4 ms·

Open-source Ouya gaming platform killing it on Kickstarter

22 points by msie 14y ago

mindcrime 14y ago
Oh, this is way cool. Not so much because I care about a gaming platform per-se, but because it shows that people care about hackable / open hardware, and that crowdfunding is a viable way to fund development of such hardware. Given the sentiments expressed in articles like "The Coming War on General Purpose Computing"[1] - and the debate over UEFI / Secure Boot - it's very encouraging to see this kind of thing happening. The availability of things like Raspberry Pi[2] is also encouraging on the same front. Here's to the continued development of general purpose computing hardware and open/hackable systems that anyone is free to use as they see fit! [1]: http://boingboing.net/2012/01/10/lockdown.html http://boingboing.net/2012/01/10/lockdown.html [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberry_Pi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberry_Pi
wavephorm 14y ago
we are working on our stretch goals, what we can do if we raise more money. How about instead of moving the goal posts out further, just focus on delivering what was presented in the Kickstarter video.
- bryanlarsen 14y ago
  Agreed. The vast majority of their pledges are for the $95/$99 console. Margins are going to be tight at this price, so even though the gross is pretty high, net is not. They're going to have to be careful with their money and not get distracted by the big numbers.
- mnicole 14y ago
  This is something that bothers me about Kickstarters that raise more than they wanted; they think that it means they'll have the funding to continue to ideate and act on it. Considering the string of blog posts about money disappearing from these projects after all of the payments and fees regarding the service, wages, health insurance and R&D itself are said and done, it's concerning.
  - nooneelse 14y ago
    I've friends doing prep-work on a Kickstarter project, and they are thinking along the lines of any stretch goals being more in the direction of concrete business expansion steps. Such as funding specific trade-show entries and ad buys. To me, I think that seeing that on a Kickstarter page would sound more reassuring. Like the inventors are thinking realistically about the future. But I might be bit biased, so I (and I'm sure they) would welcome thoughts from someone else that is dubious of the usual stretch goals.
    - mnicole 14y ago
      Yeah, I think Penny Arcade has the right idea by letting people know that after the initial goal is met, there are hidden and pre-discovered goals that they are sure they can attain with that extra funding. That foresight is important, so long as they have the experience to know it is plausible.
makmanalp 14y ago
Related kickstarter blog post here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4229926 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4229926
cooldeal 14y ago
Looks like they're doing a 70/30 deal on the games, but if the device is not locked to the App store, the games can simply bypass them and save the 30%. They call it open, so I am guessing that they're not going to lock it down, but that can affect their revenue.
- wmf 14y ago
  Many Android phones allow sideloading, yet virtually all apps are in the store(s) because they need the exposure.
aeurielesn 14y ago
That was US$150,000 for Kickstarter in an evening, right? I just looked it up and it seems to be a 5% share. Frankly, I thought it was less than that. Big figures are really favorable for them then.
- osxwm 14y ago
  Kickstarter as a whole broke it's all time pledges yesterday taking in $3,174,820 [1]. At 5%, and if all pledges pay, Kickstarter took in $158,741. Not all pledges follow through on payment. [1] http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/ouyas-big-day http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/ouyas-big-day
nemo1618 14y ago
Gotta say, I wasn't expecting this result after the opinions expressed in the comments of the original Ouya HN post. Maybe HN just likes to grumble about everything.

22 points by msie 14y ago

Oh, this is way cool. Not so much because I care about a gaming platform per-se, but because it shows that people care about hackable / open hardware, and that crowdfunding is a viable way to fund development of such hardware. Given the sentiments expressed in articles like "The Coming War on General Purpose Computing"[1] - and the debate over UEFI / Secure Boot - it's very encouraging to see this kind of thing happening. The availability of things like Raspberry Pi[2] is also encouraging on the same front. Here's to the continued development of general purpose computing hardware and open/hackable systems that anyone is free to use as they see fit! [1]: http://boingboing.net/2012/01/10/lockdown.html http://boingboing.net/2012/01/10/lockdown.html [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberry_Pi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberry_Pi

wavephorm 14y ago

we are working on our stretch goals, what we can do if we raise more money. How about instead of moving the goal posts out further, just focus on delivering what was presented in the Kickstarter video.

bryanlarsen 14y ago
Agreed. The vast majority of their pledges are for the $95/$99 console. Margins are going to be tight at this price, so even though the gross is pretty high, net is not. They're going to have to be careful with their money and not get distracted by the big numbers.
mnicole 14y ago
This is something that bothers me about Kickstarters that raise more than they wanted; they think that it means they'll have the funding to continue to ideate and act on it. Considering the string of blog posts about money disappearing from these projects after all of the payments and fees regarding the service, wages, health insurance and R&D itself are said and done, it's concerning.
- nooneelse 14y ago
  I've friends doing prep-work on a Kickstarter project, and they are thinking along the lines of any stretch goals being more in the direction of concrete business expansion steps. Such as funding specific trade-show entries and ad buys. To me, I think that seeing that on a Kickstarter page would sound more reassuring. Like the inventors are thinking realistically about the future. But I might be bit biased, so I (and I'm sure they) would welcome thoughts from someone else that is dubious of the usual stretch goals.
  - mnicole 14y ago
    Yeah, I think Penny Arcade has the right idea by letting people know that after the initial goal is met, there are hidden and pre-discovered goals that they are sure they can attain with that extra funding. That foresight is important, so long as they have the experience to know it is plausible.

makmanalp 14y ago

Related kickstarter blog post here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4229926 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4229926

cooldeal 14y ago

Looks like they're doing a 70/30 deal on the games, but if the device is not locked to the App store, the games can simply bypass them and save the 30%. They call it open, so I am guessing that they're not going to lock it down, but that can affect their revenue.

wmf 14y ago
Many Android phones allow sideloading, yet virtually all apps are in the store(s) because they need the exposure.

aeurielesn 14y ago

That was US$150,000 for Kickstarter in an evening, right? I just looked it up and it seems to be a 5% share. Frankly, I thought it was less than that. Big figures are really favorable for them then.

osxwm 14y ago
Kickstarter as a whole broke it's all time pledges yesterday taking in $3,174,820 [1]. At 5%, and if all pledges pay, Kickstarter took in $158,741. Not all pledges follow through on payment. [1] http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/ouyas-big-day http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/ouyas-big-day

nemo1618 14y ago

Gotta say, I wasn't expecting this result after the opinions expressed in the comments of the original Ouya HN post. Maybe HN just likes to grumble about everything.