Ouya - Android based open gaming console

[Null]

Next we are going to see mc donalds entering kickstarter in an attempt so save hot dogs, the mc dog!


Pledge 10 bucks and in 12 months we are going to have mc dogs in our restaurants, your ticket is worth one mc dog.

I'll take one of each.

 

[erico]

Re: your points above. I guess Kickstarter is no different than if you ordered something from any company and they went bankrupt. The local US laws would apply - I don't think it has anything to do with Kickstarter. That said, just like in any bankrupcy, your chance of getting anything would be very low.


In the case the company just didn't want to deliver anything, then you could always sue them/take them to court under US Law (again nothing to do with Kickstarter).

I understand, but if they don´t go bankrupt, as that is quite the worst that could happen, suppose they succeed, and pledgers don´t get what they want, or it has a problem they send it back and never get a return, or a couple days after getting it they don´t want it anymore as it is not for them, then there is no consumers rights going on at all. Is that right?


edit: haha Strigoi, that is going to cost 40$ donation, now don´t complain if you get cats...

 

[vcoleiro1]

The point is there is consumer rights as per the local countries law's ie the US . It has nothing to do with Kickstarter, thats the point, you are protected under the consumer rights of the US law.

 

[erico]

That is what I don´t understand, if you are an US citizen and pledge on kickstarter, you donate, you are not protected by any consumer rights, or are you?

 

[vcoleiro1]

I'm sure the US has consumer rights/laws.


Pledging on Kickstarter doesn't waiver anything. Some people have made it sound like a pledge on Kickstarter waives any rights, as if there's a Kickstarter contract you are signing that say's you may get nothing. In fact if you read Kickstarter's pages it says nothing of the sort(that I could find) in fact the only thing I found on the matter was to the contrary ie That a project was expected to offer refunds if they can't deliver.

 

[TrashyMG]

Well. I’m personally not that interested, if I want a Tegra 3 device I'll pick up the Asus Transformer Prime.. It's a 10" tablet device, if I slap on the keyboard it's a netbook.. want it to be a console hitch it up with the HDMI cable and use my either the ICP, 6-axis or Wii controller for games... Sure it cost more but I would get more function out of this compared to the Ouya.

Don't complain then just ignore the Ouya and do what you want to and go where you want to go .

Was there any complaining in my statement? That's exactly what I plan on doing. I was just pointing out my reasons to ignore the project.

 

[hosant]

WHy it had to be Tegra III... and for a 2013 device...

 

[EvilDragon]

The only actual new is that it seems to have a touch area on that joy.


If it will work on games that actually require you to touch the screen we don´t know.


Probably, as it would be similar to a wacom tablet somehow.

True, but what can the touchpad be used for?


Games that use the touchscreen as a virtual controller can hopefully be remapped to the real controls.


Games that make real use of the touchscreen (World of Goo, Angry Birds, Where is my Water, ScummVM, etc.) require to accurately click on the screen... and with the touchpad, you have to do this blind.


While Ouya might get some publishers to rewrite some of their games to be usable with the controller (like Angry Birds, that could easily be played with physical controls as well), other games won't be ported... so they basically remain unplayable.


As many many games require the touchscreen on Android, this could be some issue.


Of course, some games that use the virtual stick have a menu where you click on start or continue, etc., so that's where the touchpad could be used.


Or they use it as a mouse on the PC. That's the only way I'd think it would work.

I suspect that Craig will not be able to resist the temptation of attacking OUYA for some time thereby putting any of his future projects on Kickstarter at risk.

I don't think that Craig has attacked Ouya in any way, merely voiced some seemingly entirely legitimate concerns based on knowledge & experience. Guess time will tell if those concerns were justified.


Like many here I really wish Ouya well & would love to see them succeed but I just can't see how their business model will work at approx $120 per order delivered, without selling millions of units.

I also think Craig didn't attack them. He was being really harsh, but there were a lot more people from the industry being way more harsh.


In Germany, Golem.de asked me for my opinion (you can find it here).


I was being a lot less harsh than Craig there, but I also had some concerns.


Basically, here's a summary of what I told Golem:


1. It shows that people are really interested in less locked-down consoles, which is great.


2. I'll be happy to see it released, but the price tag is set real low, so unless they have some other financial backup, I also doubt it can be produced and sold at that price, but time will tell.


3. Another issue are the big development studios: They are afraid of open consoles because of piracy. If a company spends 3 years with a team of 200 developers on one game, they won't take that risk - so I don't think we'll see a lot of support from these companies. While I personally think it would work (sell it for a lower price for a way larger userbase and you would make money even though it's open), I doubt many companies will risk that.


4. An open console with some kind of DRM is always an issue... if you install a custom OS, you don't know if the DRM system will still work. And if it does, it can be cracked with some root access. So either the user is locked down or companies are even more scared of piracy than before.


5. Many Android games are based on touchscreen controls (as mentioned above). So a lot of Android games might be unplayable.


These were my main concerns... it's no attack, I think these are valid points.


I'd be happy to see OpenSource and open stuff get more popular, but there are MANY issues to be resolved for that.


If the Ouya will be totally open, it will simply be a normal Android TV system.


If the Ouya will get big titles from major publishers, it will probably not be as open as they told us.


So it will be an interesting thing to watch.


If they just used Kickstarter for marketing and advertising though, then I'll personally be really disappointed of the way they did it.

 

[Zip]

i know 2 method to make an ouya NOW:


1)buy that: http://www.woxter.co...atures/features


or something like it,


buy a controller bluethoot or usb.


u made an ouya NOW (not in 2013)


2)buy a real open console like pandora or an half-open console like chinese android


buy a hdmi cable or a tvout


u made an ouya NOW (for less than 99$)


IT


IS


A


SHAME


edit: i want to add something:


sony until February of 2010 lost $ 7 each console PS3 sold. and it is SONY

 

[diligentcircle]

You could also just use a PC.

 

[vcoleiro1]

To be fair if it does succeed there are a number of positives


A. It will be basically the cheapest option to run android games on your tv. especially for a tegra 3 device


B. it will have a Lot of games that can be played from get go thanks to onlive support


C. The games it hopes to be played on it are controller based newly developed games. This is good for a number of reasons, namely that it hopefully gets some standard for controller support going for android. This really needs to be pushed


D it could be used as a cheap project board as the pcb is said to be tiny


E could used as a cheap htpc or dev pc like you can use the mk802


F. put sixaxis on it and you will be able to play all the big android games using a controller

 

[elwing]

2)buy a real open console like pandora or an half-open console like chinese android


buy a hdmi cable or a tvout


u made an ouya NOW (for less than 99$)

In what strange world do you live? where is 500$+ less than 99$?

 

[Foxgod]

WHy it had to be Tegra III... and for a 2013 device...

Now i understand why its so cheap....... The tegra 3 will be in the bargain zone in 2013, as the Tegra3+/Tegra 4 will be out by Q1 2013.


I think they just figured if they would offer a tegra 3 device now, and actually sell it in 2013, people would still be amazed by the specs, even tho it doesnt contain the latest.

 

[elwing]

WHy it had to be Tegra III... and for a 2013 device...

Now i understand why its so cheap....... The tegra 3 will be in the bargain zone in 2013, as the Tegra3+/Tegra 4 will be out by Q1 2013.


I think they just figured if they would offer a tegra 3 device now, and actually sell it in 2013, people would still be amazed by the specs, even tho it doesnt contain the latest.

speaking of that I think I remember i've been offered a 350$ device featuring a once good OMAP 3530 4 years ago and still not have it....


while I share the doubt about the ouya all of us seems to have, I don't understand all this bashing when most here defend the pandora...

 

[DisgruntleElf]

I suspect that Craig will not be able to resist the temptation of attacking OUYA for some time thereby putting any of his future projects on Kickstarter at risk.

I don't think that Craig has attacked Ouya in any way, merely voiced some seemingly entirely legitimate concerns based on knowledge & experience. Guess time will tell if those concerns were justified.


Like many here I really wish Ouya well & would love to see them succeed but I just can't see how their business model will work at approx $120 per order delivered, without selling millions of units.

I also think Craig didn't attack them. He was being really harsh, but there were a lot more people from the industry being way more harsh.


In Germany, Golem.de asked me for my opinion (you can find it here).

A few thing to consider. Words are subjective. Criticism, even valid points, can be considered destructive when they are constantly belted over and over. Hasn't your own business suffered from all the years of relentless criticism? The OUYA team singled out Craig's criticism specifically which leads out that he may have crossed the line. Those "other" industry critics Craig speaks of haven't announced putting a product on Kickstarter in the near future like he has. The final decision rests with Kickstarter. It would best for Craig to just bite his tongue if he plans on using Kickstarter but will he?

 

[Foxgod]

WHy it had to be Tegra III... and for a 2013 device...

Now i understand why its so cheap....... The tegra 3 will be in the bargain zone in 2013, as the Tegra3+/Tegra 4 will be out by Q1 2013.


I think they just figured if they would offer a tegra 3 device now, and actually sell it in 2013, people would still be amazed by the specs, even tho it doesnt contain the latest.

speaking of that I think I remember i've been offered a 350$ device featuring a once good OMAP 3530 4 years ago and still not have it....


while I share the doubt about the ouya all of us seems to have, I don't understand all this bashing when most here defend the pandora...

Because people who want a mobile gaming device dont care so much about a non mobile console, so its obvious the Pandora target audience doesnt care much about Ouya.


Personally i think the two shouldnt be compared anyway, something about apples and oranges, which i why i said, people who want the ouya, get it, but its not my thing, and i dont have to like it.


I hope for the Ouya guys they wont have to endure the same troubles as the OP team tho, otherwise an equally long wait will occur.


And again, the Ouya is just an encased pcb with a controller added, its not as difficult as creating a handheld.


You have to consider way more factors when creating a handheld.

 

[erico]

I see no bashing, just points raised, sometimes on a little fun way.


We do raise points about everything, including the pandora.


This being a OUYA thread, its more common to raise points about itself here.

 

[elwing]

lets make a riot! go in street and scream THE REAL OPEN CONSOLES ARE HERE YET! WIZ CAANOO PANDORA THOSE ARE OPEN not a stupid mokup of ouya

I see no bashing, just points raised, sometimes on a little fun way.

...

 

[Exophase]

A. It will be basically the cheapest option to run android games on your tv. especially for a tegra 3 device

You'll still be able to buy those HDMI Android sticks for $70. I don't know about the controller but I'm sure you could get something decent for < $30, or if you already have a Bluetooth controller you won't need to.

B. it will have a Lot of games that can be played from get go thanks to onlive support

Which is also available for Android already right? Incidentally, OnLive has also been selling controllers for this purpose.

C. The games it hopes to be played on it are controller based newly developed games. This is good for a number of reasons, namely that it hopefully gets some standard for controller support going for android. This really needs to be pushed

No argument here, that a standard should be pushed and more Android games should be encouraged to do this. But the new games it runs are going to be OUYA games, not games you can run on any Android.. and the impression I got is that this also won't run Android games out of the box. Of course it might encourage game developers to do game controls for their Android games since it'd be a quick port between them and OUYA, but it doesn't do anything to add to Android standardization..

D it could be used as a cheap project board as the pcb is said to be tiny

So could a lot of other things - the question isn't the size of the board but what interfaces it exposes. If it's just HDMI and USB then you'd may as well keep it in the box.

E could used as a cheap htpc or dev pc like you can use the mk802

Or use the MK802 ;p

F. put sixaxis on it and you will be able to play all the big android games using a controller

No faith in their bundled controller..?

 

[craigix]

I suspect that Craig will not be able to resist the temptation of attacking OUYA for some time thereby putting any of his future projects on Kickstarter at risk.

I don't think that Craig has attacked Ouya in any way, merely voiced some seemingly entirely legitimate concerns based on knowledge & experience. Guess time will tell if those concerns were justified.


Like many here I really wish Ouya well & would love to see them succeed but I just can't see how their business model will work at approx $120 per order delivered, without selling millions of units.

I also think Craig didn't attack them. He was being really harsh, but there were a lot more people from the industry being way more harsh.


In Germany, Golem.de asked me for my opinion (you can find it here).

A few thing to consider. Words are subjective. Criticism, even valid points, can be considered destructive when they are constantly belted over and over. Hasn't your own business suffered from all the years of relentless criticism? The OUYA team singled out Craig's criticism specifically which leads out that he may have crossed the line. Those "other" industry critics Craig speaks of haven't announced putting a product on Kickstarter in the near future like he has. The final decision rests with Kickstarter. It would best for Craig to just bite his tongue if he plans on using Kickstarter but will he?

I'm actually starting to think something Mr.Loon said could be true, we might not need Kickstarter. Also the prediction of the 'kickstarter bubble bursting' may well come true before we're ready to go with the P2 anyway.


I'm starting to think that after the success of the 1Ghz Pandora we could take in about 1000 orders for the P2 via normal means anyway and not have to pay KS $70 per unit. Remember we plan to only take orders when we're near ready for production as we did with the iCP and 1Ghz Pandora.


As of tomorrow the 1Ghz units will be shipping and the iCP was a success before that. We do know how to deliver a product now and know when to say we're ready to take orders.


I guess we will talk about it closer to the time in more detail. I am ambivalent about it.