While everyone seems to be commenting on the impact this will have on hardware manufacturers, I'm more excited about the impact this will have on the big software distributors. I would love to see a disruption to the likes of EA.<p>The console video gaming world has become, mostly, stagnant; full of sequels upon sequels. Current games are chocked full of DRM for overplayed, non-innovative titles. The market has become less about making great games that people love, and more about making executives money. It's terribly depressing and is directly responsible for me stopping my, over 25 year, love of gaming.<p>I, along with others, have doubts about the platform. However, I would absolutely love to see it affect some change in what the video gaming market has mostly become. I would love to see more independent developers making lots of money and pumping out cool, fun to play, games on a system that is accessible beyond the PC.
Android is giving me hope for the future of general purpose computing.<p>With the nexus 7 finally bringing a non-sucky open tablet to market, and Ouya proving that users and developers want open (Or at the very least that open products have a chance in the market.), I'm feeling more comfortable with a technology landscape full of tablets, smartphones and purpose specific devices like gaming consoles.
47126 Ouya<p>7755 Ouya + Controller<p>2500 Ouya + 2 Controllers<p>826 Ouya Dev Kits<p>By April 2013. Good luck guys~<p>It's interesting to note some figures; if you assume $50 US per ouya that's $2,910,350 or 33% of the collected costs to make the hardware; double that to a guess of $100 per unit and you looking at ~68% of the collected Kickstarter.<p>Realistically the hardware is probably relatively cheap to manufacture in bulk, and it'll probably end up towards the $50 rather than $100 mark, especially if they decide not to upgrade to newly released hardware.<p>Just interesting numbers.
$8,580,682 (from 63,277 backers) - keep perspective guys. 60k - That's like one week of sales of one of the consoles in Japan only. And those aren't even pushed units numbers. Not to mention amount of money that rolls in the likes of EA titles. It's all nice and all, but nowhere near disruptive word.
What we can take away from this, and i hope the major console makers do this as well is, that many people (especially developers of course) want a more open and friendly console market. This basically embodies what the rumours wanted Valve to do with their own pc-based console.
Very impressive! If I were Google, I'd buy the company immediately. With Google's backing, they could go into production with more speed, maybe even using the Nexus Q's USA-based manufacturer. I think once they've release the first Ouya, Google should start working on putting in more Google TV and Nexus Q features.
Some people are concerned about the hardware, whether or not the specs will start to get outdated when the product finally ships (Q1/Q2 2013).<p>Another point is the openness, it being so open for not only software hacks but also hardware hacks, will it also produce a lot of cheaters in online multiplayer games?<p>I pledged, and personally, I can't wait to get my hands on it! I think the media player capabilities and Android compatibility will make the product succeed anyhow. Certainly, the campaign (904% of Kickstarter goal) already has.
While I backed this project and think its sorely needed to allow software developers access to the console platforms, I think the design of the controller was rather disappointing. I figured if they were going to create a new hardware platform it would have a more revolutionary form factor.<p>The controller hasn't changed since the mid-1980s. Almost all the game console makers make the same damned controllers with exception to the Wii there's been almost no innovation.<p>It's about time to rethink the standard controller design. I'm not talking about game-specific controllers, like the gun or joystick. I think there needs to be something more attached to actual human body movements.<p>I know this project was about an open game console, but I think this creates the opportunity for innovation in hardware accessories (i.e. the controller). I think we could do a lot better than the same old formula:<p>Up+Down+Left+Right A+B+X+Y R1+R2+L1+L2 Select+Start (ALL BUTTONS)
Hmmm...I think this probably will make it to completion, but not on their aggressive timeline. Prove me wrong Ouya!<p>Also, not sure how many Ouya-specific games will make it out, but it should be great for emulation and media streaming.
So what would happen if they simply walked away with the money? Or put a million or so into a show of good-faith effort and walked away with the rest? Is there any recourse for the backers?
I am really excited about Ouya. It has the potential to become a game changing (pun intended) product. I hope they can live up to all the buzz they have generated.
This kind of money is clearly a message the world needs a product like this. Hopefully existing players (Sony, M$) will think about it a bit. I hate the fact that my PS3 is still considered the latest generation of consoles and is now more than 5 years old.