Ouya is a $99 Hackable Android Game Console

[Guest]

Ouya has a lot of well known industry names backing it up...

Ouya is a $99 Hackable Android Game Console : Read more

 

[Scoregie]

YES YES YES... Inovation musto become REAL!... 2 days later ... Apple is sueing... blah blah blah...

 

[d_kuhn]

And game consoles take another step back as they embrace cell phone game design instead of state of the art - you can now look for that lost cow in 1080p!

 

[southernshark]

I can see this appealing to young kids who don't have much money, but that is about it.

 

[Guest]

consoles are moving to mobiles while PC's are moving forward. the PC will take over again at this rate.

 

[super d spamalot]

We don't need another crappy, cheap console holding back gaming innovation on the PC, thanks.

 

[hate machine]

This would be nice to run all the android emulators on but why buy it if you already have an android device. Just get a Bluetooth controller and a Mini HDMI cable and just use your phone as a console.

 

[spookie]

Tegra 3 or a comparable cpu (gpu wise), 1GB RAM, SD slot and a full size USB slot, then it wouldn't be too bad, especially at that price...I guess it is wishful thinking?

 

[dasper]

This will increase innovation of games, just not the graphics. Studios are not willing to risk new concept game ideas on multi-million games in the event they do not sell and that is why you are seeing so many recycled game ideas. Having a platform that you can easily and inexpensively test out new game genres, concepts, or designs can help broaden the AAA games that get released later.

Personally I feel there is a big difference in graphics innovation and gaming innovation and they are not synonymous with each other.

 

[frank_drebin]

why the $%^&* console? so you have to buy this f-ng cube, then controllers, then some other crap... jeez. Also android games are NOT the real games ,,,, muahhahaha

 

[therabiddeer]

From what it sounds like.... it is a computer but only for games. And android based.
[citation][nom]dasper[/nom]This will increase innovation of games, just not the graphics. Studios are not willing to risk new concept game ideas on multi-million games in the event they do not sell and that is why you are seeing so many recycled game ideas. Having a platform that you can easily and inexpensively test out new game genres, concepts, or designs can help broaden the AAA games that get released later.Personally I feel there is a big difference in graphics innovation and gaming innovation and they are not synonymous with each other.[/citation]
Xbox live arcade, playstation equivalent, steam. All are viable locations to sell games and try new concepts. This wont increase innovation because those sources are already out there.

 

[shloader]

We certainly don't need another underpowered console in the gaming ecosphere... but I understand their reasoning for it. Hoping dasper is right. If this can respectably run XBMC that would help get it in more people's hands. We probably don't need another media extender, either, but it would be nice if we had a single good one.

 

[alidan]

[citation][nom]shloader[/nom]We certainly don't need another underpowered console in the gaming ecosphere... but I understand their reasoning for it. Hoping dasper is right. If this can respectably run XBMC that would help get it in more people's hands. We probably don't need another media extender, either, but it would be nice if we had a single good one.[/citation]
if this can play videos, 1080p mkv or mp4 files, than i would get this day one for that alone. as i dont have anything besides my computer that can play it, and i want to watch on my 60 inch tv.

[citation][nom]TheRabidDeer[/nom]From what it sounds like.... it is a computer but only for games. And android based.Xbox live arcade, playstation equivalent, steam. All are viable locations to sell games and try new concepts. This wont increase innovation because those sources are already out there.[/citation]

you do realize how crappy xbox is to indi, much less to full on developers.
playstation isnt much better.

most games get sold on consoles, so a console that devotes itself to the indi is a great idea.

 

[kinggraves]

[citation][nom]D_Kuhn[/nom]And game consoles take another step back as they embrace cell phone game design instead of state of the art - you can now look for that lost cow in 1080p![/citation]

Because it's impossible for a game to be good without the best possible graphics. All games before 1080p were completely terrible and not worth playing.

Graphics do not make the game good. By your logic the best Final Fantasy is 13 because it has the most recent graphics. You want something with lifelike visuals and no gameplay whatsoever? Rent a movie.

One interesting thing about mobile gaming though is that small devs have a chance to get their product out. This is different from the console industry where only the big boys like Activision and EA can afford the dev kits and support staff to truly compete. Those amazing graphics come at a high price, but that doesn't mean small dev teams with less CGI staff can't have cool ideas. Realistically though, you've gotta dig through a lot of garbage to find those occasional treasures.

[citation][nom]Hate Machine[/nom]This would be nice to run all the android emulators on but why buy it if you already have an android device. Just get a Bluetooth controller and a Mini HDMI cable and just use your phone as a console.[/citation]

I'm guessing not everyone has an android device and $99 is pretty cheap for one. The real question is what kind of emulators the hardware behind this could run. As stated above, it will likely end up being used for that more than it's supposed purpose of running Android games. Mobile games are only useful when they're mobile. Angry Birds might be entertaining for a few minutes on the can, but it isn't going to keep you entertained for hours on a big screen TV.

 

[d_kuhn]

[citation][nom]kinggraves[/nom]Because it's impossible for a game to be good without the best possible graphics. All games before 1080p were completely terrible and not worth playing.Graphics do not make the game good. By your logic the best Final Fantasy is 13 because it has the most recent graphics. You want something with lifelike visuals and no gameplay whatsoever? Rent a movie.One interesting thing about mobile gaming though is that small devs have a chance to get their product out. This is different from the console industry where only the big boys like Activision and EA can afford the dev kits and support staff to truly compete. Those amazing graphics come at a high price, but that doesn't mean small dev teams with less CGI staff can't have cool ideas. Realistically though, you've gotta dig through a lot of garbage to find those occasional treasures.
I'm guessing not everyone has an android device and $99 is pretty cheap for one. The real question is what kind of emulators the hardware behind this could run. As stated above, it will likely end up being used for that more than it's supposed purpose of running Android games. Mobile games are only useful when they're mobile. Angry Birds might be entertaining for a few minutes on the can, but it isn't going to keep you entertained for hours on a big screen TV.[/citation]

It's not ONLY graphics... it's exactly the availability of low cost development that's a big part of the problem. Game producers put out tons of low quality titles for phones and online gaming because they can churn them out like the US prints money. It's the same reason that 'reality' shows dominate TV... low quality... low cost... and they keep enough people playing/watching that they're never pushed to actaully produce quality programming.

 

[kinggraves]

[citation][nom]D_Kuhn[/nom]It's not ONLY graphics... it's exactly the availability of low cost development that's a big part of the problem. Game producers put out tons of low quality titles for phones and online gaming because they can churn them out like the US prints money. It's the same reason that 'reality' shows dominate TV... low quality... low cost... and they keep enough people playing/watching that they're never pushed to actaully produce quality programming.[/citation]

What exactly pushes the "high quality" devs to push out a better product? Low end TV producers do not put out reality shows any more than TV producers with lots of money to spend on better productions do. There is no correlation between budget and quality. They are not pushed to make better because the majority seem to enjoy reality fodder.

If a high end developer can make similar or better profits off a low end product, they will put out the low end product. They are a business and like any other successful business, their goal is to make profits. Fans buy up their estabilished franchises regardless of how poorly reviewed or clearly inferior they are and they make profits anyway. -coughdiablocough- Low end developers on the other hand have no estabilished namesakes.and have to work to earn that credit if they want true success. The console industry is full of big names that clearly don't feel like they have to do anything other than make pretty visuals and slap on a familiar namesake. There is nothing that forces them to innovate. The mobile sector is full of a lot of trash. Devs that want to stand out from the sea of decay have to provide a superior product. Competition is a good thing. Indie devs have a lot of competition, blockbuster devs do not.

 

[d_kuhn]

I disagree that there is not a correlation between budget and quality. A fatter budget doesn't GUARANTEE quality but the more a company invests in the development of something the more likely they are to try to insure that there's a good chance they'll make their investment back (plus a bit). You may hate Diablo III for all the BS they're pulling with the RMAH and persistant net requirement... but it's a good quality game.

"If a high end developer can make similar or better profits off a low end product, they will put out the low end product"

Agreed... which is also an issue but lower barriers to entry mean more crap too... just look at any of the phone app stores. I know we all love to hate the large producers, especially when they put out a dud and charge us $60 for it... but statistically you're going to have a MUCH higher average product quality from established producers working with quality hardware than the 10,000 garage shops building for phones and flash. For every Minecraft there are (tens of) thousands of entirely forgettable $4.00 titles.

As far as producers relying on established brands to make money - that will only get you so far. Duke Nukem was an epic brand and even so... you could buy "Forever" out of the bargain bin on Steam for less than $10 only a few months after release. There's NO way they'll recoup their investment on that title, so if we ever see another Duke Nukem... it'll likely be made by someone else.