4 ms·

Nice, but does it have the cojones to keep up with Microsoft and Sony? Doubtful. I think this will be a niche console for geeks, because of one reason: Content

by kunai 14y ago

Nice, but does it have the cojones to keep up with Microsoft and Sony? Doubtful. I think this will be a niche console for geeks, because of one reason: Content. It's a vicious cycle. With no content, customers won't want it, and with no customers, content creators won't create any games or apps for it. Still, it looks very promising, I'm just unsure if developers will get content onto this thing.

tudorizer 14y ago
Your comment kinda has the answer in it: it's a niche. It doesn't have to fight with the likings of M$, Sony or Nintendo. If the they manage to find a "blue ocean", somewhere between the big boys, they are all set. There should be tons of not so casual players out there, that enjoy creative and witty games, e.g. most of these Indie games with a wow-factor.
jdoliner 14y ago
One obvious way to help jump start this process is making it easy to bring games over from android phones. These won't be nice HD games but they may spark some interest. Also it may appeal to those who buy playstations and xboxes primarily as media centers but also want to do some light gaming. I'm rooting for it but you're right about the main challenges. Let's hope they can solve them.
- nextparadigms 14y ago
  Most games should be fine in 720p on Tegra 3. Still wish they used a more powerful chip for a mid-2013 public launch, though. But maybe they can catch-up for version 2.
orangethirty 14y ago
One game: Minecraft. Its already on Android. The port would not be hard to do (if any). This platform will grow like crazy, because the tools are open source, and Android is a very strong brand.
- wlesieutre 14y ago
  Notch: "See, the problem with Minecraft for the Ouya is that it's android, and our android version of Minecraft isn't exactly that super great." They've been working on it, but it still doesn't compare well to the PC version, or even the Xbox release. People are willing to accept a bit of a gimped version of their phone, because it's running on their phone. On a console (even one that costs less than a phone did) I think they'll have some trouble overcoming that. It could happen, but a proper version of Minecraft for Ouya would take some effort. If they get enough adoption for Mojang to bother, that could be the tipping point that pushes it to popularity. https://twitter.com/notch/status/223475074425036800 https://twitter.com/notch/status/223475074425036800
  - shaurz 14y ago
    Not to mention that the Xbox 360 already has a very good and popular port of Minecraft.
  - nextparadigms 14y ago
    That's surprising. Wasn't Minecraft made in Java? You'd think the Android version would work best (after the PC one of course). Sounds to me like they just didn't care that much about the Android version.
    - alayne 14y ago
      Desktop CPUs are something like 10 times faster than the typical ARM mobile CPU. Plus a desktop would run the higher optimized JVM instead of Dalvik. I'm sure it is challenging to get Minecraft to run at a playable level of performance on mobile hardware, let alone drive HD resolutions.
      - daeken 14y ago
        > I'm sure it is challenging to get Minecraft to run at a playable level of performance on mobile hardware, let alone drive HD resolutions. While there's a lot of Minecraft that's certainly CPU-bound, rendering at higher resolutions has next to nothing to do with CPU speed. The bulk of your rendering work is done by the GPU, and the GPU in Ouya is more than capable of rendering Minecraft at HD resolutions.
wlesieutre 14y ago
On the other hand, developing for this is a lot cheaper than the PS3 and 360. Much of its software is going to be ports of Android phone games, so developer adoption isn't the huge hurdle that it's been on other new ecosystems. The mobile appstores are so saturated that it's impossible to get noticed, at least at the start that will make Ouya attractive to developers even if it has a smaller customer base.
- kunai 14y ago
  But most of the Android games are optimized for mobile and touch. It's like having a 400K sportscar with a 55mph speed limiter. The capability is there, but then there's nothing that really takes advantage of it. What value would developers find in porting their games to the Ouya? Not much, I suppose, unless there's a saturated market. Companies like Rovio and the guys who made Temple Run can afford it, but the small-time devs like Andreas Illiger may not see much of a market with the Ouya. Don't get me wrong, I would buy one of these anyway, but I just hope to see some developers hop onto it, which seems unlikely at this point.
  - nextparadigms 14y ago
    I think there are quite a lot of those games that have virtual buttons on top, and those can be easily ported to the console. Many of them are RPG's or MMORPG's, which use the same free-2-play model OUYA is interested in, and are actually some of the top grossing games on Android.
  - wlesieutre 14y ago
    The ones that really depend on touch wouldn't work well, but there are plenty (especially shooters and RPGs) that try to duplicate twin-stick controls on to a touchscreen. Those are the games that will make sense to port. IIRC the controller has a touchpad (not a touchscreen) in the middle, but I have no idea what anyone's going to do with it.
- Jabbles 14y ago
  How is the "app store" going to be managed? Curated? I assume it's not just Google Play? Is Amazon involved? Discovery will play a massive part in the success of games, and therefore of the whole platform.
DanBC 14y ago
It could be used for emulation, which means there's plenty of content available.
tluyben2 14y ago
I think you are right and it's not a big problem; there are enough geeks who do not get excited by the latest non-gameplay-but-great-graphics-fps (I rather play something like http://www.anodynegame.com/ http://www.anodynegame.com/ any day). If that's enough mass to continue this console is the question. For geeks this thing is great; it looks good, it is small and cheap. I bought it via Kickstarter and I'll buy a few more, just to play with and make games on.
- seagaia 14y ago
  Hey I made that game! My friend posted this link. cool. glad you like it. (if anyone wants to try it, there's a demo at that website!)

by kunai 14y ago

tudorizer 14y ago

Your comment kinda has the answer in it: it's a niche. It doesn't have to fight with the likings of M$, Sony or Nintendo. If the they manage to find a "blue ocean", somewhere between the big boys, they are all set. There should be tons of not so casual players out there, that enjoy creative and witty games, e.g. most of these Indie games with a wow-factor.

jdoliner 14y ago

One obvious way to help jump start this process is making it easy to bring games over from android phones. These won't be nice HD games but they may spark some interest. Also it may appeal to those who buy playstations and xboxes primarily as media centers but also want to do some light gaming. I'm rooting for it but you're right about the main challenges. Let's hope they can solve them.

nextparadigms 14y ago
Most games should be fine in 720p on Tegra 3. Still wish they used a more powerful chip for a mid-2013 public launch, though. But maybe they can catch-up for version 2.

orangethirty 14y ago

One game: Minecraft. Its already on Android. The port would not be hard to do (if any). This platform will grow like crazy, because the tools are open source, and Android is a very strong brand.

wlesieutre 14y ago
Notch: "See, the problem with Minecraft for the Ouya is that it's android, and our android version of Minecraft isn't exactly that super great." They've been working on it, but it still doesn't compare well to the PC version, or even the Xbox release. People are willing to accept a bit of a gimped version of their phone, because it's running on their phone. On a console (even one that costs less than a phone did) I think they'll have some trouble overcoming that. It could happen, but a proper version of Minecraft for Ouya would take some effort. If they get enough adoption for Mojang to bother, that could be the tipping point that pushes it to popularity. https://twitter.com/notch/status/223475074425036800 https://twitter.com/notch/status/223475074425036800
- shaurz 14y ago
  Not to mention that the Xbox 360 already has a very good and popular port of Minecraft.
- nextparadigms 14y ago
  That's surprising. Wasn't Minecraft made in Java? You'd think the Android version would work best (after the PC one of course). Sounds to me like they just didn't care that much about the Android version.
  - alayne 14y ago
    Desktop CPUs are something like 10 times faster than the typical ARM mobile CPU. Plus a desktop would run the higher optimized JVM instead of Dalvik. I'm sure it is challenging to get Minecraft to run at a playable level of performance on mobile hardware, let alone drive HD resolutions.
    - daeken 14y ago
      > I'm sure it is challenging to get Minecraft to run at a playable level of performance on mobile hardware, let alone drive HD resolutions. While there's a lot of Minecraft that's certainly CPU-bound, rendering at higher resolutions has next to nothing to do with CPU speed. The bulk of your rendering work is done by the GPU, and the GPU in Ouya is more than capable of rendering Minecraft at HD resolutions.

wlesieutre 14y ago

On the other hand, developing for this is a lot cheaper than the PS3 and 360. Much of its software is going to be ports of Android phone games, so developer adoption isn't the huge hurdle that it's been on other new ecosystems. The mobile appstores are so saturated that it's impossible to get noticed, at least at the start that will make Ouya attractive to developers even if it has a smaller customer base.

kunai 14y ago
But most of the Android games are optimized for mobile and touch. It's like having a 400K sportscar with a 55mph speed limiter. The capability is there, but then there's nothing that really takes advantage of it. What value would developers find in porting their games to the Ouya? Not much, I suppose, unless there's a saturated market. Companies like Rovio and the guys who made Temple Run can afford it, but the small-time devs like Andreas Illiger may not see much of a market with the Ouya. Don't get me wrong, I would buy one of these anyway, but I just hope to see some developers hop onto it, which seems unlikely at this point.
- nextparadigms 14y ago
  I think there are quite a lot of those games that have virtual buttons on top, and those can be easily ported to the console. Many of them are RPG's or MMORPG's, which use the same free-2-play model OUYA is interested in, and are actually some of the top grossing games on Android.
- wlesieutre 14y ago
  The ones that really depend on touch wouldn't work well, but there are plenty (especially shooters and RPGs) that try to duplicate twin-stick controls on to a touchscreen. Those are the games that will make sense to port. IIRC the controller has a touchpad (not a touchscreen) in the middle, but I have no idea what anyone's going to do with it.
Jabbles 14y ago
How is the "app store" going to be managed? Curated? I assume it's not just Google Play? Is Amazon involved? Discovery will play a massive part in the success of games, and therefore of the whole platform.

DanBC 14y ago

It could be used for emulation, which means there's plenty of content available.

tluyben2 14y ago

I think you are right and it's not a big problem; there are enough geeks who do not get excited by the latest non-gameplay-but-great-graphics-fps (I rather play something like http://www.anodynegame.com/ http://www.anodynegame.com/ any day). If that's enough mass to continue this console is the question. For geeks this thing is great; it looks good, it is small and cheap. I bought it via Kickstarter and I'll buy a few more, just to play with and make games on.

seagaia 14y ago
Hey I made that game! My friend posted this link. cool. glad you like it. (if anyone wants to try it, there's a demo at that website!)