Ouya Android Game Console Launches, Quickly Sells Out 279
Ouya, the Android-based game console that arose out of a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, officially launched today. The $99 device quickly sold out at a number of retailers, including Amazon and GameStop. "According to Ouya, the console currently has more than 170 downloadable games, as well as a built-in software development kit that enables people to create and test titles right from the hardware." Many reviews of the console suggest the controllers are not very good, and there are reports that the Wi-Fi connectivity can be flaky. There's also a lot of commentary about Ouya that clearly came from unrealistic expectations of what a $99 device can provide. Most of the backers from the Kickstarter campaign have received their consoles, but some are still waiting as Ouya tries to sort out shipping problems with DHL.
Re:Xbox One (Score:5, Informative)
I got mine weeks ago, haven't bought one game (Score:4, Informative)
I got my Ouya a few weeks ago. I feel sorry for the people that were part of the Kickstarter but haven't gotten theirs. I had a tracking number for weeks but the US Post office delivered it before the tracking number ever was recognized. DHL from Hong Kong is not exactly a good shipping partner. They took the cheap route on shipping and it looks like it really hurt them. Doing order fulfillment from HK was a mistake. They should have bulk shipped them to the US and shipped them out from here.
As for it's value as a game console. It's kind of disappointing. I've yet to actually pay money for any games, since not one of the demo versions were interesting enough. While the Tegra 3 is a decent chip, somehow they have managed to make it have about the same power as an old SNES. Oddly enough Final Fantasy 3 is one of the few name brand titles. A best seller on the SNES.
As as platform for Android development (one of the reasons I got it) it is fairly disappointing. Their "every game has a demo" model pretty much means anyone developing for it is giving them free content. It' is rare that a game will convince me with a great demo. More often than not a demo just gives me enough to know it is not worth buying.
It also has strange issues with it's sleep mode/power on (I almost always have to walk up and press the button on the top). The gamepad feels awful. The box itself is not exactly easy to place in the living room.
It does seems like a good addition to my collection of failed consoles though, joining my Atari Jaguar and 3DO (among others).
Re:Xbox One (Score:5, Informative)
1. Your cell phone doesn't have a 360-like controller.
2. Your cell phone likely won't play games on your TV.
3. Every game on the OUYA can be tried for free. You don't have to put a credit card in to start downloading apps from the store.
4. Your cell phone can't be a dedicated media center.
5. Mother-fucking-Towerfall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es-okjDMAbI [youtube.com]
Consider that many people consider $99 media center appliances to be a good bargain. Now consider a device at the same price that includes a gaming controller and plays games. That somehow makes it less viable?
Re:I got mine weeks ago, haven't bought one game (Score:4, Informative)
If that's the case, the free-to-play model will come to Ouya like it has Android and iOS.
The only real reason I want an Ouya? Emulators. Stick in a MAME for Android emulator on there and a USB hard drive full of ROMs, and you've got a nice gaming machine right there. The controller could be better I suppose, but meh, it's one of the few ways to play arcade games on your big screen with controller, without having to set up a PC and front end and all that.
Ouya applications are Android applications (Score:4, Informative)
Are these actual games or just shortcuts to websites
Ouya applications are Android applications. The biggest difference between an application for an Ouya console and one for a Kindle Fire or Nexus 7 tablet is that phone and tablet applications expect a multitouch screen, while Ouya applications expect a controller with a physical joystick and buttons. A touch screen is better for point-and-click games, while the Ouya controller is better for platformers and the like.
(like the ones that fill the Chrome App Store)?
The Chrome App Store is full of "shortcuts to websites" because Google decided to use the HTML DOM as the primary user-mode API of Chrome OS. I imagine that Ouya went with AOSP instead because WebGL isn't quite as mature as the version of OpenGL ES in Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean).
Re:Expectations lowered by all the crap out there (Score:4, Informative)
It's a lot harder to play some of those old games than I remember it being as a kid. I do wish the "Discover" area had a better interface, with better classifications around. I also wish that you could see a "video presentation" stream of a given game without having to install it first, some of them are pretty big when you only have 8GB of space available.
Also, I would expect to see a "Media" category with the likes of Netflix, Revision 3, and other video services soon enough. I think that this box has a lot to offer, and even centering on games, the entertainment and more social (online co-op gaming) aspects have barely been touched.
Re:PS4 Won (Score:3, Informative)
Why get an Xbox One when you can soon get a PS4?
Because of the controller! Despite everything that is wrong about the Xbone, I still look at the controller and think: well, this looks comfortable, unlike the other guy's shit. The Playstation's controller is a total deal breaker, I won't get a PS4 unless there's some third-party controller that puts the left analog in the ergonomically correct place!
Re:Anyone here able to comment on the XBMC quality (Score:4, Informative)
The Ouya's ability to act as a networked media player (including from SMB shares) is one of the main reason I backed the project. I was in the market for a "WDTV" like device and figured that the added openness and game-friendliness were great bonuses for the price!
When my Ouya arrived a few weeks back, I loaded and installed XBMC using the AOSP Browser that is installed under the "make" tab. It is very important to note that the mainstream XBMC package, even the XBMC for Android and/or ARM etc.. did not support hardware acceleration on the Ouya. There was a very specific Nightly version compiled to be compatible with the Ouya's hardware - at the time, it was " xbmc-20130604-249ada1-Gotham_alpha4SF-armeabi-v7a.apk ". There is likely a newer one now. I encourage you to check the XBMC forums and find the Ouya threads, and also head over to XDA Developers who have Ouya boards that are involved in more advanced hacking around the Ouya in general - there are instructions there for how to get the Play store working, and lots of others etc..
Once installed, XBMC is easily activated from the Ouya's "Make" screen (where all Sideloaded items go at the moment) and works very well. It plays 1080p mkv content w/ subtitles perfectly, thus far, from Samba shares hosted on the local network. There may be a few issues with very particular setups (ie I hear DTS passthrough isn't active yet), but on average it seems to work well. There were a few recoverable crashes here and there, but nothing I wouldn't expect on any alpha build - its very workable. I am to understand it will only grow to be a better experience. I expect in the future as it matures for the Ouya, well vetted builds will be included in the Ouya Store to make installing XBMC more accessible to Joe User.