY5M>

 

[rbstewart7263]

near 4 mil......They officially better not fuck this up!

 

[dreadedcandiru99]

If Ouya even looked like it was going to be a threat, given that it uses Android and that Android is totally open source then what exactly is stopping either Sony or MS from including Android emulation in their consoles?

This isn't really my area, but I'm not sure it'd be that simple. A big part of Ouya's sales pitch is that they aren't going to hit developers with licensing fees or related costs. Also, all games developed for the console will be required to have at least some free bits (which can mean partially free-to-play, microtransactions, etcetera), and I imagine that luring loads of those games to the 360/PS3 would mean radically shaking up some business models. I don't know if Sony or Microsoft would go that far out of their way just to drink Ouya's milkshake; in fact, I think Microsoft actually said a few months ago that Xbox Live wouldn't be carrying free-to-play stuff anytime soon.

I can kind of see a Steam-versus-Origin parallel here. Steam is generally successful and Origin isn't, but EA hasn't exactly been eager to do things Valve's way.

 

[chadachada123]

Update: Open Source Android Console Fully Funded with $1 Million

The Kickstarter campaign for Ouya blew up this morning.

Update: Since I originally posted this story three hours ago, the Kickstarter campaign to fund the Ouya Android console doubled its funding total. The campaign is fully funded with more than $990,000 raised, and by the time I press the publish button, the total will likely be more than $1 million. I guess the little startup Ouya struck a nerve.

Woo boy. Time for another update. $3.8 million and rising, and you can add $100 from me for when I get my paycheck next week.

 

[Andrew_C]

The point is this is a development system. No one thinks this is an Xbox 360. You missunderstand the aims of the project. Its an SKD for all, akin to the days of the BBC micro, ZX spectrum, Amigia, Acorn or Apple II. This is meant to be a system for bedroom coders and for that reason is a fantastic idea. Im not sure you grasp what is going on here.

Even in that capacity, it's overpriced compared to the Raspberry Pi, which has more appropriate software for that sort of bedroom coding, better support and more resources, GPIO capacity for learning hardware interfacing projects and so on and so forth. The Ouya is held back completely with the use of Android, which is not an especially friendly platform for hacking at compared to Linux. The Raspberry Pi project is properly set up for education; the Ouya project is not.

Looks like more of a middle-ground to me. Android, like it or not, is one of the fastest growing and most widespread platforms. I can see popular games being made for the Ouya being ported over to Android mobile stores and making quite a lot of money. maybe people can hack a version of linux to run on the Ouya? Seems feasible. Infact i can see all kinds of home-brew posibilites for the system if they are serious about 100% openness.

But i can see your point. If Ouya is going to be a viable platform using android it needs two things. Either;

A very comprehesive software package for the PC avaialble to anyone or

The ability to attach USB keyboard/ mouse to it and run it like a PC.

I can't see their development dreams meaning squat if they don't have a PC platform option for their SKDs or other dev kits.

It does have a USB port, only one so you need to use a USB hub. Another big disadvantage is the lack of an SD card slot. While there is talk of adding these and an ethernet slot, I can also see these being dropped from future production runs to save costs.

So basically, if you are looking for an ARM based development system and not interested in programming for the Ouya, you are better of with something like an Ardunio, Raspberry Pi or Beagleboard if you are into hardware hacking, or one of the hundreds of ARM based notebooks & laptops if you are into software.

TLDR: The Ouya is great for people who want to develop for it.

EDIT: seeing as most Android development is done using Java and Eclipse on a PC or Mac (with testing in a VM), they will probably have an addon for the official Android SDK from Google.

 

[Andrew_C]

the funny thing about all this is that they are turning the console practically into a pc.
(upgradable, Programming, open source projects....)

and still they claim

Do you realize what you've done? You proved consoles aren't dead. You shocked the world. And us!

Spoiler

people love it because in secret, it is a cheap and powerfull pc that comes with a controller instead of a keyboard.

They even compare it to "The Apple II" which was, well, a home computer. In a more British analogy its kind of like a BBC Micro or Acorn. Which are, again, computers. The whole "Console its a console honest" thing is to distinguish it from the market.

And you know what, i think it actually works. Having a platform in the living-room people understand as a console is kind of a neat way to get more mainstream consumers in on it especially in the USA that never really had the bedroom coding boom that Europe had in the 1980s. America is PC gaming wasteland in many respects. Consumers are afraid of PC based gaming solutions. It historically has to be spoon-fed to them. So this is a better solution for a country where there is not the hardware tinkering culture there is here in the UK (see; Rasberry Pi, the entire 1980s etc etc)

On a side note all this "PC disguised as a console" stuff that is going on with this and rumored for the 720 is making my PC gaming balls feel pretty huge. You hear that console gamers? Even the consoles themselves admit they were always just too limited to be a PC and, given the chance, the ultimate evolution of a console is a PC. Feels good man.

Except it's NOT a PC disguised as a console. The onboard storage is limited (8Gb), it has no SD slot and only 1 USB port (I know you can use a hub), so your external storage options are relatively limited and slow.

 

[Clearing the Eye]

Mark me down as having called it. When this goes catastrophically bad and shit hits the fan in a short while, I called it, here, in this thread.

 

[MonkeyPunch]

OK heard about this elsewhere, read this article and still don't really get it, or see how this will work.
Who's going to make games for this thing? So yeah $99 for a machine is sort of cheap, but with no games or only "theoretical" games, it's still just a box for $99.

I read "hundreds of free-to-play games" in the article, but I'm wondering who's going to make those? Especially as the userbase will be comparatively tiny. Anyone wanting to make a game will surely release it to somewhere with a large user base such as the existing console, or more likely the PC. Especially free-to-play games. Only a fraction of users pay for stuff, so a tiny fraction of only a small number is not very profitable.

 

[Andrew_C]

Mark me down as having called it. When this goes catastrophically bad and shit hits the fan in a short while, I called it, here, in this thread.

I don't think it will go catastrophically wrong, but I do think a lot of people on Kickstarter and Reddit have unrealistic expectations, so there is going to be some serious Internet Drama when it doesn't turn out to be what they expect.

OK heard about this elsewhere, read this article and still don't really get it, or see how this will work.
Who's going to make games for this thing? So yeah $99 for a machine is sort of cheap, but with no games or only "theoretical" games, it's still just a box for $99.

I read "hundreds of free-to-play games" in the article, but I'm wondering who's going to make those? Especially as the userbase will be comparatively tiny. Anyone wanting to make a game will surely release it to somewhere with a large user base such as the existing console, or more likely the PC. Especially free-to-play games. Only a fraction of users pay for stuff, so a tiny fraction of only a small number is not very profitable.

All games released through their marketplace will have to have at least a free demo. But its a bit of a leap from "free demo" to "hundreds of free-to-play games". Although if you include the Android Marketplace, you could probably stretch it to that (apparently the joypad has a touchpad you can allegedly use with standard Android games).

They are definitely making some exaggerated claims, though.

EDIT: does allegedly have touchpad on joypad.
EDIT2: Interesting article with a more level-headed view over at Penny Arcade "The reality of the Ouya console dosn't match the hype". [http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/the-reality-of-the-ouya-console-doesnt-match-the-hype-why-you-should-be-ske]

 

[Kroxile]

I can finally play Canabalt on my TV? With surround sound Danny B?

Already doing that on my PS3

They had it for free for PS Plus users a couple months ago.. now I think its maybe 3 bucks

 

[Laughing Man]

This isn't really my area, but I'm not sure it'd be that simple. A big part of Ouya's sales pitch is that they aren't going to hit developers with licensing fees or related costs. Also, all games developed for the console will be required to have at least some free bits (which can mean partially free-to-play, microtransactions, and so forth), and I imagine that luring loads of those games to the 360/PS3 would mean radically shaking up some business models.

How so? Ouya isn't going to attract big name developers creating exclusive new IPs just for the console. That is a laughable pipe dream. The main content for this console will come from the Android Market place the place you can access for free and download to ANY Android device. All Sony or MS would have to do is include a software Android emulator, similar to what you can install on your PC and then their is nothing stopping the PS3 or XBox from going to the Android Market and downloading and playing the content that is on there. No license fees or issues and with the added bonus that the content on the site does not FORCE developers to provide free to play content.

The reason why Android market is great for developers is because they can develop a game or bit of code and it will run on millions of Android devices irrespective of who makes the device, no developer who already works with Android is going to jump ship from that market and start developing just for the Ouya, so in essence that means anything that appears on the Ouya is logically going to appear on the Android Market and thus can be played on just about any Android device including a console by a big name rival running an Android emulator.

 

[aattss]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console

Nearly 5 million.... WOWA! That's the most funding ever raised.