The OUYA console... is it doomed? Inquiring minds want to know...

Do you plan to purchase a OUYA gaming console?

  • Yes.

    Votes: 213 47.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 107 24.0%
  • Haven't decided.

    Votes: 125 28.1%

  • Total voters
    445
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Geeba

Senior Member
Nov 12, 2008
484
15
I'll probably buy one... realistically I dont think they got it to market quick enough... cheapy Chinese devices such as the MK808 and MK802 etc really does what they seem to be aiming at.. I have one... it plays all my emulators and games I want it to, gamepad, keyboard etc all working... hardcore games I leave to my games rig ;)

I think the best thing it has going for it is the support of Team XBMC.... killer app! It kept old Xbox's under alot of TV's for years after the 360 was released and before the jump to multi platform...
 

Newpunk

Member
Jun 16, 2010
22
1
Vancouver, BC
Media Centre PC and Retro Console Emulator

The main purpose I have for the Ouya is to stream media to my TV. Recently, the PS3 has been OK, but with Cinavia watermarks being added to many new movies (and I imagine TV shows soon), the PS3 is not a good streamer for me. The Ouya will have more than enough processing power to playback 720p/1080p video in nearly any format.

I also plan to use Ouya as a retro emulator. Android emulators already exist for nearly every previous gen console, so it's not going to be difficult to get those operational on the Ouya.

For $100, it's going to make a great, flexible device for my TV. And if there are any great Android apps it can run, then I've got even more reasons to use these puppy. I hope YouTube is better on the Ouya than the PS3 as well.
 

Geeba

Senior Member
Nov 12, 2008
484
15
Hmmm

'For $100, it's going to make a great, flexible device for my TV'..... but for £32 delivered to your door you can get a A9 Dual core 1.6Ghz CPU, Quad core Mali-400 GPU with 1GB RAM /8GB storage, mSD slot, with an air mouse/keyboard... now... that will do all the emulators and games etc... thats why I think they were a bit slow out of the blocks...

Finless Bob does great ROMs too.... USB hub and load it up with everything from an ethernet port to a PS3 controller, theres even XBMC builds for it...
 
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mancur

Senior Member
Feb 28, 2009
59
8
I'll probably buy one... realistically I dont think they got it to market quick enough... cheapy Chinese devices such as the MK808 and MK802 etc really does what they seem to be aiming at.. I have one... it plays all my emulators and games I want it to, gamepad, keyboard etc all working... hardcore games I leave to my games rig ;)
The XBMC developer is currently having a hard time getting video hardware acceleration working for Rockchip-based devices like the MK series, as a lot of the information is proprietary.

Best to stick with Tegra/Snapdragon/Exynos devices if planning on using one of these as a media streamer.

XBMC on the Nexus 7 is able to decode any 1080p mkv my wireless N network will support. This bodes very *well* for the Ouya, which is clocked significantly higher than the Nexus 7.
 
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Geeba

Senior Member
Nov 12, 2008
484
15
Yep Rockchip aren't playing ball but you can always use and external player such as MX or Dice which will do 1080... or even the player they ship it with - I've watched 720/1080 content on mine while my XBMC/HTPC was out of action.
 

rushless

Senior Member
Jan 16, 2008
3,684
446
I am a gamer and LOVE old school games and already have similar function with a Toshiba Excite 7.7 and its multimedia dock. Catch is that cost over $400 together. I can see the appeal of this device. People should appreciate this device will run faster since will not be closed in like a tablet. It will be running as fast as they can get it to and not melt- it does have a vent slot ;)

The 808 Android stick needs tinkering to work as needed, plus will not be as fast for gaming and stuff like MAME, N64 and PSX. Also, the O has a gamepad with it and ready to use without tinkering for performance. I am not sure if I will get this, but think the Tegra 4 version might be the true big player for this platform. Do not be surprised if one with a Tegra 4 releases toward end of year, since too good to pass up for holiday sales.

I still might end up getting one of these, but just bought a 128GB iPad 4 and still have my TF300 with keyboard. I use them all for different stuff.

Looking forward to reviews of the "O" ! :)

IMO, the gamepad, device and features would be worth the $40 or so premium over the Android thumb sticks. Then of course there is the Nvida game device and the Gamestick device that is like the Ouya in premise. The Nvidia DOES have a Tegra 4, but end of year launch. The Nvidia device though will be at least the cost of a good tablet.

BTW, Tegra 3 performs MUCH better than the Rockchips as far as higher def video content.
 
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lordhardware

Member
Apr 15, 2010
49
6
Melbourne
So a lot of people are having issue with the whole "new hardware every year" thing.

...How many of you buy a new phone every year?

And if you didn't, how many of the new games released in the next year WOULDN'T you be able to play on your old device?

...I thought so.
 
... ...How many of you buy a new phone every year? And if you didn't, how many of the new games released in the next year WOULDN'T you be able to play on your old device? ...

Not me, but that's because I buy under contract, so it's every other year. I really don't play that many games on the phone, but I do play some. Thus, games haven't been a big issue for me.

I really don't think the new sku every year was that big of an issue. It's may be possible to upgrade. I just figured it's more a pricing and availablity issue. I'm assuming that Ouya has a target price point they want to hit for the street. It's possible that for new CPU, say the Tegra4, it could cost them enough to exceed that target. Plus, I don't think they'll have the numbers to be able to entice the CPU market to shift supplies, assuming it's limited enough, from the major mobile device makers such as Samsung, ASUS, HTC, and so forth.

My guess as to the whole Tegra3 versus Tegra4 is more mental. It's not quite the bragging power. Yes, it's not as powerful as a Tegra4 would be, But ti's not like a Tegra4 is going to bring graphics prowess of a 360 or PS3 It just may not able to handle as many characters and so forth. That said, doesn't mean there won't be fun games to be had. And really, I don't think it's going to make that much difference, especially if you're getting developers who are already in the Android platform, since they're use to having to make games that will not always been run on the latest hardware

Ultimately, the success lies in the content available for it. It'll be a chicken and egg situation. Need good games to bring the people in, but you need the people to bring more developers, which increases the odds of having good games.

Personally, although I'm getting one, I'm taking the wait and see approach. I think the concept is interesting and could be good for the gaming industry. I'm hopeful it'll have a good measure of success. I think a million or two units would be outstanding.
 

lordhardware

Member
Apr 15, 2010
49
6
Melbourne
Not me, but that's because I buy under contract, so it's every other year. I really don't play that many games on the phone, but I do play some. Thus, games haven't been a big issue for me.

I really don't think the new sku every year was that big of an issue. It's may be possible to upgrade. I just figured it's more a pricing and availablity issue. I'm assuming that Ouya has a target price point they want to hit for the street. It's possible that for new CPU, say the Tegra4, it could cost them enough to exceed that target. Plus, I don't think they'll have the numbers to be able to entice the CPU market to shift supplies, assuming it's limited enough, from the major mobile device makers such as Samsung, ASUS, HTC, and so forth.

My guess as to the whole Tegra3 versus Tegra4 is more mental. It's not quite the bragging power. Yes, it's not as powerful as a Tegra4 would be, But ti's not like a Tegra4 is going to bring graphics prowess of a 360 or PS3 It just may not able to handle as many characters and so forth. That said, doesn't mean there won't be fun games to be had. And really, I don't think it's going to make that much difference, especially if you're getting developers who are already in the Android platform, since they're use to having to make games that will not always been run on the latest hardware

Ultimately, the success lies in the content available for it. It'll be a chicken and egg situation. Need good games to bring the people in, but you need the people to bring more developers, which increases the odds of having good games.

Personally, although I'm getting one, I'm taking the wait and see approach. I think the concept is interesting and could be good for the gaming industry. I'm hopeful it'll have a good measure of success. I think a million or two units would be outstanding.

I feel like I'm saying the same thing over and over again but that's only because people all seem to have the same reservations when it comes to untested hardware.

The big issue I have with the whole "It doesnt have tegra4" thing is, tegra 3 hasn't even had enough time on market to actually be pushed to its limits, and even for the games that are optimised for it, they are developed to work over a plethora of different android device configurations. You'll probably end up finding that the Ouya tegra3 will perform eqully as well as the phone-based tegra4 due only to the uniformity of the hardware :)
 
I'm not disagreeing with you at all about the Terga3 versus Tegra4. I still think ultimately people's issue is more mental, not actual performance. The fact that it doesn't have the latest and greatest is enough to make them think it'll like bringing a Smartcar to race a F1 racer.

It is true though that the Tegra3 in the Ouya would not be as powerful as a Tegra4 in the Ouya. I'm assuming both would be set to run optimally on the Ouya.

And the last part is more about people's expectations of what the device is going to deliver. Although I think most XDA are smart enough to know better, yet somehow I think people are expecting near graphic quality of the modem gaming console. I don't think it has the power, and possibly a limitation within Android to get that close. I still think it can deliver some good looking games.
 

lordhardware

Member
Apr 15, 2010
49
6
Melbourne
I'm not disagreeing with you at all about the Terga3 versus Tegra4. I still think ultimately people's issue is more mental, not actual performance. The fact that it doesn't have the latest and greatest is enough to make them think it'll like bringing a Smartcar to race a F1 racer.

It is true though that the Tegra3 in the Ouya would not be as powerful as a Tegra4 in the Ouya. I'm assuming both would be set to run optimally on the Ouya.

And the last part is more about people's expectations of what the device is going to deliver. Although I think most XDA are smart enough to know better, yet somehow I think people are expecting near graphic quality of the modem gaming console. I don't think it has the power, and possibly a limitation within Android to get that close. I still think it can deliver some good looking games.

Console quality is more than possible, due to the dedicated nature of the device. and remember that most games on ps3/360 run at 720p not 1080p as all ouya games do so far.

Here's what tegra 3 does as of NOW:

 
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itsmontoya

Member
Jun 27, 2010
31
5
I feel that one saving grace of the OUYA will be it's price. Companies like xi3 are coming out with tiny computers that pack a punch. Now we will finally be able to play games on computers small enough to mount behind a monitor! The only caveat is that the x7a will be around $1000.

I'm interested to see if anyone does an ubuntu port for this. The might be interesting!
 

rushless

Senior Member
Jan 16, 2008
3,684
446
Console quality is more than possible, due to the dedicated nature of the device. and remember that most games on ps3/360 run at 720p not 1080p as all ouya games do so far.

Here's what tegra 3 does as of NOW:


I feel that one saving grace of the OUYA will be it's price. Companies like xi3 are coming out with tiny computers that pack a punch. Now we will finally be able to play games on computers small enough to mount behind a monitor! The only caveat is that the x7a will be around $1000.

I'm interested to see if anyone does an ubuntu port for this. The might be interesting!


Ouya has better hardware for $20 more than the Gamestick and probably 25% the price of Shield, so seems set in a good place for this segment of devices. Catch is, is there enough marketshare for this segment of devices?
 

amrando

Senior Member
Feb 27, 2012
118
17
Calgary
Ouya has better hardware for $20 more than the Gamestick and probably 25% the price of Shield, so seems set in a good place for this segment of devices. Catch is, is there enough marketshare for this segment of devices?


Got the email notice today - Kickstarter Ouyas start shipping March 28. As to 8 pages of mostly-uninformed debate for the last 8 months.. (sorry):

I bought an Ouya because I believe this is the best gaming you'll get for $100. No phone or tablet can come close to the 'proper' home-console experience without controllers and a big-screen TV; likewise no existing game console offers 'good-enough' gaming for $99 without the network and proprietary baggage of their manufacturers. You don't need a PS4 to play Angry Birds or Pocket Planes, or even *still* many best-in-class PC games that have been on the market for 5 years or more like Counterstrike, Team Fortress 2 or any RTS and most RPGs that still have THOUSANDS of players every week. Just take a quick look at Steam today - how many 'indie' games on Steam could EASILY be run on the Ouya? How about every virtual console game for all of the previous-gen consoles? The Tegra3 may not be bleeding-edge to you, but it's still 5 years more advanced than any previous console! Do you have any idea how long the development cycle for the major consoles is? And yet here's the $99 Ouya which has gone from prototype to retail in 8 months with mostly off-the-shelf ARM hardware.

The Ouya is the perfect niche between the 'real' console makers - who've forgotten what console games were once upon a time (how many developers does it take to screw in a PS4 polygon lightbulb?) and the phones and tablets which just fundamentally don't have a large enough screen for the sit-down or multi-player experience. The real key to the Ouya is MARKETING it to the public. Getting it out in retail markets so people actually know it exists, that they don't have to pay the Sony tax just to play $5 online games.

My only complaint so far? For a 'hackable' console, I do think they should have added a little more open-ended hardware; ie: more than one USB port or at least USB 3.0 for future bandwidth.
 
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MartinC#1

Senior Member
Apr 13, 2008
64
6
More than just Tegra and Indie Games

I have pre ordered one and what I am most excited about is being able to stream high end Windows games to Ouya

I can put my big noisy 2500K/HD6990 rig out of the way and have the Ouya seemingly play games way out of it's league

Streaming is what will make it shine then you will have some people using it for emulators and lastly it's poxy games


I think the popularity of hacking the original XBOX showed that an open console (even though it was not the intention of the XBOX developers) is very appealing to a lot of people
 
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tobalaz

Senior Member
Jul 17, 2012
92
11
Norton
I've already got a Viewsonic G Tablet set up upstairs as a media center with HBO Go and Netflix, I dump 720p movies on the microsd card and have all my NES, SNES, Master System and Genesis games on there.
I love it.
Problem is I hate moving the dock and cables every time I want to put it downstairs for the kids to play games or watch movies.
I paid $350 total for my Gtab, dock and a Bluetooth game controller.
A Roku box that only does video streaming is $100.
Ouya is $99 and ships with a controller and is MEANT to connect to a tv!
Hell yeah I'm getting one!
I can leave my tablet upstairs, leave the little cube tucked away, and enjoy my movies, shows and games two different places without the fuss.

Look, I've got a pretty beefy PC I play my big boy games on like Borderlands 2 and Skyrim, and all the nieces and nephews don't care is its Super Mario World, NBA Jam, or the latest greatest console games, and honestly I prefer retro gaming most of the time myself anyways. I can't help it, I grew up on Atari, Intellivision, Nintendo and Sega. Nostalgia is a very powerful thing.
Graphics on mobile devices happen to be moving along fast, I've seen some Square RPGs and a few sports games that look on par to the PS2.
Look, it's all fun and games anyways.
If you like the concept, buy one, if you don't care for it, avoid it.
 
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gabe32

Member
Sep 11, 2012
15
0
Mio, Michigan
Unlike all the "Game Sticks" that are coming out, this; 1, Has the highest powered hardware (Tegra 3).

2, Has XDA support now.

3, Is made to be hackable and the hackabilty is supported by the Devs.

4, And to bring the Nvidia Shield into the convo, this is way cheaper, and like stated above
is made to be hacked.


All in all, I'm very excited for this device!
 

flow2fly

Senior Member
Jan 7, 2011
67
2
I believe they should come up with an OUYA app so that all Android devices can have access to all the games. This way you can begin a game in front of your TV then leave your home and continue on your mobile device.
 

lordhardware

Member
Apr 15, 2010
49
6
Melbourne
Android tablets = sync a controller

Ouya = games developed for a controller with up to 8 controllers at once.

Who cares what a tablet or dongle CAN do, and think about what it can't.
 

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    I've already got a Viewsonic G Tablet set up upstairs as a media center with HBO Go and Netflix, I dump 720p movies on the microsd card and have all my NES, SNES, Master System and Genesis games on there.
    I love it.
    Problem is I hate moving the dock and cables every time I want to put it downstairs for the kids to play games or watch movies.
    I paid $350 total for my Gtab, dock and a Bluetooth game controller.
    A Roku box that only does video streaming is $100.
    Ouya is $99 and ships with a controller and is MEANT to connect to a tv!
    Hell yeah I'm getting one!
    I can leave my tablet upstairs, leave the little cube tucked away, and enjoy my movies, shows and games two different places without the fuss.

    Look, I've got a pretty beefy PC I play my big boy games on like Borderlands 2 and Skyrim, and all the nieces and nephews don't care is its Super Mario World, NBA Jam, or the latest greatest console games, and honestly I prefer retro gaming most of the time myself anyways. I can't help it, I grew up on Atari, Intellivision, Nintendo and Sega. Nostalgia is a very powerful thing.
    Graphics on mobile devices happen to be moving along fast, I've seen some Square RPGs and a few sports games that look on par to the PS2.
    Look, it's all fun and games anyways.
    If you like the concept, buy one, if you don't care for it, avoid it.
    1
    I think best case scenario they can hope for is becoming a niche platform for android-nerds. Why? Because there is no market for such device. Casual gamers are quite happy with what they get from smartphone industry and PC-facebook-gaming stuff. More hard-core gamers will want bleeding-edge graphics and high-end performance. Without any real GPU on board OUYA will just stay behind. From the software standpoint, Android is a great system but, with sandboxing and multitasking environment, it is not very well prepared for running performance-demanding games.

    But still.. I think I will buy it.
    1
    It seems interesting and I do want to have one but I kinda want to see what games it gets first before buying, if it doesn't have anything that'll interest me then it would be a waste.
    1
    First, I was an earlier KS backer.

    Those who have order one by now, release this is not meant necessarily to complete with an Xbox or Playstation. They're going after a slightly different gaming market.

    The problem I see with Ouya is that it can be a bit of redundant machine. What does it do that can't be done with a decent smartphone? You may need a rooted phone, but one can hook up a controller, connect to a TV. It's more the mobile game developers adding in controller support. That said, talk about annoying trying up your phone to play games. Having to hook up the phone to the TV every time.

    But I think it could be a nice entry point for small game developers to get into the livingroom. New developers to try to get into the market without going broke or closing the doors if a game fails. Allow gamer to fiddle with their consoles.

    On the positive side, if the Wii can find success, maybe there is a room for something like the Ouya too. The Wii showed, if it's fun to play, a cheap machine can make it.

    ---------- Post added at 04:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:09 AM ----------

    Plus with announcement it's going to be sold a Target, Bestbuy, Amazon and a few other stores, will help with getting numbers sold, which can help bring some of the bigger game developers to the platform.
    1
    I have my Ouya, my intentions were not just to have an little gaming console but something that is an Mutlimedia Console. I know a lot of people who aren't getting it for the gaming but because of it's small form factor, hdmi out, usb(usb hubs do work to expand, I've tested with USB storage, keyboard, mouse, SNES usb controller, all worked on 1 hub expansion), ethernet, built in wifi/bluetooth, you can do basically what most tablets/phones do but tie that into a home-user experience.

    I wanted to be able to watch my collection of movies and TV shows over DLNA or UPNP. (Tested with XBMC, works good, need to do the DTS ffmpeg custom audio codec setup with XMBC)

    I wanted to be able to play classic SNES, NES, Sega, N64 games on a big TV. (Already have 800+ SNES, 2k+ Nes, 100+ N64, 500+ Sega. Only SNES has been tested to work great with SNES9X emu)

    I want to watch YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll on this thing too, but some of those apps have been said they were making Ouya verisons. (Netflix and Crunchyroll work with just plain sideloading, not optimized for TV tho, like UI wise, videos look fine tho. YouTube needs google service framework to work and I can't get it working correctly. I'm an novice when it comes to identifying logcat error.)

    If you guys haven't noticed, this forum is pretty dead or very low discussion about games and other development, but at http://ouyaforum.com/forum.php , there are some pretty amazing games people are making and much more discussion about the console. I think XDA won't play an factor until we can secure an safe flash recovery(soonish) and we need kernel source to be able to make more customized ROMS.