Who is interested in OUYA?

[WILL]

This is less of a dev talk and more of a general game console it's self topic. Do you want to get one? Make a game for it? Don't know what it is?

Just in general what do you think or are you interested?

[SilverWarior]

I'm interested in trying it out somteime in the future. It is also posible that I'll try to make my games compatible with OUYA athleast those simpler ones. I have big goals :D
But right now my financial situation prevents me from investing anything into new hardware.

[pstudio]

I've got one but haven't started it yet. I've just moved to Slovakia and now I have an old CRT TV so I don't know when I'll be able to use it.
But I do plan on playing with it at some point and maybe make a small game for it.

[Dan]

I personally was put off by the tax forms and I was kind of lost after looking at what they are asking in those forms (the non US one). So if anyone gets through this paperwork and actually manages to publish a game for ouya, please let everyone know how you did it.

[phibermon]

You need some kind of permission to publish for OUYA? oh, well as long as it's a simple enough process. Not sure what the uptake will be on the console but being as it's android I'm assuming very little has to be done to support it if you already support the OS.

Don't have the opportunity to play with it unfortunately, would love to hear peoples experiences however. Anybody else got a Pandora?

[Cybermonkey]

I'm not interested in the OUYA. Not as a developer (don't like that Java-thing) nor as a gamer. As a (retro) gamer I'd rather build my own console based on a Raspberry Pi. It's cheaper and more fun. And Freepascal works natively. 8)
I'm rather sure that's the next gadget I'll buy. (Not to mention that there is a open source RiscOS). And it's much cheaper than a OUYA. If I - on the other hand - would buy a console for AAA gaming it probably would be a PS4 or XBox One.
Sorry, but I don't get that OUYA thing. I could plug my Android tablet into my TV and can play the games from Google Playstore, so why should I buy another Android machine?

[WILL]

I personally was put off by the tax forms and I was kind of lost after looking at what they are asking in those forms (the non US one). So if anyone gets through this paperwork and actually manages to publish a game for ouya, please let everyone know how you did it.

Yeah, I hate tax paperwork too. But even Apple does this and I'm sure everyone else if you want to sell your games. I don't know if OUYA does this as a blanket requirement or not yet. Should find out soon. And I'm Canadian.

[WILL]

You need some kind of permission to publish for OUYA? oh, well as long as it's a simple enough process. Not sure what the uptake will be on the console but being as it's android I'm assuming very little has to be done to support it if you already support the OS.

To publish, yes. Though you could just use it to make games that have a home on console hardware and played whereever you physically bring it yourself. Not as appealing as sharing it with a community of gamers though. It's actually very easy to develop on. Install the USB drivers and you can compile right to it from Oxygene or whatever other development tools you use just like you can with an Android tablet or phone. You can even "sideload" the apk "bundles" as an alternate means of getting your game on the platform for testing.


I'm not interested in the OUYA. Not as a developer (don't like that Java-thing) nor as a gamer.

Java actually isn't that bad anymore. I used to hate it, but seeing how it's used these days I'm much more impressed with what you can do. Especially on the OUYA's Tegra 3!


Sorry, but I don't get that OUYA thing. I could plug my Android tablet into my TV and can play the games from Google Playstore, so why should I buy another Android machine?

Because it's a tablet hooked up to a TV running tablet games on a TV. It's not a game console running console games on it. :)

OUYA isn't just another Android device, it's a game console for indies and gamers who like those games with an intergrated store front. It just uses Android as it's engine.

[WILL]

This probably explains the concept rather well...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgAcJSXEy5M

This was posted in 2012 so quite a bit has changed, but it's a good insight into what the concept is. (and I got a pretty girl to do it too! :D)

[WILL]

Here is a review that's a little bit more up to date...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYCkZzfYUek

[Super Vegeta]

I'm not really interested in consoles, and I am too used to keyboard+mouse controls - playing with a pad is hard for me. I don't think I could make a good use out of an OUYA. Not mentioning that, given the exchange rates, it costs around 1/2 of my monthly wage*, and that's a bit too big of an amount to spend on something that I don't even know if I'll like.

* I mean, for the 2-controllers kit - what's the point if I can't play with anyone else?

[Cybermonkey]

Java actually isn't that bad anymore. I used to hate it, but seeing how it's used these days I'm much more impressed with what you can do. Especially on the OUYA's Tegra 3!


Because it's a tablet hooked up to a TV running tablet games on a TV. It's not a game console running console games on it. :)

OUYA isn't just another Android device, it's a game console for indies and gamers who like those games with an intergrated store front. It just uses Android as it's engine.
But it's still a pain to use Freepascal to compile for Android. Better use an ARM Linux and FPC.
Yes, I know this. But from what I have heard, people trying hard to get the Playstore working on OUYA. ;D
So my tablet has USB ports, I can plug in a keyboard, mouse, joystick whatever and there are apps that I can use them with almost any game. Nevertheless I am more interested in emulators, so a Pi is my No. 1 choice, heck I can even change the operating system if I wish ...

[Super Vegeta]

so aPi is my No. 1 choice, heck I can even change the operating system if I wish ...
Hell, that reminds me I was supposed to look for some Pi-compatible controller and try to write a game for it. That'd be fun. :)

[WILL]

So my tablet has USB ports, I can plug in a keyboard, mouse, joystick whatever and there are apps that I can use them with almost any game.

Your home computer doesn't happen to look like this does it? :)

1193

Seriously though, that sort of rigging just isn't my bag man. I like that I have a commercial grade (low end albeit!) gaming console that I can develop my games on and sell to gamers who love indie games. Google Play is for tablets and phones. The user experience for those doesn't translate to the TV always.

The Pi looks cool, I've seen it before. It's just too hobby-only-ish for what I'd like to do. Fun if you want to build a game console though! (I enjoy playing with electronics as well.)

But it's a totally different concept from what the OUYA is. You kind of have to be interested in video game console development and you'd have to have been the kind of person that has always wanted to get your games on a major console at least a little bit.

[Cybermonkey]

Sure, you are right. But for me the no. 1 indie platform is still the PC. How many (casual) gamers own a PC and how many own a OUYA? Here I have to pay about 130 € for the OUYA and I can get the Wii U for example for 199-230 €. I'm not convinced that there are enough gamers for a lively market. That said, I am more interested in developing computer games. ;)

[Ñuño Martínez]

(...) As a (retro) gamer I'd rather build my own console based on a Raspberry Pi. It's cheaper and more fun. And Freepascal works natively. 8) That sounds nice. Tell us when it starts to work. :)

[Cybermonkey]

That sounds nice. Tell us when it starts to work. :)
No problem. Others did that already: http://lifehacker.com/how-to-turn-your-raspberry-pi-into-a-retro-game-console-498561192

[Cybermonkey]

Seems there will be a new competitor for the OUYA: http://kotaku.com/rumor-amazon-is-making-an-android-console-1075757064
Although only a rumour this can become quite interesting.

[WILL]

Why don't you guys start a Raspberry Pi thread in the Console Development section? I'm sure others will be interested in it too.

Well between nVidia's Shield and the Game Stick, I don't think any of them will have that much of the same impact that the OUYA is and will continue to have. I have an issue with the design of the Game Stick myself (having backed and tested one of these before, with strongly unsatisfactory performance) HDMI dongles are a bad idea!

Other than that, to me the rest just seem like big companies following suit with the huge impact of a crowd funding community raising $8 mil just on the OUYA concept alone. Even Nintendo and Sony have been changing their ways in part due to this, seeing how much response there is from indie games and how it can be profitable to support indie games.

Perhaps these are legit products that are coming out, but I think the OUYA will stand out as something very different. They got the money and the motivated people behind it. Plus it's a nice product overall with only a few shortcomings. I having two of them myself and I've used them quite extensively so I think I know all their major issues. Once they weed out the initial bugs and build it up a bit, I think it will be a very lukrative market for indies to sell their games to those that would enjoy playing them.

[Cybermonkey]

Hm, if you read the comments on http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/08/08/amazon-developing-android-console-for-release-by-end-of-2013.aspx I got the impression that OUYA already failed ...
I am still waiting for a new SEGA console, but that will never happen. :(

[WILL]

Hm, if you read the comments on http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/08/08/amazon-developing-android-console-for-release-by-end-of-2013.aspx I got the impression that OUYA already failed ...

Failed at what? :) They are still up and running and there is now over 350 games on the store. They probably did better than some of Nintendo's worst console attempts. People who are making silly comments like this usually don't know (or think they know) much beyond what they want to believe themselves. Bandwagon riders for the most part. Seek out the facts for yourself and you'll never be fooled.

They are just starting and yes they have angered backers and made many mistakes along the way, but they have been cleaning up their mess and making up for it and they are still continuing to operate and improve the console.

In fact... I got an email from OUYA about a week ago giving me a $13.37 credit on my account to be used towards purchases and this is money out of their pocket, not the developers'. In addition there have been quite a few firmware updates that fix a lot of the core functionality of the console. I suggested to OUYA CEO Julie Urman via Twitter that they should publish a list somewhere of all the planned improvements forthcoming to which I got the response "great idea and yes." She was concerned that people might be upset of overreact if something was late or delayed and asked what I thought they should handle that.

Personally, I like their approach and I think they will be around to crash next year's E3 once again. If not actually be inside the building this time. :)


A new Sega console would be cool and it probably would do well considering the way the nostalgia trend is so popular right now. Plus it might help that there are far more gamers now than back in the 90s when they were in the prime of theory console business. I'm kinda happy that they aren't though. I like that Sonic is cross-platform.

[WILL]

OUYA just announced (via email) that they will be making newer games more prominent on the start-up screen of the console. Also they will be moving the game categories up inside of Discover.

Personally, I still want folders inside of the Play section and sorting options throughout. :)