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The key he is missing is Android. The huge big advantage of the OUYA is that it leverages the Android ecosystem. As a game developer myself, we were already dev

The key he is missing is Android. The huge big advantage of the OUYA is that it leverages the Android ecosystem. As a game developer myself, we were already developing OUYA ready games before the OUYA existed. Many (most?) games in the Play Store right now are already ready for the OUYA (gamepad support, freemium, 10 feet experience) or close to it. Which are a great good practice for developers to be following on Android anyway. And now the OUYA is an additional encouragement. I agree with the author that the OUYA is not the future of gaming. Android is the future of gaming, the OUYA is just a tiny piece of the whole puzzle. There will be plenty of competition in the Android gaming-focused set top box in the next few years. The OUYA is just the first one. Maybe the OUYA itself will fail and lose ground to the competition. I don't know, nor do I care. It doesn't matter. What matters is that in the end of today it will have helped drive the Android ecosystem forward. The OUYA sends a clear message to the incumbent. Even if the OUYA dies because it couldn't outsell the new sony/samsung/whatever Android gaming boxes. It still succeeded on a game developer's point of view. Because the OUYA ever existed. More developers will be making their games compatible with consoles. More OEMs will be building Android gaming devices of different formats. Both game developers and gamers win. He's right, the OUYA is just a so-so box without much special by itself. But it doesn't make sense to look to the OUYA by itself. Almost no one would've backed the OUYA if it was just a new platform never seen before. But it's not. The OUYA is just a detail that shows a clear trend that was not as obvious before (though many of us were saying this for years). Which is that Android is the gaming platform of the future.

hazzen 14y ago
Author here. I've updated my post to include some words on the current Android games market and how none of it maps to the Ouya. Simply, a game written for a 4.5" diagonal phone screen will not scale down to the 2-3" diagonal touchpad on the controller and then back up to the 52" diagonal of a TV. You have lost too much fidelity in the process; the game will feel wrong if it even works at all. As for Android being the future of gaming - I don't believe it. Why might a motley collection of devices with disparate specs upend a highly focused and adaptable juggernaut, besides it making a great story? This won't kill the current gaming juggernauts anymore than streaming content killed television ones.
- slantyyz 14y ago
  >> Why might a motley collection of devices with disparate specs upend a highly focused and adaptable juggernaut Isn't that what gaming PCs are?
  - angersock 14y ago
    Indeed, that's what ultimately dethroned Apple in the personal desktop computer business: lots of developer support/embracing and bargain-bin hardware.
- angersock 14y ago
  You already did a hack job comparing architectures ( kevingadd hits this point first, so I won't elaborate too much). It's unfortunate too--you probably could've made a strong case that, for example, the six hardware threads on the 360's Xenon may exceed the performance of the Cortex chipset in the Ouya. As far as mapping issues, if you are referring to direct porting of mobile games, you may well be wrong again. If the game uses vector art, it seems reasonable that that will scale, and then all you worry about is the control scheme being tolerant enough to work. If you allow for any porting effort at all, I imagine that developers will have no trouble getting the touchpad to work well enough. As far as your analysis about why people might not prefer this to the XBLA/XBLIG or similar venue--consider the issues involved in getting updates pushed out to Fez, and what happened there. Consider also the ease of developing with such cheap devkits (consider what it costs for developing on a PS3 or 360, in earnest!), and that Android devs can target a fixed hardware target and optimize for it. You can't put enough value on saying "Fuck it, we target 4.0 on Ouya, with this hardware, screw the rest." The launch hardware count, additionally, may or may not be increased in supply depending on how their logistics pan out. I don't think you're even remotely fair in your criticism there. Frankly, you seem to be full of shit. Enjoy your 15 minutes.
- MichaelJW 14y ago
  I think you misunderstand vibrunazo's point about some games being "Ouya ready". You can already plug an Android into a TV and connect it to a controller, so some games already offer proper, non-touch gamepad support, designed to work on a big screen. Here's a video of Sonic 4 Episode 2 that demonstrates this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fUP6mh3aOg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fUP6mh3aOg Plus, touchscreen games don't all require you to tap specific points on the screen (as in your Reversi example). Look at Temple Run: you duck and jump by swiping down or up, from anywhere on the screen, rather than tapping on-screen Duck and Jump buttons.
jcromartie 14y ago
> Android is the future of gaming This is a pretty big statement. I don't see Android gaming taking any sizable chunk out of PlayStation/Xbox/Wii, or iOS gaming for that matter. I see Android gaming doing fine on Android and among smartphones in general.

hazzen 14y ago

Author here. I've updated my post to include some words on the current Android games market and how none of it maps to the Ouya. Simply, a game written for a 4.5" diagonal phone screen will not scale down to the 2-3" diagonal touchpad on the controller and then back up to the 52" diagonal of a TV. You have lost too much fidelity in the process; the game will feel wrong if it even works at all. As for Android being the future of gaming - I don't believe it. Why might a motley collection of devices with disparate specs upend a highly focused and adaptable juggernaut, besides it making a great story? This won't kill the current gaming juggernauts anymore than streaming content killed television ones.

slantyyz 14y ago
>> Why might a motley collection of devices with disparate specs upend a highly focused and adaptable juggernaut Isn't that what gaming PCs are?
- angersock 14y ago
  Indeed, that's what ultimately dethroned Apple in the personal desktop computer business: lots of developer support/embracing and bargain-bin hardware.
angersock 14y ago
You already did a hack job comparing architectures ( kevingadd hits this point first, so I won't elaborate too much). It's unfortunate too--you probably could've made a strong case that, for example, the six hardware threads on the 360's Xenon may exceed the performance of the Cortex chipset in the Ouya. As far as mapping issues, if you are referring to direct porting of mobile games, you may well be wrong again. If the game uses vector art, it seems reasonable that that will scale, and then all you worry about is the control scheme being tolerant enough to work. If you allow for any porting effort at all, I imagine that developers will have no trouble getting the touchpad to work well enough. As far as your analysis about why people might not prefer this to the XBLA/XBLIG or similar venue--consider the issues involved in getting updates pushed out to Fez, and what happened there. Consider also the ease of developing with such cheap devkits (consider what it costs for developing on a PS3 or 360, in earnest!), and that Android devs can target a fixed hardware target and optimize for it. You can't put enough value on saying "Fuck it, we target 4.0 on Ouya, with this hardware, screw the rest." The launch hardware count, additionally, may or may not be increased in supply depending on how their logistics pan out. I don't think you're even remotely fair in your criticism there. Frankly, you seem to be full of shit. Enjoy your 15 minutes.
MichaelJW 14y ago
I think you misunderstand vibrunazo's point about some games being "Ouya ready". You can already plug an Android into a TV and connect it to a controller, so some games already offer proper, non-touch gamepad support, designed to work on a big screen. Here's a video of Sonic 4 Episode 2 that demonstrates this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fUP6mh3aOg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fUP6mh3aOg Plus, touchscreen games don't all require you to tap specific points on the screen (as in your Reversi example). Look at Temple Run: you duck and jump by swiping down or up, from anywhere on the screen, rather than tapping on-screen Duck and Jump buttons.

jcromartie 14y ago

> Android is the future of gaming This is a pretty big statement. I don't see Android gaming taking any sizable chunk out of PlayStation/Xbox/Wii, or iOS gaming for that matter. I see Android gaming doing fine on Android and among smartphones in general.