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[jamsy]

Deep down inside I would love a $199 console which focused on an OS over hardware so that there could be bi-yearly hardware releases to feature the latest and greatest tech for that price point.

Thing is, people don't like to buy new "systems" every year or two, aside from the cell phones. And that's mostly because cell phone companies subsidize the cost of a new phone provided you sign a contract with them.

And for $200 you're probably not gonna get anything that's "latest and greatest." Think how long it took for the PS3 to drop its price from $500/$600 to where it is today. Price of production does decrease but it takes years, and I doubt that a small company can make the same type of progress when it comes to efficiency of production.

For $200 most people will just settle for a Nexus/iPad mini device that'll do most everything this Ouya thing can.

 

[Hoo-doo]

It's cute they think there will be enough demand for another model.

.

 

[AbandonedTrolley]

I don't think you will have to worry about this two years from now when the concept will be left and forgotten due to milions of $100-200 tablets flooding the world.

Why would I want to buy a $100-200 tablet, for gaming in bed on my TV? For a tablet to offer what the Ouya is giving it would need HDMI out and also controller support.

IF they release upgraded boards for $50 each iteration, I would gladly keep upgrading the unit, I've backed this as for the money it seems a nice idea and will be my casual gaming machine in the bedroom with XBMC on there for streaming from my network drive too.

 

[Tunin]

Hm, suddenly I'm worried. In fact I'm ok with anual releases, heck, people $100 bucks for CoD alone every year, so this shouldn't be a problem.

May sound like ecoshit but I'm interested in hearing how they're going to manage to recycle all these Ouyas, year after year. Afterall they're going millions of units sold just to be discarded after one year.

 

[LyleLanley]

Ouya seems like such a strange device to me. I feel like they would have been better off just making a controller that can work with a phone/tablet plugged into a TV.

 

[GhostTrick]

That could be nice if they could make a Ouya handheld for less than 200 dollars.

 

[Joe White]

Well Nvidia said they could just release apps for this feature (they mentioned the 360 as an example).

They did? That would save me from buying Shield, Ouya or Steambox.

 

[Chinner]

May sound like ecoshit but I'm interested in hearing how they're going to manage to recycle all these Ouyas, year after year. Afterall they're going millions of units sold just to be discarded after one year.

i dont think so, it'll be like iOS/Andriod. older models are still developed and supported for as they'll still owned by a large percentage of people, and a few games will be targeted at the new consoles (which the older consoles can play at reduced performance). remember they'll be developing games for the largest audience possible.

basically, if its anything like iOS/Andriod, it'll take a few years for each ouya to phase out of being usable. i only every upgrade my iphone every 2 years and i never find myself in a position where i'm unable to play a game.

 

[Atolm]

Also don't forget this is only 99$. You don't need to drop 400$ for an upgrade.

 

[zeopower6]

Also don't forget this is only 99$. You don't need to drop 400$ for an upgrade.

I'm an OUYA supporter but this is going to be odd if you want the 'latest' system but purchased all of the prior models. What do you do with the earlier ones? Maybe they should have some sort of 'send your old OUYA in for a discount on the new model!' deal. Cost isn't so much an issue imo while having the older ones laying around might be.

 

[MrCunningham]

considering how easy it is to take an Ouya apart I wonder if they could just sell the upgraded internals separately as an OEM package? Look at how easy it would be to swap parts

 

[Chinner]

I'm an OUYA supporter but this is going to be odd if you want the 'latest' system but purchased all of the prior models. What do you do with the earlier ones? Maybe they should have some sort of 'send your old OUYA in for a discount on the new model!' deal. Cost isn't so much an issue imo while having the older ones laying around might be.

See my post above - although there will yearly releases, the old ones won't automatically become obsolete, and will probably stay relevant for a few years until you need to buy one.

 

[PaulloDEC]

Sorry if this sounds blunt, but for all the people getting outraged about this... what did you think was going to happen? Mobile games are getting more advanced every day, and the technology in Ouya has to move with it, just as phones are doing.

If you're the kind of person who'd really get a lot of use out of an Ouya, I think $99 bucks a year is a steal, especially given how cheap the games are going to be.

 

[itsgreen]

So you can buy a 100$ console every year and after a year of 5 reach next gen level games

Or you can pay 500$ and enjoy next gen for the entire run...

 

[Card Boy]

, I think $99 bucks a year is a steal, especially given how cheap the games are going to be.

$99 to these tightasses is the equivalent of $999.

The average wage must be $3 an hour or something.

 

[leaf_]

The audience for the ouya really puzzles me they supposedly are people who doesn't have an smartphone (or stranger yet have one) and want to play android games which are all touch based and generally pretty casual and not graphically impressive on a controller in a tv, why?
Lots of people saying that will be great for emulators, sure this thing is going to be one fine piracy box, but even a lowest end pc can probably run all the emulators that ouya can dream of having, so why?

 

[Tunin]

i dont think so, it'll be like iOS/Andriod. older models are still developed and supported for as they'll still owned by a large percentage of people, and a few games will be targeted at the new consoles (which the older consoles can play at reduced performance). remember they'll be developing games for the largest audience possible.

basically, if its anything like iOS/Andriod, it'll take a few years for each ouya to phase out of being usable. i only every upgrade my iphone every 2 years and i never find myself in a position where i'm unable to play a game.

Sure, but in 2 or 3 years you'll see a large portion of their userbase upgrading their Ouya. We'll see probably those who update every year, those who update every two years throwing their hardware away.

If their intention is to make something that becomes obsolete quick they should think about a way to do it right, with benefits for those who already own an Ouya and recycling most of it's parts, to close the cycle.

 

[Rimfya]

The smartphone strategy is a new handset every year, a reason to upgrade every two.

 

[Chinner]

The audience for the ouya really puzzles me they supposedly are people who doesn't have an smartphone (or stranger yet have one) and want to play android games which are all touch based and generally pretty casual and not graphically impressive on a controller in a tv, why?
Lots of people saying that will be great for emulators, sure this thing is going to be one fine piracy box, but even a lowest end pc can probably run all the emulators that ouya can dream of having, so why?

have they actually said the audience for the ouya is for people without smart phones? it's for people who have TVs, and then aimed at several markets (emulation, andriod gaming, indie gaming, media box, portability) and yeah its pretty good for emulation, looks like it can handle up to PS1, which is respectable considering that you if you want to do PS2/Wii emulation you'll need a high-end PC.

 

[leaf_]

have they actually said the audience for the ouya is for people without smart phones? it's for people who have TVs, and then aimed at several markets (emulation, andriod gaming, indie gaming, media box, portability) and yeah its pretty good for emulation, looks like it can handle up to PS1, which is respectable considering that you if you want to do PS2/Wii emulation you'll need a high-end PC.

ps1 emulation is not that demanding and I could say n64 too in early 2002 even my less than 1.8ghz cpu and poor geforce 4 mx could handle it, so it's pretty safe to say that today anyone with a passing interest already have a pc that could run any emulator easily without spending $100

 

[wildfire]

Sorry if this sounds blunt, but for all the people getting outraged about this... what did you think was going to happen? Mobile games are getting more advanced every day, and the technology in Ouya has to move with it, just as phones are doing.

Agreed

If you're the kind of person who'd really get a lot of use out of an Ouya, I think $99 bucks a year is a steal, especially given how cheap the games are going to be.

This is an assumption. Ouya games could be just as expensive as AAA games. It depends on whether or not someone would dare trying to charge that price and has the budget and team available to make such a game for the platform. We'll see how cheap Ouya games are overtime in the future but there is too much uncertainty about what pricing models will commonly be adopted.

The audience for the ouya really puzzles me they supposedly are people who doesn't have an smartphone (or stranger yet have one) and want to play android games which are all touch based and generally pretty casual and not graphically impressive on a controller in a tv, why?
Lots of people saying that will be great for emulators, sure this thing is going to be one fine piracy box, but even a lowest end pc can probably run all the emulators that ouya can dream of having, so why?

You make a very bad assumption here. There is without a doubt that most Ouya owners will have a smartphone because it is an essential utility.

The value proposition we are getting is a cheap console that can loaded up with hardware and software mods without voiding your warranty.

So compared to videogame consoles the initial asking price is low unless you are a person who upgrades every year but most people won't do that. They'll upgrade every 2 or 3 years on average and will still have a cheaper console.

Compared to the Android, windows 8 and iOs market we get the benefits of a closed off architecture with someone taking the time to vet the software. If we don't like how the curate their software we can go outside normal channels to get software from third parties without penalty.

Compared to a PC we have the same ability to modify the hardware but tech support for the original components will still be handled by the Ouya team which is a very big deal for the majority of hardware modders. The reason prebuilt PCs are overpriced compared to the specs being offered is due to the tech support we are supposed to get.

The only caveat is that since small devices like this aren't ubiquitous it will be very hard to modify your Ouya without a good deal of technical expertise for the next few years.

 

[injurai]

I don't have to upgrade my PC every year. This model isn't for me.

bingo, mine is 4 years old and i still haven't felt compelled to upgrade it.

 

[Chinner]

ps1 emulation is not that demanding and I could say n64 too in early 2002 even my less than 1.8ghz cpu and poor geforce 4 mx could handle it, so it's pretty safe to say that today anyone with a passing interest already have a pc that could run any emulator easily without spending $100

but I don't want to put my PC in my living room.

 

[Omikaru]

The lower-price of the Ouya makes this more feasible over a fully-fledged gaming console or PC. And besides, I doubt you'll have to upgrade every year. Most developers will support 1-2 year old models, and going forward the lifespan of devices may increase (as we've seen with the unsinkable iPhone 3GS).

It's pretty much disposable computing.

 

[PaulloDEC]

This is an assumption. Ouya games could be just as expensive as AAA games. It depends on whether or not someone would dare trying to charge that price and has the budget and team available to make such a game for the platform. We'll see how cheap Ouya games are overtime in the future but there is too much uncertainty about what pricing models will commonly be adopted.

It is an assumption, but I think it's a pretty fair one. We know that a huge number of the games the Ouya will support are also going to be (or already are) available on other Android devices. Pretty much the most expensive title I've seen on the Android store was about $15 bucks.

There might be some standouts, but I imagine that most games available on Ouya won't be higher than that, and probably a lot lower.

 

[Alexios]

Good to know and avoid even more.

 

[Tobor]

I called this in the Ouya thread back when people were arguing that they should upgrade to a Tegra 4. I said, just wait a year. They said, this is a console, they won't do yearly updates. Lol.

 

[Diablohead]

i'm fine with this.

same here, I have no problem being that the base unit price is about £79 with a controller, unlike a lot of tablets for £299

 

[javac]

Do you think it was a mistake announcing this? I guess it wasn't going to be a big seller anyway's and the people who do want it will probably still get it regardless.

 

[PapaJustify]

Man, the ignorance in this thread is depressing. Some of the comments here are just unqualified.

The OUYA is not a PC or a PS4/Nextbox. Why are guys even remotely comparing it to those? And it is also not just a device to play Android mobile ports on your TV. There are already 200+ games in development that are targeting the OUYA platform and are not just ports. Also apps like XBMC will be supported on OUYA, so that you have an entertainment hub for your TV that doesn't take much space.

The yearly upgrade makes sense to keep up with the dramatically quick progress in hardware and performance for Android platforms. That however doesn't mean that the OUYA 1 is not able to play a lot of the games that are coming in the future years. It is up to the developers to target a specific platform or hardware level. It's the same with smartphones.

 

[DeuceGamer]

Ouya is definitely interesting and I'll likely pick one up for a XBMC machine, emulation, etc... I also like that there will be frequent updates. At the low price point it makes since, IMO.

 

[Omikaru]

Man, the ignorance in this thread is depressing. Some of the comments here are just unqualified.

The OUYA is not a PC or a PS4/Nextbox. Why are guys even remotely comparing it to those? And it is also not just a device to play Android mobile ports on your TV. There are already 200+ games in development that are targeting the OUYA platform and are not just ports. Also apps like XBMC will be supported on OUYA, so that you have an entertainment hub for your TV that doesn't take much space.

The yearly upgrade makes sense to keep up with the dramatically quick progress in hardware and performance for Android platforms. That however doesn't mean that the OUYA 1 is not able to play a lot of the games that are coming in the future years. It is up to the developers to target a specific platform or hardware level. It's the same with smartphones.

Precisely. Games will be scalable. I'm not 100% behind Ouya yet (I need more convincing that it has software coming beyond the first 12 months) so I'm not getting one at launch, but even I can see that people groaning about this are conflating a $99 cheap gaming box that should last you ~24 months before you replace it with $299-$999 (and beyond, for hardcore system builders) consoles/gaming PCs designed to deliver a totally different and longer-lasting experience.

I think what's so interesting about Ouya is that you can't hold it up to console or PC standards. It's completely unique.

 

[Shtof]

Why would I buy one if there's one twice as fast coming next year?

 

[Chinner]

Why would I buy one if there's one twice as fast coming next year?

welcome, welcome to the world of technology!

 

[Pie and Beans]

Ouya was simply riding on the absence of next-gen consoles and the frothing demand for a new gadget box to buy. Unless theres a second renaissance of Android games, don't see how theyre gonna sell future models to anywhere near the same hype.

 

[javac]

Man, the ignorance in this thread is depressing. Some of the comments here are just unqualified.

The OUYA is not a PC or a PS4/Nextbox. Why are guys even remotely comparing it to those? And it is also not just a device to play Android mobile ports on your TV. There are already 200+ games in development that are targeting the OUYA platform and are not just ports. Also apps like XBMC will be supported on OUYA, so that you have an entertainment hub for your TV that doesn't take much space.

The yearly upgrade makes sense to keep up with the dramatically quick progress in hardware and performance for Android platforms. That however doesn't mean that the OUYA 1 is not able to play a lot of the games that are coming in the future years. It is up to the developers to target a specific platform or hardware level. It's the same with smartphones.

It makes sense, its just, for many the OUYA was seen as a novelty item. A little box to play them little android games on with a few exclusives and some emulators. Now its kinda lost its novelty, you know? It's not this scarce Kickstarter project, its a product that's going to be in a better form down the line and will be available for a long time. I don't know :/

It obviously makes sense tho, its basically an android phone that's hooked to your TV, and it will need the latest chips in order to keep up with the latest games.

 

[DeuceGamer]

Why would I buy one if there's one twice as fast coming next year?

Why do people ever buy a tablet? There are better Android Tablets coming out more frequently then once a year. Just because a better one is coming next year doesn't mean this one will be obsolete. I'd guess that you can get ~2 years out of it while playing the latest games on it. After that, it will still make a good emulation, streaming, XBMC box.

Edit

Ouya was simply riding on the absence of next-gen consoles and the frothing demand for a new gadget box to buy. Unless theres a second renaissance of Android games, don't see how theyre gonna sell future models to anywhere near the same hype.

I'm not so sure. Soccer mom's see this and see it plays the Angry Birds and Cut the Rope (just an example no idea if they are on Ouya) that their kids are always asking to play on their Android Device and the low entry point is low enough for an impulse buy. Core gamers can see the benefit of having an emulation/XBMC box and again the low entry point makes it a viable option.

It may fail and fail hard, but I can see scenario's where it can find enough success to last, at least some time.

 

[BruiserBear]

This makes total sense to me. Not sure why some people are acting like this is terrible news.

 

[TheSeks]

The yearly upgrade makes sense to keep up with the dramatically quick progress in hardware and performance for Android platforms. That however doesn't mean that the OUYA 1 is not able to play a lot of the games that are coming in the future years. It is up to the developers to target a specific platform or hardware level. It's the same with smartphones.

So, like smartphones they'll either be one generation behind or current generation.

Oh, boy, I can't wait to buy a new OUYA

Spoiler

I'm never buying an OUYA

every year! !

Why do people ever buy a tablet? There are better Android Tablets coming out more frequently then once a year.

You're kidding, right? That's completely different. They can run e-mail/internet/netflix with a lower-spec'd tablet no matter what. Games is a different beast from that.

 

[DeuceGamer]

So, like smartphones they'll either be one generation behind or current generation.

Oh, boy, I can't wait to buy a new OUYA

Spoiler

I'm never buying an OUYA

every year! !



You're kidding, right? That's completely different. They can run e-mail/internet/netflix with a lower-spec'd tablet no matter what. Games is a different beast from that.

The rest of the post explained that this device wouldn't be obsolete when the new iteration is released as well. For $99 I'd wager you will get a solid 2 years out of the device to play the latest releases. After that it's not like it magically stops playing ever game released. It will still play a ton of the games released, just not the graphically intense ones.

I think people just have the wrong idea of what Ouya is. We gripe about long Console cycles yet when Ouya moves to a better model (better at the low entry point) people don't like it. As I mentioned above, it may fail and it may fail hard, but it's not competing with PS4/Nextbox.

 

[Tobor]

If Ouya is a big enough hit to justify yearly updates, then this won't be an issue.

Old games will run fine on newer hardware, and new games will be made to run on the current model plus one or two years back.

That's no different than a three year console cycle, at reduced prices. It's perfectly acceptable.

 

[Haunted]

Why would I buy one if there's one twice as fast coming next year?

why would you ever buy anything technology related


There's a new, better, improved version coming up.

 

[Atcha]

Don't have to buy an ouya every year though.

2D games and all wouldn't need the latest hardware... I think.

Regarding the ouya price, you can change yours every 2 years or more.... I suppose.

 

[AbandonedTrolley]

Why would I buy one if there's one twice as fast coming next year?

To use THIS year?

 

[BLACK AMERICAN PSYCHO]

So like what, 2 years until it surpasses the Wii U? 4 years before it surpasses Orango?

If they keep using shitty arm CPUs and shitty mobile GPUs, it'll take waaaaayyy longer than that.

 

[Nibiru]

I don't know man a retail game is $60-$70+dlc costs and I get several of those every year so I can't really get upset at an annual iteration of a $99 console.

 

[TrutaS]

I smell overconfidence. They should wait to see how their first attempt behaves before telling everyone it will be obsolete in one year. They are not apple (or Samsung).

 

[Santiako]

I said this will be the only way that Ouya survive.


Edit:


http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=47182759&postcount=5

"Ouya will get left behind in power by tablets & other android devices & may be forgotten unless they release newer models with better hardware like the rest of the android devices."

Why do you always do that? Quote yourself from the past.

 

[AbandonedTrolley]

Why do you always do that? Quote yourself from the past.

To try seem like Mystic Meg, although it was pretty obvious this was the route they would have to take to keep close to the tech edge.

 

[J-Tier]

I always viewed the Ouya as a scam. I like the concept behind a hackable system, I do not like the Ouya. From the way it was conceived until now, something about it seems dishonest.

Regardless, for the console itself, I see the point in upgrading yearly to stay relevant. But it seems like more hassle than it's actually worth, in the long run, you'll potentially spend more for this, than for a major console.

It's $99 on it's own. A single controller is half the price of the console, so assuming you get two, that's ~$200 already. Having already invested that much already-- I think I might as well keep to a next gen system.