OUYA - Open Source Games Console

[RubberJonny]

Video from : www.youtube.com

The OUYA is being crowd funded on Kickstarter with the original goal of $950, 000 being destroyed and it is currently at $4.5 million with 26 days to go. The console with one controller will be $99 at launch.

"We don't think the console-makers are dead," Uhrman said in an interview with Kotaku. "We just think it's time to rethink how they do their business. We don't like it when people pay $60 for a game and feel cheated. We don't like it when developers can't work on a platform because it's too expensive."

Enter: Ouya, a fully hackable console with the same Tegra 3 chip as the new Nexus 7 tablet and a twin-stick controller that also includes a touchpad. Enter a system that is being pitched as a platform for both indies and big companies, a console that is fully open to develop for and on which every game will be free either initially as a demo or as a free-to-play game.[/quote

Ouya Specs

Console

• Tegra 3: Quadcore ARM CortexA9 + GPU

• 1 GB LPDDR2 RAM

• 8 GB on-board flash

• HDMI connection to the TV at 1080p HD

• WiFi 802.11bgn

• Bluetooth LE 4.0

• Enclosure opens with standard screws

• No disc drive

Controller

• Wireless controller with 2.4Ghz RF

• Standard game controls (two analog sticks, d-pad, eight action buttons, a system button)

• Touchpad, for porting mobile games more easily

• 2x AA batteries

• Enclosure opens with standard screws 


OS and Software

• Android Jelly Bean

• Custom TV UI

• Integrated custom game store — find and download games (and other apps)

• Includes SDK for game development

• Ability to root device without voiding warranty

Source.

This could turn the gaming world upside down putting the users back in control. I'm certainly sold and have put my money where my mouth is.
If you are interested be sure to check out their Kickstarter page where you can find more information and an FAQ. If you are interested in backing this project there are some cool rewards including an exclusive preorder of the console for a $99 pledge (plus postage).

Peace Out!
Jonny!

[Deadpunk]

Though a good idea for many reasons, I don't think it will work out. Large companies won't develop titles for a platform that isn't already popular enough to compete and not even then if it's too much extra work to program for and not even then if its easy to pirate software on that platform which it is definitely going to be. That leaves indie developers and ports of smartphone games and with that comes the quality control issues that all such schemes have. It will be like an Xbox 360 which only has the arcade available, minus MS's huge resources and the draw of motion detection. That will mean not enough demand to get close to breaking even on manufacturing costs, and this at a time when streaming game services are getting massive investment from the big players (With no hard drive, they are targeting the market which can dl games to the console, so presumably people who could also use streaming).

I'm not saying this is definitely going to be how it pans out and I hope to be proved wrong but the figures are not good for this kind of project.

Hardware-wise, MS lost $4 billion on the Xbox and god knows how much on the 360 and Sony basically lost all the money they made on the PS2 with the PS3. It's impressive that they have raised nearly $5,000,000 dollars but in this arena that is still 3 orders of magnitude less than what the big boys have to put in to compete.

[RubberJonny]

It's not trying to compete they want to be different. Considering the 'hacker generation' we live in it's easy to see why it has so much backing. People like to mess with things and now they can and won't be sued for it. Also the whole streaming games thing is a good point but it still comes back to the same argument - why would anyone have an Xbox when they can have a PC? People like the simplicity, accessibility and affordability consoles offer and with a $99 price tag, a bunch of free games/demos on launch and twitch.tv i can see the OUYA gaining quite a bit of traction and continue to grow from there, albeit relatively slowly.

This may not appeal to the casual gamer but the modders will come out in droves and once they get to work on this thing you wont be able to move for all the articles about the OUYA and the latest mods. The difference you have to understand is with crowd funding people are investing it's not like a petition to save a TV show that ultimately goes unwatched, the majority of the people who have chipped in now will buy this and from there it can only sell more. Even if the Kickstarter caps at around $5 million that gives them enough to throw around to get more titles and apps on there so i'm very optimistic.
The OUYA will not replace the current consoles but it will more than likely find its way into the homes of the many people who do not have a console and it may even sit beside someone's Xbox, PS3 or Wii.

It is not a console they are selling, it is freedom

Peace Out!
Jonny!

[RubberJonny]

We are honored to announce that OUYA is partnering with Square Enix to bring you one of the most beloved franchises in gaming -- Final Fantasy. We will kick this off with Final Fantasy III, which will be a launch title on OUYA. This will be the first time gamers outside of Japan can play FFIII on their televisions through a console.

But that’s not the end of it: We’re promising to deliver Final Fantasy III like you’ve never seen it before – Hironobu Sakaguchi’s third installment in the role playing game franchise will be updated to exploit OUYA’s high-definition resolution in glorious graphic detail. For those of you who are new to Final Fantasy, we’ll offer a free demo so you can give it a go!

Previously unreleased in the U.S. until it appeared as a 3D remake for the Nintendo DS in 2006, Final Fantasy III was widely referred to as one of the “missing pieces” in the FF series. OUYA players can now proudly claim this piece of the puzzle.

Breaking boundaries, bro. Breaking boundaries.

Peace Out!
Jonny!

[RubberJonny]

GAMES, GAMES, GAMES:
I've done a lot of globetrotting lately to talk to developers. Since our last update, I bounced from IndieCade in Southern California, to GDC Online in Austin, Texas, then over to London (via video chat) for DroidconUK!

I’ve met a ton of talented developers who are just as excited about OUYA as you and I. In fact, some of you have recognized me (and, at times, my twin sister) on the street!

LET’S TALK HARDWARE:
We’re still going full-steam ahead. We’ve been refining OUYA’s hardware design (cosmetics, mechanicals, electricals, thermals etc.). We’ve spent most of this time in the design phase, as getting it right up front saves us a lot of redesign and iteration later. We’ve had some of the best engineers and designers take a look at every design element and fine tune it. Our CAD models and SLAs (plastic prototypes that provide us with a physical look and feel of the product) are finished, and we moved out of the design phase and into development a couple of weeks ago.

Last week was a huge milestone for us -- we received our first development run of PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) for the console. This is the heart (and we believe the soul) of the OUYA experience. It’s pretty amazing how our engineers have packed in Quad-Core awesomeness into such an unbelievably small package (any guesses on how small the PCB actually is?). All the hard work in refining the design has paid off in spades -- the first boards came to life without any hitches, and we’re now fine tuning software and hardware performance for graphics, wireless, and user experience! W00t.

We are now in what’s referred to in the industry as the EVT (Engineering Verification Testing) phase.

During the EVT phase, we’ll be testing both the console and the controller with our OUYA software. We'll continue to verify our design and push the performance limits of our software. We’ll go through a couple more EVT build phases, as we weed out issues and refine the design for optimal performance and large-scale manufacturing, before we start cranking out OUYAs.

So, awesome news: we’re set to complete this EVT phase on time, and we’re in sync with our December target for developer kits. Since these dev kits are still in pre-production phase, we’ll build a limited quantity. Each one will be a collector’s item -- unique in design, build and appearance. (So, they’ll look different from the consumer-ready units.)

SO LONG, ICE CREAM SANDWICH:
I’m happy to announce OUYA will run on Android Jelly Bean, the newest version of the Android operating system. We’re making the jump from the old version, Ice Cream Sandwich, to ensure that we’re running on the most up-to-date software available. You asked if it could be done, we looked into it, and we made it happen.

SPEAKING OF DEVELOPER KITS:
If you’re a game developer and you want to start making games for OUYA, our OUYA Software Developer Kit (ODK) is coming soon, but in the meantime, there’s a lot you can do to get started. We've posted some information for developers that should help you prepare for the launch of your new game or app on OUYA.

If you missed the Kickstarter drive, but you’re still interested in an early version of the console that you can use as a Dev Kit, you’re in luck. We’re making a few extra. Please visit http://www.ouya.tv in the near future and order one (we'll let you know when it's available). Of course, they won’t carry the same rewards as the Kickstarter Dev Kits, but you will receive a console, two controllers and early access to test your game on OUYA! These units will start shipping in the new year. Note that these kits will not include the final console user interface or any games, they’re purely for game developers who want to test their games on real OUYA hardware.

[RubberJonny]

Dev Consoles are shipping on time!

Our office OUYA – the latest prototype we’ve been putting through the paces every day (and most nights) as we jam toward shipping you our product.

By December 25, we’ll email each of you a link to activate your account. For those of you who responded to our survey about preferred usernames, you’ll be able to confirm your choice. For the handful of popular names that had conflicts, we broke the tie(s) by honoring whomever backed OUYA first on Kickstarter. And, if any of you didn’t respond—or didn’t get your preferred username—you can choose a name when December 25 rolls around.

Many of you have continued to support us by nominating OUYA for Crunchies Awards in the categories of “Best New Startup” and “Best Hardware Startup” – thank you! If any of the rest of you would like to join in on the action, you can nominate OUYA right now!

Peace!

[RubberJonny]

A couple weeks ago, with our friends at Kill Screen, we launched a 10-day “game jam” called CREATE that challenged teams to make game prototypes for OUYA. We’re writing to all of you today so we can share the 166 entries. You can check them all out here.

We’ve selected a crack team of industry pros to pick the winners, like Phil Fish of Fez, Felicia Day of The Guild, and more. They'll choose from a variety of compelling game prototypes. We're seeing dungeon crawlers, action RPGs, brawlers, 4-player shooters, TCGs, platformers, word games, puzzlers and some other cool stuff ya just can’t put in a category.

If this is what OUYA developers can do in 10 days, imagine what they can do once OUYA is out in the wild...

Taking it one day at a time,
Julie

Oh, and P.S. If you didn’t already hear, we’ve improved our controller based on feedback from OUYA developers. Thanks to these brave warriors, OUYA keeps getting better.

Video from : www.youtube.com

Dragon Dojo is just one example of the many games with great potential put forward during the OUYA 10 day Game Jam.

Peace Out!
Jonny!

[RubberJonny]

The Penny Arcade Report has posted a great review of the OUYA.

Summing it up
I like the OUYA far more than I expected to, especially for the $100 price. It has stacks of games, and a fair amount of them are pretty damned good. You can play a ton of content for free. The controller isn't great, but who cares? Throw it out and pair a PlayStation 3 controller to it and you're set.

Does the OUYA store not have the app you want? You can sideload games and apps if you're into it. The selection of content is already strong, but the more you know about Android, the more fun things you can make it do. Many players will buy one, load it full of emulators and ROMs, and be perfectly content.

The downsides are the jittery menus, the lack of a unified system for actually buying content, the odd problems with resolution and, again, that pack-in controller. I'm looking forward to seeing how often demo downloads turn into paid purchases, but I have a feeling the news could be bad.

Still, there is something amazing about seeing all these goofy, interesting, fun games up on the TV. OUYA took an idea, turned it into a Kickstarter, and then made the word flesh in an incredibly short amount of time, and the unit I'm enjoying now makes the early firmware and hardware seem quaint in comparison. The company is implementing new features and improvements at a good pace, which means things are only going to get better as time goes on.

Also, don't worry about your Internet connection going out. Mine dropped while I was writing this review, and OUYA basically told me that I couldn't get any new games, but I was fine playing everything I had downloaded. This should go without saying, but these days? Still worth pointing out.

The question is whether there is a market for a console that plays these smaller, more funky indie games, and whether that market is interested in paying for content. For now, I'm glad the OUYA was released, and it's been a ton of fun so far. My kids and I take turns with the controller, finding games to try, and ditching the ones we don't like. When I turn the system on, there are usually new games to pick through and sample. The system's tiny size and easy set up make it simple to take anywhere you want to game.

The OUYA is rough in some ways, and there are lazy-ass games on there, but it's definitely an adventure. I'm a fan.

Make sure to read the full review. I'm sad i didn't back the kickstarter at a higher level to get my hands on the OUYA myself now, though the reason i didn't in the first place is because i don't have a HDMI TV or monitor to hook it up to, but it certainly lives up to what was promised and it is only going to improve, so i may well pick one up some time in the near future.

Peace Out!
Jonny!

[Nickers]

Ours should be here sometime in the next week or so

[Chef]

https://plus.google.com/app/basic/photo ... sic/stream

It has arrived