OUYA - Game Console

[Signature]

I was kinda expecting to find a thread about it here.

Kickstarter.com - OUYA: A New Kind of Video Game Console

There is a lot of discussion, many sceptics (mostly professional game developers) and a lot of hope.

What do you guys think?

• It tries to plug into the rising Android community
• It tries to plug into the free to play culture
• It tries to create a more accessible market for Indie developers
• It tries to freeze certain default specs to avoid the hardware / software support problem for developers

Might that concept work?

Personally I would love to see a new community grow that changes the way people think about game development.

http://www.ouyadevs.com/forums
http://www.my-ouya.net

But I fear people will isolate their projects and there won't be much collaboration.
It just seems to be how people think.

[FightingSeraph]

Sounds interesting, but I think they need to redesign that controller.

[Signature]

The controller seems to be the one thing that most of the effort went into so far.

Any specific things that are wrong with it?

[Psychotime]

I have no clue what to make of it. Haven't the big names really put a good deal of effort into finding indy developers to create quality game these days? What hurdles is the OUYA thing supposedly breaking down?

However this turns out, they've got the backing...and then some. So I guess all we gotta do is sit and wait.

What would Macho Man Randy Savage's favorite gaming console be? (if he were still alive) ‪#OUYA‬ oooh yeah!

[Signature]

The console will be cheaper. And actually try to develop and release a game for the PS3.
I think they said they were going to make the PS3 more open for developers. But then they decided not to at some point.

Developing for existing game consoles takes a lot of money. The Android SDK is free, iPhone app development is a more transparent process ... hence the brain drain to mobile games I guess. They don't need to develop a blockbuster to make profit.
And don't underestimate the frozen specs ... it makes a huge difference if indie developers need to worry about compatibility issues.

In theory they could have lowered the bar for people who want to get into game development a lot.
But judging from Update #3 that is not their plan. They want money from existing indie teams that create mobile games.

I feel kinda heartbroken ...

[Psychotime]

The console will be cheaper. And actually try to develop and release a game for the PS3.
I think they said they were going to make the PS3 more open for developers. But then they decided not to at some point.

I thought the issue the PS3 had was the fact that it's engine runs off of Linux, which made porting Xbox games a chore due to the Xbox (obviously) using a form of Windows, and because of that, ports would usually have issues that'd need patching.

This was a serious hindrance for multi-console games, (I certainly remember MANY Capcom or affiliated games in that were pegged with the same problems if I ever used the PS3 version.) And for a time, if a studio would focus on one single console, then a port would take extra work to function correctly.

But as far as I can tell these issues have more or less died out once everyone got used to the two engines.

[JFierce]

The thing with iphone development and smartphones is it's very different from trying to get an indie console made. People carry their smartphones everywhere it only makes sense to make games to play on the go and people aren't looking for quality amazing high res shit on their phones. So it's an amazing opportunity for indie development crews. Get a group of people together and you can make a game, you can go back to the old sprite and 16 bit generation and have an actual market to it without needing a ridiculous budget and a full studio of people.



Don't see this doing that though. Unless they have some serious devs already on board it's not going anywhere. People won't buy a console if there aren't going to be good games. Good games which they can't find elsewhere even (hence why consoles make exclusive title franchises to draw sales)

[ikken]

I thought the issue the PS3 had was the fact that it's engine runs off of Linux, which made porting Xbox games a chore due to the Xbox (obviously) using a form of Windows, and because of that, ports would usually have issues that'd need patching.

ps3 allowed you to install linux same way you will install a virtual machine on pc/mac, but as for game development, it never used it at all. I don't know what is the proper name for ps3 OS, but it's linux independent.
the problem is xbox/ps3 multiplatform games was a drastic hardware difference.
ps3 used to be really difficult to program properly, and it has some ram shortcomings, both effectively leading to 360 versions being prioritized and having better texture quality at times.

[Raoul Duke]

Looks good, but the idea has been attempted before. There was the voodoo and the phantom. They had successful prototypes, but became vaporware.

[Psychotime]

Looks good, but the idea has been attempted before. There was the voodoo and the phantom. They had successful prototypes, but became vaporware.

I think this one might have learned from the mistakes of those two. If they were smart, that is. The head people involved supposedly have alot of industry experience under their belts.

What made the Phantom fail, anyway? Was it licensing that killed it?

EDIT: From Wikipedia. (Though the article is marked as outdated.)

Due to market conditions from being a pre-revenue startup who was reliant on funding from unregulated hedge funds, the company was not able to achieve its projected 30mm dollar capital raise to complete the Phantom Gaming Service and decided it was in the best interest of the company to scale down and focus on the Phantom Lapboard which was developed as a device for set-top boxes in the living room.

On May 16, 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Phantom Entertainment founder and former CEO Timothy Roberts of running a "pump and dump" scheme in promoting the Phantom console in 2004.[11]

The Phantom has controversy in both the gaming and business worlds due to the constant pushing back of its release date and a number of financial scandals involving Phantom Entertainment. Phantom Entertainment has lost more than $62.7 million since its creation in its efforts to create the Phantom Console.

There's also the difference in that 40,189 random people already pledged $5 million on it at this point. I'd assume that there are advantages to that as opposed to pitching it to elite producers to back them up with the money they need. Their scale is MUCH smaller, as well.

[FightingSeraph]

I have to agree with what JFierce has said on the games issue. If it's launch titles are already out on different platforms, then that renders it mostly redundant.

To Signature: The controller--aside from the buttons--looks way too much like the XBox 360 controller.