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The problem with calling it the perfect "party gaming" console is that it completely doesn't work for that when "it took me almost an hour to update the firmwar

by lhnz 12y ago

The problem with calling it the perfect "party gaming" console is that it completely doesn't work for that when "it took me almost an hour to update the firmware and configure the 4 controllers." I'm not saying that to hurt OUYA, I'm just saying that if they want to find this niche they should focus some effort on fixing that. Edit: I'm not implying that other consoles are better fitted to this. I'm implying that engineering a console so that setup time is always fast even when you've not touched it for weeks could be a valuable feature in the "party gaming" market.

Davertron 12y ago
It's not like you have to update it/configure controllers every time you turn it on. My Xbox often has to update prior to me being able to use it if I haven't played it for awhile too.
Xylakant 12y ago
Well, if I let my PS3 in the box for about a year and then try to play a quick round of some casual game downloaded from the store, I'll have to go through the same ordeal. If it's used daily, then not. It's a function of how often you use your console.
- nkozyra 12y ago
  I don't think anyone would argue the PS3 is the perfect party console, either. I bought the PS3 and Wii around the same time and obviously the "party console" prize went to the latter - particularly early on it seemed like every third time I put a game in there was 15 minutes of firmware and software updates.
  - Xylakant 12y ago
    It's not like the Wii never needed any firmware updates either.
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
    - nkozyra 12y ago
      Well I certainly didn't say that. But they were less frequent than the PS3 and generally much smaller/faster.
    - Pxtl 12y ago
      Doesn't the Wii let you postpone firmware updates unless you're trying to play a game/app that demands firmware version X?
      - vonmoltke 12y ago
        Yes. I don't think I have ever been required to install an update, with the exception of the one a couple years ago when Nintendo EOLed some of the default channels.
      - evan_ 12y ago
        And iirc they shipped the upgrade on their tent pole first-party games so even if you didn't have your wii hooked up to the internet you could still take advantage of the updates.
    - thomaslangston 12y ago
      I seem to remember that it downloaded (and maybe installed) some of these while the box was in standby mode, so rarely did I have to install one while waiting to play.
  - srs0001 12y ago
    Slightly off-topic, but if you're looking for a good party console I'd recommend a GameCube. You can buy a used one and a few controllers for about $100. There are a ton of great local multiplayer games: Smash Bros, F-Zero, Def Jam, Mario Kart, Blitz 20-02. Plus, no need for updates.
    - soapdog 12y ago
      I got my gamecube with two controllers for $20 at Electronic Boutique... recommend+++ :D $20 folks! There is no arguing there. I play my OUYA more than the GC but they are the two consoles I like the most and I have a ps3....
    - mpyne 12y ago
      I can confirm this recommendation. When I bought my Gamecube a decade+ ago I figured it would eventually get donated or sold off as I continued on the console upgrade treadmill. But everything that has come along since has had the glaring problems noted in this thread, such that I still have my Gamecube, the controllers, games, etc. It always works, when I need it to work. Now if only Perfect Dark had been released for it...
    - ZeroGravitas 12y ago
      Earlier model Wii's also have backwards compatability with Gamecube, so all you need is the games and controllers if you already have one of those. Not sure if that's going to see many more updates. Though not a party game as such I'd recommend buying Jungle Beat and a pair of bongo controllers if you do go down the Gamecube route.
    - prawks 12y ago
      Plus, Gamecube controllers are very well designed, especially for people with smaller hands.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
eloisant 12y ago
To be honest the Wii U launch day update was pretty bad. It took much more than one hour, and you'd brick your console if you powered it off thinking it was "stuck" during the update.
wfjackson 12y ago
He compares it only to the PlayStations but in my experience the Kinect with an Xbox makes it a pretty good party console. One day at work, we had everyone including 60+ year old women who never played a video game have fun with some of the Kinect motion games. I can't imagine the learning curve for them to even press a couple of buttons on a controller. The updates take long on any console though, so I wouldn't blame the Ouya, especially with its weak controller. The biggest problem Ouya has now is that it's competing with Xbox360 and the PS3 on price. You can used ones for around $100 to $150 and they have vast libraries of games.
Tloewald 12y ago
My PS3 is kept up-to-date and despite this my typical experience launching a game I haven't played in a while or installing a new game is 30m-2h of patching with comically uninformative progress bars. I don't know if the XBox 360 would have the same problem if I bothered to hook it up to the internet. Frequently installing a new game requires a lengthy patch to the OS, but I don't get over-the-air updates so overall my XBox 360 experience is better.
baby 12y ago
This is a huge problem with new consoles I find. I don't remember having to update my N64 every time I wanted to play it. But my PS3? Every time I want to play I have to spend like 30 minutes in downloading and installing an update. Every single time. I don't play that often but still do play from times to times and I haven't had a clean launch for years.
- rexf 12y ago
  I have the same problem with my gaming PC. When I boot it up, I have numerous updates for Windows, Steam, games, etc.
  - awj 12y ago
    Sure, but that's been true of PCs for ages. We're all used to the idea that PCs need to be updated. To me one of the advantages to consoles was that they could pick up and play at any moment.
    - TylerE 12y ago
      At least with my PS4, I've never been forced to download/install an update, either game or OS. You simply can't use online features if you aren't up to date.
  - wlesieutre 12y ago
    But how often do you not turn your PC on for a month? That's much more common with consoles. Steam is running all the time when my computer is on (and I use my computer every day), and games just keep themselves up to date. For a given game that I'm trying to play, there's maybe a 15 minute period every couple of months when I wouldn't be able to launch it immediately. The Windows updates aren't required in order to play games, and they can just be delayed until the next time you're restarting. Not a huge deal there.
    - Argorak 12y ago
      Very often. I don't have a regular gaming habit, that applies to both my gaming enviroment (strictly speaking, the Windows side of my mac) and my console. For the console, btw.: all of them support nightly updates, so I rarely have the problem there.
fit2rule 12y ago
It probably only took 1 hour to do it because he hadn't been doing updates in months and months .. I'm sure if the system was in solid, regulary (say: weekly) use then it wouldn't have been such an issue ..
rocky1138 12y ago
It's worth noting that the most recent update includes the ability to skip a firmware update if you only want to play the games already on your system. While this might not have helped him here (his firmware sounded really old), they've already taken this sort of annoyance into account, and so at future get-togethers, even if there's an update, you'll just be able to go and play.

by lhnz 12y ago

Davertron 12y ago

It's not like you have to update it/configure controllers every time you turn it on. My Xbox often has to update prior to me being able to use it if I haven't played it for awhile too.

Xylakant 12y ago

Well, if I let my PS3 in the box for about a year and then try to play a quick round of some casual game downloaded from the store, I'll have to go through the same ordeal. If it's used daily, then not. It's a function of how often you use your console.

nkozyra 12y ago
I don't think anyone would argue the PS3 is the perfect party console, either. I bought the PS3 and Wii around the same time and obviously the "party console" prize went to the latter - particularly early on it seemed like every third time I put a game in there was 15 minutes of firmware and software updates.
- Xylakant 12y ago
  It's not like the Wii never needed any firmware updates either.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - nkozyra 12y ago
    Well I certainly didn't say that. But they were less frequent than the PS3 and generally much smaller/faster.
  - Pxtl 12y ago
    Doesn't the Wii let you postpone firmware updates unless you're trying to play a game/app that demands firmware version X?
    - vonmoltke 12y ago
      Yes. I don't think I have ever been required to install an update, with the exception of the one a couple years ago when Nintendo EOLed some of the default channels.
    - evan_ 12y ago
      And iirc they shipped the upgrade on their tent pole first-party games so even if you didn't have your wii hooked up to the internet you could still take advantage of the updates.
  - thomaslangston 12y ago
    I seem to remember that it downloaded (and maybe installed) some of these while the box was in standby mode, so rarely did I have to install one while waiting to play.
- srs0001 12y ago
  Slightly off-topic, but if you're looking for a good party console I'd recommend a GameCube. You can buy a used one and a few controllers for about $100. There are a ton of great local multiplayer games: Smash Bros, F-Zero, Def Jam, Mario Kart, Blitz 20-02. Plus, no need for updates.
  - soapdog 12y ago
    I got my gamecube with two controllers for $20 at Electronic Boutique... recommend+++ :D $20 folks! There is no arguing there. I play my OUYA more than the GC but they are the two consoles I like the most and I have a ps3....
  - mpyne 12y ago
    I can confirm this recommendation. When I bought my Gamecube a decade+ ago I figured it would eventually get donated or sold off as I continued on the console upgrade treadmill. But everything that has come along since has had the glaring problems noted in this thread, such that I still have my Gamecube, the controllers, games, etc. It always works, when I need it to work. Now if only Perfect Dark had been released for it...
  - ZeroGravitas 12y ago
    Earlier model Wii's also have backwards compatability with Gamecube, so all you need is the games and controllers if you already have one of those. Not sure if that's going to see many more updates. Though not a party game as such I'd recommend buying Jungle Beat and a pair of bongo controllers if you do go down the Gamecube route.
  - prawks 12y ago
    Plus, Gamecube controllers are very well designed, especially for people with smaller hands.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

eloisant 12y ago

To be honest the Wii U launch day update was pretty bad. It took much more than one hour, and you'd brick your console if you powered it off thinking it was "stuck" during the update.

wfjackson 12y ago

He compares it only to the PlayStations but in my experience the Kinect with an Xbox makes it a pretty good party console. One day at work, we had everyone including 60+ year old women who never played a video game have fun with some of the Kinect motion games. I can't imagine the learning curve for them to even press a couple of buttons on a controller. The updates take long on any console though, so I wouldn't blame the Ouya, especially with its weak controller. The biggest problem Ouya has now is that it's competing with Xbox360 and the PS3 on price. You can used ones for around $100 to $150 and they have vast libraries of games.

Tloewald 12y ago

My PS3 is kept up-to-date and despite this my typical experience launching a game I haven't played in a while or installing a new game is 30m-2h of patching with comically uninformative progress bars. I don't know if the XBox 360 would have the same problem if I bothered to hook it up to the internet. Frequently installing a new game requires a lengthy patch to the OS, but I don't get over-the-air updates so overall my XBox 360 experience is better.

baby 12y ago

This is a huge problem with new consoles I find. I don't remember having to update my N64 every time I wanted to play it. But my PS3? Every time I want to play I have to spend like 30 minutes in downloading and installing an update. Every single time. I don't play that often but still do play from times to times and I haven't had a clean launch for years.

rexf 12y ago
I have the same problem with my gaming PC. When I boot it up, I have numerous updates for Windows, Steam, games, etc.
- awj 12y ago
  Sure, but that's been true of PCs for ages. We're all used to the idea that PCs need to be updated. To me one of the advantages to consoles was that they could pick up and play at any moment.
  - TylerE 12y ago
    At least with my PS4, I've never been forced to download/install an update, either game or OS. You simply can't use online features if you aren't up to date.
- wlesieutre 12y ago
  But how often do you not turn your PC on for a month? That's much more common with consoles. Steam is running all the time when my computer is on (and I use my computer every day), and games just keep themselves up to date. For a given game that I'm trying to play, there's maybe a 15 minute period every couple of months when I wouldn't be able to launch it immediately. The Windows updates aren't required in order to play games, and they can just be delayed until the next time you're restarting. Not a huge deal there.
  - Argorak 12y ago
    Very often. I don't have a regular gaming habit, that applies to both my gaming enviroment (strictly speaking, the Windows side of my mac) and my console. For the console, btw.: all of them support nightly updates, so I rarely have the problem there.

fit2rule 12y ago

It probably only took 1 hour to do it because he hadn't been doing updates in months and months .. I'm sure if the system was in solid, regulary (say: weekly) use then it wouldn't have been such an issue ..

rocky1138 12y ago

It's worth noting that the most recent update includes the ability to skip a firmware update if you only want to play the games already on your system. While this might not have helped him here (his firmware sounded really old), they've already taken this sort of annoyance into account, and so at future get-togethers, even if there's an update, you'll just be able to go and play.