The Ouya

[Evastio]

Here's a video about what the Ouya is.

And here's a picture of it:



So basically, it's an upcoming open source video game console made by Android that aims to make game developing much more accessible and much less expensive. All games will have free-to-play demos and will be downloadable instead of retail. It'll also be sold at $99 USD.

As for the controller, here it is:



The action buttons being labelled as O, U, Y, and A make me chuckle for whatever reason.

Current titles that will be released for the Ouya include Final Fantasy III and Minecraft.

So what do you guys think about it? Also, are there any other details that you want to share about it? I barely know much about it myself besides what's on that video and what's on wikipedia.

[Pike]

I have no idea how successful this is going to be but I'd like it, regardless. Partially because I like to collect this sort of thing and partially because I'm always cool with free games. (Even if you pay $99 up front. Reasonable, imo.)

[Agent Proto]

It looks fake.

[Bolivar]

Kinda mixed. I won't say I "hate" the thing, but my initial impression is uninterested. Whenever people talk about lowering the cost of developing games, they're also talking about lowering the quality as well. There's a lot of trash on the platforms like this. I think there's a sweet spot when games are small but not too small that makes for really quality experiences, but I've found it to be a very very rare sweet spot.

At the same time, I'm an Android user, I use Android on my smartphone and my tablet so any kind of expansion of the brand is something I look forward to. Unfortunately, I do not play video games on neither my smartphone nor my tablet and I've yet to be convinced that I ever would.

[Pete for President]

I welcome the concept in this video game world where we've had pretty much the same competitors for almost a decade. A newcomer is always interesting.

However, I won't be convinced until I see some games. I'm sort of interested because of the fact that good games don't necessarily need a million dollar budget (Limbo, Where Is My Heart among others). But on the other hand I have my doubts when I look at the games currently in the Android market as an indication. There is a lot of crap out there. I fear the platform might not be taken seriously and drown in arcade-ish "I got 10 minutes to kill" games. That's just speculation though, any game examples that prove otherwise might get me interested.

[Jiro]

It looks fake.

Agreed! It looks weird, but oh well. I am very interested in seeing how this changes the video game market!

[Slothy]

Whenever people talk about lowering the cost of developing games, they're also talking about lowering the quality as well. There's a lot of trash on the platforms like this. I think there's a sweet spot when games are small but not too small that makes for really quality experiences, but I've found it to be a very very rare sweet spot.

I'm going to have to call bulltrout on this statement for two reasons. First, a good game is a good game. Budget doesn't factor into how fun something is, only into how much you can do. Second, I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a lot of trout on every platform. In fact, I'd flat out argue that there were more good games during the last console generation when development was cheaper and development cycles shorter. We had more companies able to compete for that AAA end of the market, and they could do it a lot faster. And there was still a bunch of games that were complete trout. Having bigger budgets hasn't stopped the majority of games released on the 360 and PS3 from sucking. Just like every other console ever. But it sadly does mean that the people who could be making great games for them, but can't afford to now because the rise in development budgets over the last two decades has been completely ridiculous and unsustainable if it keeps growing at the present rate, aren't making good games for them and are left to either try and navigate the murky waters of XBLA or the PSN, or release for PC.

So long as the Ouya does a decent job of handling discoverability, I think we'll see most of the great stuff rising to the top. And if every game has a free component to it, it might actually be easier to find the good stuff than it is on current consoles.

[Bolivar]

Vivi, you missed the entire point of my post. You're suggesting that I made an unequivocal, ideological statement that small games are always and inevitably worse. My post only dealt with the practical reality.

Yes, every platform has had good and bad games. But I've yet to encounter a single Android game that made me actually want to play it.

I've tried lots of genres and lots of developers, but I simply can't find a game that I wouldn't rather play on the other platforms its on, or just simply rather browse the internet or check my twitter feed since I'm on my phone/kindle anyway. I just don't have faith in the platform. I think it's well documented that the last few years of these kinds of platforms has allowed everyone and their grandmother to become a game developer and has created a sea of garbage. You can pick up the average retail disc game for PS3/360, or download a random game that has been approved for PSN and XBLA, and you'll at least be guaranteed to have a decent gaming experience with at least mediocre competent game design. But if you look at the utter trash precentage on iOS/Android, there's just no comparison. There are games that have risen to the top, but again, they really just can't interest me in the least bit.

. I fear the platform might not be taken seriously and drown in arcade-ish "I got 10 minutes to kill" games.

This is the real interesting development. As everyone prophesied the death of consoles and handhelds in exchange for quick 5-10 minute games of mobile devices, it will be fascinating to see how such games will survive in the arena where you NEED to hold someone's attention for more than 10 minutes to e successful, where the goal is to get the player hooked for two years until you release your sequel.

[Hollycat]

At $99 I might end up buying one. The main selling point for me is whether all the games are gonna be games made originally for phones or if they make a bunch of exclusives.

[Slothy]

Vivi, you missed the entire point of my post. You're suggesting that I made an unequivocal, ideological statement that small games are always and inevitably worse.

If that wasn't your intent then fair enough, but your post as written was pretty much stating that lower budgets mean lower quality. There wasn't a whole lot of room for interpretation in the wording you used.

Yes, every platform has had good and bad games. But I've yet to encounter a single Android game that made me actually want to play it.

I've tried lots of genres and lots of developers, but I simply can't find a game that I wouldn't rather play on the other platforms its on, or just simply rather browse the internet or check my twitter feed since I'm on my phone/kindle anyway. I just don't have faith in the platform.

But the question is, how much of this is a result Android itself (Android providing a low cost platform/OS for game development) and how much is due to the interface. Because I'll state unequivocally that a touch screen only interface is terrible for most games. There are maybe 2-3 genres that can use them well, but most people aren't making those games for them. But the Ouya isn't a touch screen only interface. A console, even a low cost one like this, is a different beast entirely and even attempting to make the comparison between the types of experiences people can create on a phone, and the types that they can create on a dedicated console is a bit silly. Obviously the console has more potential since it has a dedicated gaming control interface which is, essentially, a more refined version of the same type of interface we've been using for 30+ years. The two aren't that comparable.

I think it's well documented that the last few years of these kinds of platforms has allowed everyone and their grandmother to become a game developer and has created a sea of garbage. You can pick up the average retail disc game for PS3/360, or download a random game that has been approved for PSN and XBLA, and you'll at least be guaranteed to have a decent gaming experience with at least mediocre competent game design.

I'd have to absolutely disagree with this once again. You might fined a turd that's been a bit more highly polished due to the licensing process for current consoles, but most of what gets released is still a turd just the same. Licensing has never stopped the majority of games that are released from being mediocre at best. Hell, if Bethesda is any indication, licensing hasn't even guaranteed that the game you just bought will run on day one.

But if you look at the utter trash precentage on iOS/Android, there's just no comparison.

I really have to wonder if the percentage is as out of whack as you think. There's certainly more garbage on mobile platforms, but what do you expect? Most people and companies can't spend $15-20 million on AAA development. Of course there's going to be more games, and by extension, more bad games on cheaper platforms. But like I said, with the right discoverability features, combined with things like user reviews and, oh yeah, everything being free to some extent or another, would pretty much guarantee that the good stuff is going to float to the top. Hell the Ouya, unless I'm mistaken, is supposed to use it's own marketplace/download service so we don't even know how it's going to work yet.

It really seems like what you're arguing is that because you don't like gaming on Android, this probably won't interest you either because it's on Android. But Android is just an OS. How to best use it is entirely dependent on the platform running it. The Ouya is a different beast than a smartphone. Comparing it to smartphones because both run on Android is like comparing a tablet PC to a gaming PC because they both run Windows. The types of experiences the interfaces can offer are completely different.

[Bolivar]

Whether or not the experiences will be different is speculation. I'm only talking about what I've already seen on Android/iOS and the "anyone can make a game" environment.

This isn't about there being a higher trash:decent ratio on Android than there is on PS3/360. This is about there not being a single game that makes me want to use my phone or my tablet for gaming.

[Slothy]

Whether or not the experiences will be different is speculation. I'm only talking about what I've already seen on Android/iOS and the "anyone can make a game" environment.

Ok, sure, it's speculation. But it's me forming an informed opinion based on the simple fact that the Ouya has a more traditional controller and a different market than smartphones and tablets with touchscreens. Just because anyone can make a game does not mean that those games will all play like smartphone games (the lack of a touchscreen indicates that's very unlikely), nor does it mean what comes out for it won't appeal to you or that the best games will be impossible to find.

Again, you're trying to argue this as though just because it runs on Android it won't interest you because you don't like games on smartphones. You might as well argue that because you might not like games on a tablet running Windows 8 that you wouldn't like PC games running on Windows. If you can't see why the comparison is a bit silly then I really don't know what else to say to you.

[Bunny]

That is one ugly controller.

[Quindiana Jones]

More importantly, it doesn't look especially comfortable.

[G13]

This seems like a cool idea, but I'm not expecting much from it to be honest.