OUYA: Android Based Game Console Takes Kickstarter And The World By Storm
from the up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-b-a dept
For those that read Techdirt regularly, the idea of disruptive technology is nothing new. We have seen people and businesses bring disruption to many industries as well as to many business models. The internet has allowed such disruption to spread at a far faster pace than in previous decades. For example, services like YouTube, Netflix and Hulu have turned the world of film and television upside down. For music it was the mp3 and everything that it allowed. With video games, the story is not quite as well defined.We have seen some disruption over the years, the Wii being a primary one. It showed the gaming world that the graphical arms race of previous console generations was not as important as innovation in the way people play games. Another disruption happened because of Facebook and mobile gaming. These platforms brought with them the proliferation of a free-to-play business model for gaming. The idea that people could play games for free and then pay money later was something never tried since shareware fell out of favor. These little pockets of disruption have shown that there is a market for gaming outside the typical retail console and PC arena. A market that is ripe for the harvesting.
With all that in mind, imagine the breath of fresh air for gamers when a new Android based console, the OUYA, was announced via Kickstarter. The OUYA promises to be just the kind of disruption the games industry needs. Describing this need, the creators say:
The console market is pushing developers away. We've seen a brain drain: some of the best, most creative gamemakers are focused on mobile and social games because those platforms are more developer-friendly. And the ones who remain focused on console games can't be as creative as they'd like.Among its chief selling points is the open development environment. This means that anyone can make and sell games on the console with the only barriers to entry being owning the console and making sure that some aspect of the game is free to play. For gamers, the only barrier to entry to playing these games is the initial $99 it costs.
Let's open this sucker up! It's time we brought back innovation, experimentation, and creativity to the big screen. Let's make the games less expensive to make, and less expensive to buy. With all our technological advancements, shouldn't costs be going down? Gaming could be cheaper!
So how well was this new console received? Well, Kickstarter itself has that covered in a blog post:
Yesterday a video game project called Ouya became the eighth project in Kickstarter history to raise more than a million dollars, and the fastest ever to do so. Ouya hit the total in just over eight hours, shattering the previous record.Two Kickstarter records broken in a single day by a single project. The only other project to pull that off was another game project, Double Fine Adventure. The funding hasn't stopped just with these broken records either. It has already surpassed $4 million dollars with over 30,000 backers, and it shows no sign of stopping. With this kind of backing in less than two days, this console and what it plans to do with the games industry will be tough to ignore.
As you might expect, Ouya also has the biggest single-day total in Kickstarter history. It received more than $2.5 million in pledges from its launch on Tuesday at 8:44am to Wednesday at 8:44am.
The overall impact the OUYA will have on the games industry is still very much up in the air. However, we do know it has become an overnight success in the minds of both developers and gamers alike. People who are very much willing to part with their money for the promise of a major shift in the way we consume games. I know it has made me jump at the chance to get in on the first run.
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Filed Under: android, game console, open development
Companies: kickstarter, ouya
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He makes some good points but some of them are rather unfair in my opinion such as talking about how the hardware isn't done yet. Despite promoting a number of Kickstarters in the past, Kuchera doesn't seem to understand that helping fund something that isn't done yet is kind of the whole point there.
I got in on the $95 tier before it sold out and while I would like to see OUYA issue some clarifications to the more misleading points in their marketing message (and there are several), the nice thing about Kickstarter is I have a month until the project's deadline to back out if I get cold feet.
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No Sh*t. They just told you that.
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1) Only 3 games for android support a gamepad currently, so there would be no leveraging the Play Store as is implied
2) This is terrible terrible hardware to try and bring new developers in on. There is a better chance of WindowsRT becoming a game platform than this.
Homebrew games will obviously be popular, but 'console' titles not so much. Also, android doesnt play nice with CIFS/SMB (i know it can, just not well or easily) so it doesnt make much of a media center (as the other 3 consoles do).
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It's rootable,... so It's a snap to build in Samba client (or server) support, or any other file server architecture for that matter. They might just do from the get-go.
Being rootable, it'll be nothing to get Play Store on it, or any other market app, for that matter.
So,... nope no cigar
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This has been a long time coming, and the masses have spoken with their wallets.
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Oh, rubbish...
This is brilliant hardware to get an ecosystem going - while the Ouya may retain a premium position in the market, there is going to be a huge amount of competition. With low barriers to entry (the hardware cost is likely to be lower than MS' RT licensing cost alone) and the "throw the previous customer under the bus" Chinese approach to product evolution, we're going to remarkable progress in very short time.
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Hopes? High. Expectations? Well....
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Re: Hopes? High. Expectations? Well....
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Re: Hopes? High. Expectations? Well....
I somehow bet your attitude to a large corporation would be a little different, though. Keep kissing those boots...
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In looking at how this ideology is being applied to other technologies, it just means consumers are eventually going to get nickled and dimed to death, content's going to be taken down thanks to the DMCA, and the current industry will do everything to prevent its success.
All I see them doing is raising capital for the inevitable lawsuits.
But kudos for trying.
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Introducing: Teh futurez!
AC is on it with "vaporware at its' finest", but seriously, what's wrong with selling a dream and then maybe making that dream come true?
So, right now, they got nothing. Big deal! Who cares?
What they have besides nothing, is funding. And that IS a big deal. Maybe something will come of it--maybe something won't.
I shall reserve judgement. Sometimes a "wait and see" attitude is the best one can do.
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Re: Introducing: Teh futurez!
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:-(
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A lot of times you only need to throw around the words "Apple", "iPhone", "iPad", or "Android" and people will throw their life savings at you like it was a principle.
The Pebble Kickstarter is a good example of this. Exactly how useful would a Pebble actually be compared to simply carrying around the phone that it's designed to interface with? That still has yet to be determined outside of the realm of your daily jog. However, that hasn't stopped it from vaulting over the ten million mark before the creators of the project had to manually halt the Kickstarter before they were impossibly overloaded with backers. It's probably going to end up being the same situation here.
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Oh yeah. This right here. I backed this thing, but not because I expect it to disrupt the game industry and certainly not because I expect their service to be good. I "ordered" one because I wanted an inexpensive hacking toy that looks neat and comes with controllers.
It's somewhere between a tablet and a PC, it's cheap, and you are encouraged to root it and do stuff. Sounds like fun to me!
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Even if you don't see this succeeding as a console, it's a great way to get a cheap Android device for hacking/programming that ISN'T a phone or tablet.
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The greater good kicks ass
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Re: The greater good kicks ass
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Re: The greater good kicks ass
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Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft don't want that to happen. Any time someone plays a game the OUYA is a time they're not playing on a PS3, Xbox or Wii.
Not everyone is like me and has all the consoles hooked up. Most people have one. Most people won't want to get a second machine. Those who do buy the OUYA will also more than likely say "No, I don't want a second machine, I won't get a mainstream console".
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So uh... I'm sponsoring it. And Sony, M$, Nintendo can go sodomize themselves with a retractable DRM baton.
On a side note I have one interesting issue now. I've bought Minecraft for my cell phone. Will I be able to install it on my tablet? I mean it's mine so install on my devices, right? I'm bookmarking this article to post the results here but I believe I'll need to root my tablet and pirate it.
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A lot of big names have collapsed in the past for that exact reason...
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Easy to use open source hardware/software for the masses has enormous implications.
It's about time...
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It's not that they "have nothing" and are raising money (which is perfectly fine, in my books), it's that they're promising release by MARCH NEXT YEAR. That's 7-8 months to go from nothing to a fully-fledged game console, complete with online game store, library of games, licensing, packaging, marketing, FCC/sale validation, etc. all of which has to be extensively tested.
They don't even have a final controller design or hardware. I'd expect that to take 6 months alone!
Make no mistake. I think their dream is amazing, and I'll be first in line on launch day to buy a console (at full retail price) if they clear all the hurdles in their way. But I don't expect it to happen by March 2013.
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Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's poor planning.
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and the million and eighth to be targeted for closure by the gaming section the entertainment industries. the industries haven't released the excuse(s) for wanting to close it down yet, but said they are sure they can think of something!
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OK here's one I just made up.
OMG!!! This $99 box can potentially download pirated content without burdening your primary computer. Even worse, somebody could potentially (whether it ever happens or not) write software for this to automate piracy and then serve the files as a media jukebox to any device in your house, or play them on your TV. That would give people the same or even more convenience than NetFlix -- and that just can't be allowed!
Nevermind how bad it is to give people convenience, this thing could potentially be used for piracy, or holding pirated content, or allowing pirated content to pass through it. For the foregoing reasons of potential misuses, this must be stopped.
-- The MPAA / RIAA
How's that?
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Is it really as open as people think it is?
It would seem that OUYA is a walled garden by default, just like iOS. It's nice that you can root your OUYA without voiding the warranty, but why is limiting what users can run on their consoles seen as a desirable default even to those who claim to support open computing?
Here's my question to OUYA's developers, who have yet to respond: "Can games made for OUYA be distributed outside the OUYA store for users to play on non-rooted consoles, or is it more like iOS and XBox Live Arcade which -- unmodified, out of the box -- will only run games that are sold through the platform's official store?"
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Donated
I am not, however, excited about the 8G internal storage. Who in their right mind thinks the same storage as my 3 year old phone is a good idea?
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Re: Donated
One of the things they've mentioned is that the USB device will allow for external drives to be used. If you want to make sure you have enough space for your games, get yourself a decent external drive and plug it into the USB. It won't be as fast as the native hard drive, but it does give you the storage space you'd need.
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Nay sayer, technogeek
Im going with others here and adding a few points to think about..
WOW, all the features and MORE of cellphones/tablets, WITHOUT the cellphone/tablet..
And the COST?? 1/2 to 1/10the the cost of such devices..
I hope there are people out there, that Know about things LIKE the raspberry pi..(there are others out there)
OS/Programming language..ANYONE HEARD of Linux? and XBMC??
There are Full fledged games for over 10 years that are FREE,ONLINE,RPG, almost anything on Linux. Do I have to mention WINE??
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Re: Nay sayer, technogeek
your point still mostly exists though.
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Re: Nay sayer, technogeek
I agree with what you are saying in principle. However, there's a reason all phones don't come as a kit that you have to put together. People want convenience. This is convenient and satisfies some geek lust.
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"Open" chipset
(Historically, they've been one of the most secretive chipset manufacturers. At one point, Linux developers even had to reverse-engineer an Nvidia ethernet controller; proprietary ethernet chipsets were pretty much unheard of at the time.)
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standard, out of the box 'everyone knows how this works or it would be completely useless' sort of deal?
(total uneducated guess here.)
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No reason to be skeptical the entire thing is grounded in reality
Backers & OUYA heads = These people are not stupid they have been successful at the top tiers of the industry. They know how to put together a business plan, how to set expectations, etc. they are not six nerds throwing together a linux box to "get back at the man". They are not using kickstarter to fund the console, they are using it to guage interest for VC shopping.
Expectations = Nobody here is trying to compete with the big three. If the box does nothing but allow you to play android games and emulate old consoles that alone is worth $99.
Timing = This isn't microsoft or sony who can throw money at companies to get them onboard early. OUYA needs to show interest, meaning install base, before people will get on board. Why does this whole project seemed rushed out the door? Because it has to be. This E3 was when the console makers were set to announce next gen hardware. They chose not to leaving a window for someone else to. Once the big 2 announce new hardware, forget about it the OUYA will have to wait 2 or 3 years to be able to be heard above the din. It was now or never.
Games = An android title doesn't need anything "extra" to be on OUYA. There is a touch pad built in to the controller. As for titles that we know of, we know wasteland 2 is coming to the OUYA as is Minecraft. But like I said above. If OUYA does nothing more than emulate old hardware and play existing android games it's a success and all the current backers are aware of this.
Success of the indie developers & "a dream not a solution" = Why are games dying in obscurity? New flash App stores, PSN, and XBL are not your marketing channels they are your distribution channels. Expecting the apps store to some how promote your game over all others is as retarded as anyone else that believes in get rich quick schemes. IF OUYA does anything it trims down store content, there will be a lot fewer apps, no AAA titles, no triple AAA DLC, no movies, no tv shows, seems to me that alone is helping the situation.
A lot of you don't seem to understand who OUYA is targeted at. OUYA is not for people that can and want to spend $1000 on a PC gaming rig. It's for people that want something cheap. Bringing something in the $200-$300 range and you are entering next gen console territory, now you are not talking indie developers you are talking about needing funding for AAA titles. You can't bring something like that to market unless you are a big player.
This is very easily going to cost them less than $100
You can grind out controllers for $5. (heres one for $3 http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/543814771/2012_new_hot_good_usb_game.html)
The processor is $25 (http://news.softpedia.com/news/Nvidia-Tegra-3-Costs-Between-15-25-11-3-to-18-9-Says-Company-236695. shtml)
RAM is $1 (link to 4gig ddr2 if you buy 5000:http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/465823438/39M5791_ddr2_4_GB_tested_pc2700.html?s=p)
What's the board, bluetooth,wifi, and ports? $10 max. (heres a link to an entire kinect knock off :http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/563927145/Hot_iMove_video_game_console_TV.html for $25) It's safe to say this console might be costing them $60 - $70 shipped.
THE BITCH ABOUT NO GAMES!
Orly. Well first off it plays Android games already there is a touch pad built in to the controller and many android games have controller support. Second double Fine has said they will support it and Wasteland 2 inexile owner is an investor so you can bet with wasteland 2 being based off unity it will be a launch title, and you can bet with shadowrun return heirbrained schemes supporting the console that its a strong likely hood of seeing a port.
The people involved with OUYA could never run off with the cash. They would never work in the industry again. Besides $4 million isn't enough for high seven figure executives to tank their careers.
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Re: No reason to be skeptical the entire thing is grounded in reality
Take most of those figures and times them by 1/4 and that is probably more true manufacturing pricing (or LOTS LESS).
The rest of your opinion I absolutely agree with, though I might add that this will compete with the 'big three' especially with the next gen stuff both Sony and Microsoft are considering and how they use their networks to download mini-games.
Personally I think a new gaming system, which lets be honest this has the unlimited potential to become a LOT more than just a gaming system, is well overdue. I'd be surprised if 'Smart' TV manufacturers don't even OEM this to include in their hardware. now that would cause MS and Sony to sit up and scream petulant murder ;)
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Re: No reason to be skeptical the entire thing is grounded in reality
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Four buttons - YES, NO, HELLO, and GOODBYE
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I wouldn't mind some pretty shinny lights on the front of it either.
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"Takes The World By Storm"
It would "take the world by storm" ONLY WHEN IT SELLS MILLIONS.
Creating hype isn't a reason.
Please maintain the quality of techdirt writing by avoiding hyperbole!
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Re: "Takes The World By Storm"
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This has potential to be simply epic.
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Ouya Community
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