Ouya vs The World (Comparisons and why Ouya has much competition)

I figured nobody else had started this thread already, and it'll be a great starting point for discussions of Ouya up against it's brothers-in-Androids in your market. This is NOT an Ouya bashing thread, merely a compare and contrast between the newly flooding market of miniature Android powered devices.

Now, to begin, I would like to first point out that I do own multiple Android powered devices, but none which are mentioned here in this post, so please don't cry "fanboy" as I have 0 allegiance to anything except Android. And yes, I'm kicking myself for not getting in on the Ouya kickstarter (even though I had multiple chances).

Ouya is poised to become the next big multimedia console to enter the consumer market and home, and it's got quite the uphill battle ahead of it. There's already plenty of small low-powered Android devices either announced or already released which fill one niche or another. While Ouya markets itself primarily as a game console, the fact that it runs Android means that it's got to compete with every other low-powered Android device which feasibly can accomplish everything the Ouya can. I'll expound on this further.

Ouya vs ...:

Google TV. Starting at the same price point for the VIZIO Co-Star, this device provides more than enough power in a small frame to power your perfect TV setup, providing internet access as well as local network streaming for your entertainment needs. Now, while the Google TV platform is marketed as a STB, it's still a competitor in mild/moderate gaming as well as web content accessibility. With the fact that Google TV is synonymous with "everything Google, now on your TV," Ouya's name will lend to confusion as to what it really is for the mass market in the beginning, hurting intial adoption rates outside the Android community.
Win: Google TV, brand recognition.

Raspberry Pi. Starting at a paltry $25, this little low-powered Android stock device is actually quite a surprising little power house. All manner of network appliances have been developed around this hardware, and with the drivers for most of the hardware being provided for other flavors of Linux, it's range and scope is expanding fast. While again, only techies will really know what the Pi is, it's heavily marketed (ignore the fact i'm using this term loosely) towards Android and computing enthusiasts as a replacement for all those things that are big, hot, and noisy. This little gem has already received more builds of Linux than I can count, a port of XBMC that can easily handle streaming 1080p without a sweat, it really comes down to accessibility. In the long run the Ouya is pricier, and for those just looking for a cheap XBMC device, you can't beat the Pi at $25. That and it's kawaii-small.
Win: Raspberry Pi, price point.

nVIDIA Shield. In the closest thing to apples to apples comparison of devices based on how they're marketed, we have the nVIDIA Shield, the Tegra 4 powered nVIDIA Android handheld gaming console (announced). This little gamer's wet dream is a powerhouse in your hands, and throw in the ability to play your PC games on the handheld thanks to special integration with the nVIDIA graphics processor on your PC, and you've got an almost universal system to enjoy anywhere, anytime. Again, being that it's Android, don't expect that it won't be without it's ports of XBMC and many many other wonderful pieces of software to further enhance the cost-to-value ratio of this handheld. Being that this is the closest competitor to the Ouya, it's worth noting that there are a few caveats to the Shield which bring it down. As of this writing, the "Play PC" feature is heavily Steam oriented (not a bad thing), will likely require Multi-Band Wireless N (MIMO) (not prevalent, likely have to buy one), and the biggest bullet to chew on, a whopping GeForce GTX 650 (cheapest on Newegg as of writing $110 new) in order to enjoy this device to it's fullest. While the Ouya lacks this functionality to begin with, it brings it down, but this feature feels more like a power-play by nVIDIA than something that could end up becoming mainstream.
Win: Ouya, will integrate with everything you already have provided tools and/or apps are provided to link it, no need to upgrade everything around it to make full use of it.

Mods: Sorry for the perceived dupe topic, I was at work getting calls every 15 minutes interrupting me for upwards half an hour after I started writing this just after lunch.

devnut said:

my Galaxy S3, with MHL hdmi connection, plus sixaxis bluetooth controller... bigger specs than an ouya and does exactly the same thing... no wait, it does more!

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

and wait... it costs 5 times more.

I'm not impressed by the examples. Google TV is Google's take on Roku, Boxee Box, and Apple TV. Not a game console.

My Raspberry Pi, while freaking cool, is most definitely NOT a gaming console. It doesn't have the power, the games, or any of that. It's not even a computer, it's a little wonder box that I put in the middle of projects.

The Shield is pretty cool I'd say, and yes, it's a gaming console. But I keep my Nexus 4 on hand always and I like to keep my pockets lightweight and I don't need one extra gadget or pocket filled. And so I don't understand why people say Shield will have a better fate than the OUYA. In the end it's just an Android with an excellent processor and a fancy controller slapped on it. If it's more than $250 there's no way I'll buy it. I don't care about the PC game streaming. It's a completely different social segment from what I can tell. And most of you, I can guarantee, don't even have the specified graphics setup to begin with.

This is a TV console for $100. OUYAs only professional opposors at the moment: Wii Mini ($100), and gamestick.tv ($80)... I suppose Xbox 360 has a few options, but they will end up costing you at least $200 to enjoy without games from my person experience.

And maybe, a budget Xbox quite soon. But you and me both know that the Xbox "720" and/or PS4 will be very expensive, maybe $400 or so. And the Wii U is already pricey, low functionality and low on the games. And Nintendo is paying the price.

Google TV, Roku, Boxee Box, Apple TV are Streaming Boxes, which all somehow cost as much as this fully featured box. I enjoy my Roku but it can barely get Angry Birds right... Angry Birds.

Microsoft and Sonys latest consoles as well as the new Valve segment are most likely destined for the mid hundreds ($300-$550)

The Xperia Play was unfortunately DOA, and even the promising PS Vita and nVidia Shield are absolutely positively handheld systems, not TV consoles.

So we have a chance of dominating this side of the market if we can beat the experience of other $100 gadgets that hook up to your TV, feature, function, and marketing wise.

devnut said:

my Galaxy S3, with MHL hdmi connection, plus sixaxis bluetooth controller... bigger specs than an ouya and does exactly the same thing... no wait, it does more!

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

So your S3 core runs with 1,7ghz and never downclock.
Because the ouya has a powersupply and don´t need to save any batterie.
Also the android on ouya is cut down to a minimum of ressources to give the game more power.
It will only be a matter of time to have ouya games which will not work on any S3 or Note2 or other devices with tegra 3 or equal.