[baguvix_wanrltw]

I think most people have seen the "Ouya" console by now, if you haven't, they are currently running a Kickstarter Project where they tried to get $950k, they're at around $2.5m after one day.

What are your opinions? Do you think this "new kind" of console will have a chance on the open market?

Personally I'm a little on the fence on that subject; I do appreciate an open console that's open to hackers and tinkerers, that's easy to code for and rather cheap to buy.

On the other hand the specs are so far off what one would except to see in a "real" gaming console (or PC for that matter) that I doubt it'll be able to really attract many people - I have parts with the same specs in my smartphone... and that also has a TV-Out via HDMI adaptor so I could use it the same way I'd use the Ouya, just that I don't have their fancy UI (yet).

However the smartphone is supposed to last rougly 2 years until I get a new one, that console will be released in 8 months at the very earliest and is probably supposed to have a life time of at least 5 or so years...

So, what's your stance on this?

[Vecis]

Seems pretty good, but Android... isn't it taking like half of resources?

[Remix]

TWO MILLION AND THREE HUNDRED f*ckING THOUSAND? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

I was viewing the Kickstarter when it was at $30,000. Maybe I'm completely inept at understanding why everyone is so excited by this, but what is it capable of doing? Is it just a console with a developer kit, so indie games can be more easily created? It just seems like a console aimed at running indie games (which 99.9% are complete rubbish, anyway).

I'm probably being incredibly pessimistic, but can someone please enlighten me?

[1whitebuddah]

they should rename it to something people will be able to pronounce. lol

[Fireman]

QUOTE (Remix @ Wednesday, Jul 11 2012, 09:48)

But can someone please enlighten me?

Nope, sorry.

I didn't even get what they tried to say in their kickstarter main page. Something about consoles and this:

QUOTE

That doesn't mean OUYA is an Android port.

With a big fat dot behind it and no reason given why it isn't an Android port.

[baguvix_wanrltw]

Well, I think Android is kind of the obvious choice for an open gaming system, because it's free, open source and widespread; plus there are tons of apps and games available already.

But the performance... well, I just did some benchmarking on my phone (same specs as Ouya, Tegra 3 quad core), using SuperPi.

Calculating 512k digits of Pi took 264.698 seconds on my phone.

Calculating 512k digits of Pi took 5.989 seconds on my PC.

Plus the next gen consoles are due for release next year... and will have rougly the same level of performance as the aforementioned PC of mine from what I've heard.

I'm not sure we need a home console for Angry Birds and the like...

Oh, and it just passed the $2.5m mark.


Tbh, I think the better choice for "open platforms" is still hacked "real" consoles. Want a (rather) powerful machine for little money? Get a 360 and glitch it.

Got some more money to spend? Buy a PC and have a real open platform, with power miles ahead of anything else.

This post has been edited by baguvix_wanrltw on Wednesday, Jul 11 2012, 11:43

[Remix]

I seriously think people are just getting excited at the concept of "a new console" without legitimately considering what the console will eventually be used for; indie games, designed by an extremely small team of developers, that have to revolve their game concept around being free-to-play.

The reason why indie games are so incredibly successful on mobile platforms is because they're portable and easy to pick up and play. They're great for train trips or killing time while waiting for a dentist appointment, but besides that, they're not really that good. Of course, there are a few exceptions that have been great (Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja etc), but to base a whole console around these games seems a waste of time. Has anyone played Fruit Ninja on their Xbox (with Kinect)? It's extremely boring past 10 minutes. Mobile games also tapped into an entirely new audience. The OUYA will not.

Their biggest draw card is:
"If you've ever wanted to develop a game for the tv, OUYA allows it".
But isn't this already possible? There are thousands of indie games that are on the Xbox that never get marketed (seriously look them up, there's SO many).

I honestly see more potential in creating a controller that is compatible with mobile devices, rather than designing a whole console which will inevitably be replaced by next-gen consoles and games on portable devices anyway.

[1whitebuddah]

QUOTE (baguvix_wanrltw @ Wednesday, Jul 11 2012, 11:26)

Plus the next gen consoles are due for release next year... and will have rougly the same level of performance as the aforementioned PC of mine from what I've heard.

how do you know next gen consoles are being released next year?

[baguvix_wanrltw]

QUOTE (1whitebuddah @ Wednesday, Jul 11 2012, 11:58)

how do you know next gen consoles are being released next year?

Call it an educated guess if you want. It's not relevant anyway.

[kudoboi]

QUOTE (Vecis @ Wednesday, Jul 11 2012, 09:31)

Seems pretty good, but Android... isn't it taking like half of resources?

idk if your talking about a sh*tty ass android phone or what but on my galaxy nexus with a 4.1 ROM, the android system only takes up 2% of resources even with live wallpapers and and multiple apps running in background. and the battery is able to last 14+ hours with quite huge usage from constant facebook/ twitter checking, playing games like max payne mobile and watching tv series like breaking bad on my phone

[EverBlazin]

I'll probably get one to play emulators on. Do they actually get the 2 million dollars?

[baguvix_wanrltw]

Well, they'll get the current 2.67 million (or probably at least 10 million once the Kickstarter is over...) minus around 10% in fees for Amazon payments and Kickstarter, minus bounced credit card charges.

This post has been edited by baguvix_wanrltw on Wednesday, Jul 11 2012, 14:09

[kudoboi]

on topic i don't think this is a good console tbh.. playing mobile games on tv? i can easily do that with my phone just by connecting a controller to the phone and plugging the phone into the tv

[Vecis]

QUOTE (kudoboi @ Wednesday, Jul 11 2012, 12:54)

QUOTE (Vecis @ Wednesday, Jul 11 2012, 09:31) Seems pretty good, but Android... isn't it taking like half of resources? idk if your talking about a sh*tty ass android phone or what but on my galaxy nexus with a 4.1 ROM, the android system only takes up 2% of resources even with live wallpapers and and multiple apps running in background. and the battery is able to last 14+ hours with quite huge usage from constant facebook/ twitter checking, playing games like max payne mobile and watching tv series like breaking bad on my phone

QUOTE

Minimum System Requirements: Pentium III 450 CPU 96MB RAM 16MB Direct3D Video Card Fully DirectX compatible Sound Card 8X CD-Rom 500MB free hard disk space Win 98/ME/2000/XP Direct X 8.1 Recommended System Requirements 700 mhz CPU 128MB RAM 32MB Direct3D Video Card Fully DirectX compatible Sound Card 8X CD-Rom 500MB free hard disk space Win 98/ME/2000/XP Direct X 8.1 Windows NT (any version)

These are GTA3 system requirements on PC. Afaik GTA3 on Android needed better specs, or no?

[Exxon]

QUOTE (baguvix_wanrltw @ Wednesday, Jul 11 2012, 11:26)

But the performance... well, I just did some benchmarking on my phone (same specs as Ouya, Tegra 3 quad core), using SuperPi. Calculating 512k digits of Pi took 264.698 seconds on my phone. Calculating 512k digits of Pi took 5.989 seconds on my PC.

It could be better, indeed

Calculating 512k digits of Pi took 608.675 seconds on my HTC Sensation XE (1.5 GHz dual core)

Calculating 512k digits of Pi took 4.992 seconds on my PC.

[baguvix_wanrltw]

QUOTE (Exxon @ Wednesday, Jul 11 2012, 15:12)

Calculating 512k digits of Pi took 4.992 seconds on my PC.

How dare your stupid quad core be faster than my (Intel) hexacore in Pi calculations!?!?! I'll have to do some OC asap

Seriously though, the Kickstarter is closing in on 3 million... that means they have something around 25k consoles "sold" by now, that's pretty f*cking amazing considering the Kickstarter has only been running for 2 days...

I'm all for open platforms (especially ones that are basically made for hackers) but couldn't they find a little bit more potent platform than Tegra 3? It's great for mobiles but as a console... I have doubts.

It's a shame too, I was gonna fund the Kickstarter as well until I realized just how bad those specs will look next year once Ouya is released.

Holy sh*t, they just increased the number of available $99 tier consoles again... first it was 5k, then 20k, now it's 80k.


You know what... f*ck it, I'll take one too. As it happens someone just made an unexpected gift of 700€ to me... I should have the $149 required to get one of those with two pads. Even if it sucks, I can still sell it on eBay.

I have a feeling many interesting hacks will come out of this...

Done. I'm a backer. Worst case (if it sucks and noone on eBay pays well for them) I'll give it to my mom so she can play Tetris.

Who knows, maybe this whole thing will make a statement big enough to make Sony and Microsoft consider being more hacker-friendly.

This post has been edited by baguvix_wanrltw on Wednesday, Jul 11 2012, 16:14

[dunbrine47]

Another open sourced console?

Must I bring up Pandora?

[theomenofficial]

Is this the PS4 or Xbox 720?

[Exxon]

QUOTE (baguvix_wanrltw @ Wednesday, Jul 11 2012, 15:46)

QUOTE (Exxon @ Wednesday, Jul 11 2012, 15:12) Calculating 512k digits of Pi took 4.992 seconds on my PC. How dare your stupid quad core be faster than my (Intel) hexacore in Pi calculations!?!?! I'll have to do some OC asap

How dare your stupid Tegra 3 phone be way faster than my shiny new Sensation XE?!?!?!
Which f*cking phone do you have?

[baguvix_wanrltw]

dunbrine47: correct me if I'm wrong (which is very possible, actually even very probable) but Pandora was not made by "industry people" but hobbyists. And had massive problems regarding deadlines/shipping. Has it even shipped yet? Also it was a handheld, to be released shortly before the whole smartphone boom started...

theomenofficial: both, combined.

Exxon: S3, arrived today...

I'm starting to think it might be a good idea to get coding; since I already own the hardware the Ouya is based on (which is still subject to change of course, apparently they might add an RJ45 port, another gig of RAM and replace the Tegra 3 with a Tegra 4) I shouldn't have too much trouble "emulating" Ouya right now... excluding the UI and pad of course.

All I need is a good idea for a game

Btw, we're up to almost $3.5m...

This post has been edited by baguvix_wanrltw on Wednesday, Jul 11 2012, 23:16