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With $8.6M In Kickstarter Funds, Ouya Opens Console Pre-Orders 218
Chameleon Man writes with an excerpt from PC Mag: "Early this morning, the Android-based Ouya console ended its run on Kickstarter with nearly $8.6 million in user donations. In recent weeks, the company has secured a number of content partners for the device, but now it's time to see if Ouya can really deliver. Interested buyers can now pre-order an Ouya on the company's website. In the U.S., one console and one controller will cost $109, one console plus two controllers will be $139, and one console and four controllers will be $199. All orders include a $10 shipping charge."
Adds Chameleon Man: "Here's to hoping that an open-source console can gain a foothold in an already competitive market."
63k users off the bat... (Score:2)
not a bad start at all.
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i kinda feel the same way about the Oculus Rift i backed it at a lower level, mostly to help them and wait till a stable consumer product is out.
Bog spam (Score:2)
Why doesn't the text talking about preordering actually link to the preorder page rather than to a blog to drive up their page hits? Lame blog spam is lame.
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Link got cut out. It is here [www.ouya.tv] in case you want to go directly.
what can I do with it? (Score:2)
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It looks like it is going to play PC games, since they were showing huge name titles like WOW on it already.
I doubt it, it quite clearly has an ARM processor ;-)
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Ah, apparently you can only watch other people play WOW through esports channels. I do not know what the picture of them playing GoW (or some clone) is about though.
But it is not a generic current gen style controller, only the xbox has ever had a controller like that with PS and Wii staying far away from it.
The problem being it is not a cellphone, it has the OS of a cell phone but is for use with a huge high def screen and have 1G RAM and a great processor. I have have my doubts that a OS designed for cell
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That's Shadowgun [youtube.com], a GoW clone for iOS and Android.
As for the hardware; I think it's sufficient. Just because it's outputing at 1080p doesn't mean the games have to render at those resolutions. Most Xbox 360 and PS3 games render at 720p or less.
GPU drivers? (Score:2)
Are these going to have open GPU drivers or not?
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Unless they are going to pop out of thin air, no.
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It's an Nvidia Tegra 3. That should answer your question.
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This would have been a worthy kickstarter in and of itself. I will save my $100 until Allwinner releases their drivers.
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Are these going to have open GPU drivers or not?
No, it's an nVidia GPU. For the most part it will be running the Android drivers. For Linux... who knows. I dunno if Nouveau supports the Tegra yet, but even if it does, performance is liable to be a bit feeble.
How open is this "open console"? (Score:5, Interesting)
I asked developers whether Ouya will run games sold outside the official store (without having to root the device, like with to Android's "unknown sources"), but they never replied. Until they do, I don't consider this a particularly open console.
Have we reached an era when even those who advertise openness won't release commercial platforms that aren't like walled gardens?
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While I agree with the general question about how "open" this device is, you don't have to root your android to install apps from unknown sources; that's one of the main selling points over ios in the first place!
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That's what I meant. Android allows this by default, but will Ouya?
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I should clarify: "allows this by default" meaning it allows you to enable "unknown sources" unless the device manufacturer decides to disable that feature.
Sometimes I wish Slashdot had an edit button.
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So then run the fastbook and flash a su apk. What is the problem?
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Last time I checked, all the methods for root on the Nexus 7 ended up wiping the device in the process. I'm happy enough with stock that even backing up what little I do have on there doesn't seem worth it.
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What 3rd party tool? That's the android SDK, and you can just build and push whatever tools you want. Certainly more convenient running Busybox but by no means required.
Re:How open is this "open console"? (Score:5, Interesting)
Actually, I can't understand why so many people are behind this. Both from a gamer's perspective and from a developer's this seems like a non-starter. Open platforms can sometimes overcome the lack of a customer base by virtue of their openness, but we don't seem to have that here. It's underpowered compared to other consoles, the 30% cut that they want for selling games through their store is huge - I've never heard of Nintendo or Sony taking more than 20%, though Microsoft jacked up their cut on XBLA after a while - and that plus the small potential customer base means there's no financial reason to develop for this thing.
I also somewhat resent their business model. They're funding development of their product through donations, at no risk to themselves, and then demanding 30% of all sales. That's rent-seeking if I've ever seen it.
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Have they advertised this as an open console? I didn't get that impression at all. Do we know that they aren't going to require a signed OS? Will I be able to run my own ROM? I haven't been able to find that information.
You're right, at least in that we only have their words that it will be open. Ultimately, it's a preorder, sight unseen, and nobody that has a working unit is willing to talk about these details. It's no different from Makerbot selling their 3D printer, claiming it's open source, without releasing any source until they finish building and shipping the first batch. At least in that case, we now know they lied: only cherry picked documentation is available and "source" released is the software equivalent to s
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What do the angel investors know that the 63K that donated don't?
The angel investors don't want a console, they want a profit. A LUCRATIVE profit, given how many companies typical angel funds invest in to get a "hit" one.
As one of the 63k people backing ouya, I did so:
-to buy a console
-to back the idea
If all that comes of it is a few NES emulators, an FPS or two, and a youtube client then I'm happy enough with my $100 spent. Or if it starts a huge new console wave then I had one day one!
Either way I'm not looking for $500 out of my $100 investment, which is at a very l
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I also somewhat resent their business model. They're funding development of their product through donations, at no risk to themselves, and then demanding 30% of all sales. That's rent-seeking if I've ever seen it.
I find this model to be a lot better than most angel or VC investors who demand that the business make a profit even if it means fucking over those that helped make the business possible.
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Given everyone who buys one gets the SDK thrown in, there probably will be the option to do it. If not, there'll be a root for it within
Re:How open is this "open console"? (Score:4, Informative)
I asked developers whether Ouya will run games sold outside the official store (without having to root the device, like with to Android's "unknown sources"), but they never replied.
They replied in Reddit's AMA [reddit.com].
Q: Is sideloading separate .apk flies to install apps not in the ouya store something that is possible without having to root and lose access to the ouya store?
A: Yes, we will allow installation of your APKs.
Nope (Score:3, Insightful)
Show me a physical prototype, running actual software, connected to an actual TV (in HD), and then we'll talk.
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Show me a physical prototype, running actual software, connected to an actual TV (in HD), and then we'll talk.
They have one already. It's in the video on their Kickstarter project.
we have a failure to communicate (Score:4, Interesting)
So you don't understand what kickstarter is? Or are you having difficulty wrapping your brain around the idea of a pre-order?
It's fine if you don't want to be an early adopter. But acting like you have the superior position seems ludicrous.
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five hundred ninety-nine U.S. dollars (Score:2)
You could take any Android phone with hdmi out and USB otg
At which point you're out five hundred ninety-nine U.S. dollars [slashdot.org] like the original announced PS3 price [youtube.com].
Probably going to get one, but not preordering (Score:4, Insightful)
I have to admit, I'm probably going to get one of these eventually, if everything goes right.
But that's the key - it has to work. It has to have at least two games I want to play that I can't play elsewhere, it has to function as a half-decent media player, it has to, you know, actually exist as a physical thing.
Right now, there's just too much a chance of this never even being released for me to pre-order. And even if it does come out, there's a large chance that it won't have any good, interesting games come out.
Now, if it does come out and live up to its promises, I'll buy one. No problem there. But I'm just still too apprehensive about it to commit to it until it's solid.
Re:Probably going to get one, but not preordering (Score:5, Interesting)
I actually did. When I showed my pre-order receipt from -01 to the cashier a hush fell over the entire store. I laminated it in about -07 because it was getting in pretty bad shape... I was a bit worried that they wouldn't accept it, but they did more than that - they gave me the game for free and took pictures with me and the receipt to hang up in the store, with the caption "Our most patient customer".
Sometimes it pays being a hoarder. Other times, three hundred used bottle caps sorted by size.
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No, although I did pick up a copy a while back during a Steam sale - it claimed to be Mac-compatible, and my PC was broken at the time leaving me with only a handful of Mac-compatible games to play. Unfortunately, my Mac didn't actually meet the requirements, and now that I have a working PC again I have far better games to play, so I haven't actually played it yet.
hand-made controllers (Score:2)
Could have been great (Score:3)
If it had access to Google Play Store *AND* another market for even more souped-up games (or even some exclusive stuff) it would be irresistible. But from everything I have seen/heard so far, it will probably be limited to some proprietary marketplace with much less selection and potentially much higher priced stuff.
You might ask what is the point for full Google Play Store access? These:
1) There are countless thousands of games, right off the bat
2) There are countless thousands of LOW PRICED games
3) There are many thousands of FREE games
4) Anything YOU ALREADY PAID FOR on Play will run on the Ouya too
5) You might want access to some apps that are not games
6) You might want to do all this in the comfort of your chair, using a great controller, a great sound system, and a great display
Without full Google Play Store (or maybe even Amazon Marketplace) support, I don't expect this thing to be anywhere NEAR as attractive as it would be with it.
Also quite possible it won't have analog sound out, making it not possible (or difficult and expensive) to connect many people's audio/visual systems.
Get set-top devices into the CDD first (Score:2)
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But isn't DRM expected on the Ouya? Would rooting break that and prevent use of the Ouya marketplace? Won't rooting throw away the warranty and support like it does with pretty much all other Android devices? If it is easy to add Google Play on the device, then why doesn't it just come with it?
Controller Markup? (Score:4, Interesting)
Anyone else notice the odd markup on the extra controllers? It's $20 per controller when you go from one to two controllers, but $30 per controller when going from one to four. Are they going to sell controllers separately or if you buy the 1 or 2 controller box, that's it, no adding on?
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Anyone else notice the odd markup on the extra controllers? It's $20 per controller when you go from one to two controllers...
You may want to check the summary again:
one console and one controller will cost $109, one console plus two controllers will be $139
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Quite so. I could swear it said $129 for the plus 2 controllers, but it does indeed say $139 for 2. Either my bad or they fixed it. Ce la vie.
For a Kickstarter it makes sense (Score:2)
Remember that the idea is to give the organization the startup funds to do what they are trying to do. You get rewards, but funding them is the goal. As such generally the higher the tier, the less you get for your money. After all it wouldn't do much good to collect $5000 for a project, but give out $6000 in stuff, you are in the hole there.
So as you move up it is usually more about giving them more because you want to see the project succeed, and getting some small things as a thank you, then getting "you
Initial Game Offerings (Score:2)
Nethack
Nethack OpenGL Elite Version
OpenPac-Man, when you eat a power pill it takes the user to a console to configure IPtables to keep the ghosts out
Bejewelled
Doom v1
GIMP
Is anyone else not psyched about this? (Score:2)
Is anyone else not psyched about this?
I mean, I really don't know which way this project will go - it could take off like the Wii did, or it could flounder around after it launches - but am I the only one not caught up in the hype?
We saw, after a month of *very* aggressive advertising - mostly through paid-for sites like Tech Crunch - a console that has "sold" about 58k units (tracking only the customers that contributed money for the minimum to get an Ouya console). This is in an industry where we constant
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Where's the "killer app" here that is locked into the Ouya?
Any game that needs a physical gamepad and doesn't have a big experienced publisher backing it. Or are there sales figures for tablet peripherals like the iControlPad?
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Again, what's the "killer app"? None of the games that fit that criteria would be considered a killer app unless it was actually any good.
Re:I got one! (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm hoping its something that can beat the Wii at its own low-end game. A cheap console with cheapish games without Nanny Nintendo watching all of the games that get released on it to make sure they're fit for our eyes would be fantastic.
Re:I got one! (Score:5, Insightful)
But the Wii has the fun movement controller.
Re:I got one! (Score:4, Informative)
The Wii actually has a pretty weak processor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadway_(microprocessor) [wikipedia.org]
Re:I got one! (Score:4, Insightful)
If you examine the datastream from a wiimote, it is actually pretty well pre-crunched by the controller.
There are a few pairing-related oddities(bluetooth can be a bit eccentric on its good days, and Nintendo didn't excatly feel a strong pressure to be helpful to random 3rd party bluetooth devices); but you get all the accelerometer data, and the IR dot following, handled for you in hardware and sent, along with button states, as relatively trivial output data. There are a few other oddities with the onboard speaker and similar bits; but it isn't a computationally expensive peripheral to deal with.
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It's still more powerful than the Wii, which has no problem dealing with the Wii-motes.
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I'm hoping its something that can beat the Wii at its own low-end game.
And by "Wii" you also mean the WiiU, which is due out before the Ouya, right?
Ouya U (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:I got one! (Score:5, Insightful)
Quantity is assured (Score:2)
They lack the quantity and quality of tallent to pull that off.
Quality perhaps initially, but quantity is assured if it's open to the same sorts of developers that populate Google Play Store and Amazon Appstore.
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I'm not convinced that first party development is necessary at all. You can get launch titles to bundle via licensing if that's your thing. A lot of people are still playing the smush and the pc engine, and there were a lot of SMSes around when I was a kid... but not TG16s, because they cost too much. If Ouya makes a major mistake, it will at least be different from the mistake NEC made. And of course, Sega put out several more generations of console before being boned by Sony. Why they chose to help Micros
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I'm not convinced that first party development is necessary at all.
Depending on the platform, it can be necessary to make sure that there actually is anything that can push the hardware at all.
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A cheap console with cheapish games without Nanny Nintendo watching all of the games that get released on it to make sure they're fit for our eyes would be fantastic.
The Android developer thinks single player and mobile device.
Family-friendly console gaming --- and social gaming on the big screen TV --- has paid off handsomely for Nintendo.
As of October 18, 2010, Nintendo has sold over 565 million hardware units and 3.4 billion software units.
96.56 million units of the Wii alone. (2012)
Nintendo [wikipedia.org]
That would be something like fifty tines the number of Slashdot accounts.
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The Ouya is *significantly* more powerful than the Wii, both GPU-wise and CPU-wise (and memory-wise, for that matter).
Given what is public of the WiiU and some deductive skills, it seems the Ouya will also beat the WiiU's CPU (which looks like it'll be underpowered), particularly at SIMD/vector processing. It probably won't beat its GPU (AMD R700), but not by too much. Given how mobile GPUs are developing, I'd expect them to catch up pretty soon.
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I got one!
Pics or it didn't happen.
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Not good enuf! Wanna see it on a newspaper with today's date and you holding up three fingers (no, not one).
Re:I got one! (Score:5, Funny)
Me too. Thank god someone is finally making a piracy-friendly console platform.
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As long as they give me points for clicking buttons, who cares?
Okay, I'm failing at funny here, mainly because with all those zynga games it's pretty much proven that this is exactly the level most "casual gamers" are on. They don't care, as long as they get points for clicking a button. They might even pay for said points, just make sure they go "kaching!" when they arrive. After clicking the button.
The button is important.
Re:I got one! (Score:4, Funny)
At first I misread, didn't notice the second C, and I was all over that idea. Then I realized it said clicking, and that just seems unrealistic.
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Re:I got one! (Score:5, Insightful)
Also, XBMC is great, and a ~$100 media center? Sign me up!
Re:I got one! (Score:5, Insightful)
To me, that lack of power is a VERY good thing because it means the developers will be forced to make their games fun rather than pretty.
Or just like with most third party Wii titles, they'll be both ugly and unfun.
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To me, that lack of power is a VERY good thing because it means the developers will be forced to make their games fun rather than pretty.
Or just like with most third party Wii titles, they'll be both ugly and unfun.
Well, on a positive note, it'll run all the emulators just fine....
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Too much of a good thing (Score:3, Interesting)
o me, that lack of power is a VERY good thing because it means the developers will be forced to make their games fun rather than pretty.
And who is going to bother to make games for it when they can just continue to make games for platforms that sell far more (iOS?)
I don't mean to rain on this parade because I think efforts like this are fantastic generally, but I have serious reservations about this being able to go anywhere...
One last issue is how will Ouya address Android piracy? If developers are exper
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o me, that lack of power is a VERY good thing because it means the developers will be forced to make their games fun rather than pretty.
And who is going to bother to make games for it when they can just continue to make games for platforms that sell far more (iOS?)
I don't mean to rain on this parade because I think efforts like this are fantastic generally, but I have serious reservations about this being able to go anywhere...
One last issue is how will Ouya address Android piracy? If developers are experiencing high piracy rates on Android already, how will this diminish in an Android based console? That question alone is vital to address to get strong and sustained support for the platform.
The Ouya's 'store' requires online access to play the games through it. I believe the games will all phone home to verify your online status. In addition, the store won't work if you have your console rooted. Some of that info is here http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-07-16-ouya-responds-to-skepticism [eurogamer.net]
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From the link:
"Uhrman explained, "OUYA will be just as secure as any other Android-powered device. In fact, because all the paid content will require authentication with OUYA's servers, we have an added layer of security. Hacking and openness are about getting what you want to do with the hardware. Rooting the device won't give you any more access to the software.""
Ok, so then they are saying it will only run games that communicate back to Ouya servers? As in, no current Android games...
I am also really du
Not all genres work well with touch (Score:2)
And who is going to bother to make games for it when they can just continue to make games for platforms that sell far more (iOS?)
People who plan to make games in genres that don't work well on a touch screen. Touch screens are fine for looking at and selecting objects, not so much for having a character run and jump around the screen. Apple made the same mistake that Mattel made when making the Intellivision II's button pad completely flat. On an Ouya controller, unlike on the touch screen built into an iPad, the player can feel where his thumbs are relative to the buttons. This means the player can feel whether his thumb is over the
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People who plan to make games in genres that don't work well on a touch screen.
But why would they develop for this when there's XBLA and XBLIG, and Steam, which arguably have a much higher install base than this?
How many iCade units have been sold? (Score:2)
You mean the guys developing apps for the iCade?
If a game can't reasonably be completed without an iCade or iControlPad, does it have a chance of selling in substantial numbers? How many iCade and iControlPad units have been sold compared to Ouya preorders?
Still not sure (Score:2)
Um, developers that aren't interested in supporting clumsy touch screen gaming for one. Developers that make stuff for iOS and Android and who's games with a minimal amount of trouble can be ported to the Ouya who figure "why not?".
But all of those people depend on revenue being there to pay for the effort.
The "clumsy touch screen" guys developed Doodle Jump and countless other games that worked just fine with touch screen controls...
Uh, the main reason iOS doesn't have as much piracy is you have no choice
Re:I got one! (Score:4, Interesting)
To me, that lack of power is a VERY good thing because it means the developers will be forced to make their games fun rather than pretty.
I -know- there are some people on here who remember that there were games before ansiotropic filtered bump mapped motion blured LOD textured polygons.
I even seem to remember enjoying a few of them. Super metroid anyone? Final Fantasy II and III (4j and 6j)? mario kart, ice hockey, bubble bobble, zelda(s), sonic(s), punch out, tecmo bowl, come on how long do I have to go?
there are a ton of good 2d sprite games on the android market. 2d doesn't -need- to be dead.
Not to mention that "underpowered" is relative. This thing is roughly as powerful, give or take, as the original xbox or ps2, and I'm pretty sure there were some good enjoyable 3D games for them as well.
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You forgot MONKEY ISLAND, never forget MONKEY island.
ScummVM already runs on Android so this console should be perfect for this.
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Also, XBMC is great, and a ~$100 media center? Sign me up!
Exactly. Also because it's Android based, I can program for it myself.
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galaxy s3 = $599
ouya = $109
Compare to a $62 iControlPad (Score:2)
Why not just make a bluetooth controller which can be used with any Android phone?
Because a $62 iControlPad costs almost as much as this whole console.
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I'm not a gamer, but even I saw the potential in this.
I'm a gamer and I don't get how this is any diffrent from a Roku [roku.com] or any other set top box with apps [pcworld.com].
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I'm not a gamer, but even I saw the potential in this.
I'm a gamer and I don't get how this is any diffrent from a Roku [roku.com]
roku uses exact same chip as Rasppi, anemic cpu + strong (but closed) gpu.
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Do you play angry birds with the Roku remote? Have you tried that IR remote? It's barely responsive enough to browse channels.
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I'm not a gamer, but even I saw the potential in this.
I'm a gamer and I don't get how this is any diffrent from a Roku [roku.com] or any other set top box with apps [pcworld.com].
Maybe that it can already run a wealth of Android software, but isn't locked down by the telcos? That, and the built-in support for gaming input devices.
However, I hope they signed up some good talent for the flagship games -- that's what Nintendo has always needed to do to shift their hardware.
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Maybe that it can already run a wealth of Android software, but isn't locked down by the telcos?
Have they actually said they're going to allow sideloading of apps onto this?
Pass. (Score:2)
Only reason I buy a console is so I can play games like Final Fantasy and RPGs in general. Also nintendo games (they usually produce masterpieces). The open console won't have FF, N, or other exclusives so it will be a bit like owning a modern PowerPC Amiga*. Great hardware..... little software to support it.
Ultimately it's the software that makes the difference. I never owned Colecovision or Intellivision, because the Atari had all the great games. In the 3D era, I picked the inferior PS2 because it
Re:Pass. (Score:5, Informative)
Only reason I buy a console is so I can play games like Final Fantasy and RPGs in general.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/07/31/final-fantasy-iii-launching-on-ouya [ign.com]
Any other reasons?
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I want FF 14, 15, 16, not 3.
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You could play them via onlive on this device.
Cap (Score:2)
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You have no idea how many great games you missed.
Night Stalker, D&D, Astrosmash, Bump'n Jump, good (for the time) arcade ports, etc.
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True but I also saved $900 (in today's money) by not buying Intellivision and Colecovision. And with the Atari's ~1000 game library I was never lacking for stuff to play.
Of course now with emulation I've played some of those Intellivision console games, and they aren't much to brag about. (I've not tried colecovision.) Overall I've been satisfied with my choices, though I do regret missing-out on the Genesis and Super Nintendo. A lot of those games were ported to my Commodore Amiga, but a lot were conso
Re: (Score:2)
What are you talking about? Neither the summary nor the article say anything about a date being pushed back.
Re:Pushed back (Score:5, Informative)
seems to be on time,
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console?ref=live#AndHowFarAlonAreYouInBuilOuya [kickstarter.com]
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because you would much rather support an open platform where game developers with good game ideas are not shackled to deep pocket distributors that drive the creativity out and 0 day dlc's in.
Re: (Score:2)
addictinggames.com play flash games all day long for free with your current keyboard, mouse and internets
So what do players 2, 3, and 4 use, or do they have to buy their own PCs to join in? And how much does the SDK to develop Flash games cost?