Ouya: The $99, Android-Powered TV Game Console

When OnLive first heard about OUYA, we were excited to see console gaming becoming more available and open. Like OUYA, we came to gaming with a new vision for making top-quality gaming accessible to more people, and we continue to look for ways to expand on that vision.

OUYA is rethinking the console business, making waves by using standard technology to make gaming for your living room accessible, affordable and more innovative than ever. In OnLive's case, we pioneered a groundbreaking, cloud-based system that instantly delivers games to any device on demand.

We are pleased to announce that OnLive will be available on OUYA at launch, extending and building on our commitment to make the best games available to everyone, everywhere.

What does that mean for OUYA backers?

OnLive will deliver a full console-class experience, bringing hundreds of top-tier games from more than 80 publishers to the OUYA console for play on demand.
OUYA owners will be able to jump in and play any of these games both at home on their OUYA console, and on the go on PCs, Macs, tablets and phones, never leaving a game behind.
Instant demos will be available for nearly every game in our ever-growing library—from eagerly anticipated indie titles like Ravaged, to hot blockbusters like the upcoming Darksiders® II. Players can experience up to 30 minutes of each game for free before deciding what to buy. If they like it, they can continue playing where the demo left off.
OnLive already delivers a premium gaming experience to tablets, smartphones, PCs, Macs, connected TVs and HDTVs via the OnLive® Game System or dedicated streaming devices like the VIZIO Co-Star. We’re pleased to deliver the same OnLive experience on the OUYA console when it launches next year.

—Bruce Grove, General Manager, OnLive

if you want to play android games and don't want to buy an android phone just get a nexus 7

Could be a good move getting OnLive onboard. After all, the OnLive console is about $99 on its own, and hopefully ouya will have a bit more to offer than just the OnLive console. That said, I think you can try OnLive on PC for free, and I still never bothered, so...

This morning, 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.

We’re thrilled to bring this storied franchise to OUYA.

that's kinda awesome

so is it a localization of the famicom game, the DS remake, or a new version?

I would guess it's probably the DS version with some tweaks to make it look better in higher resolution

i keep thinking 'maybe i should order one of these' and then remembering i don't have a tv

so they launched their website...
http://www.ouya.tv/
and it's the same video as on kickstarter, links to their social media and "buy one now" order info and credit card taking machine
they are MIGHTY stingy with new info here.

akbar.gif

well, they asked for my address
so that's something I guess?

Ben Heck teardown...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hh3Ezg9xf0&feature=youtu.be

er...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hh3Ezg9xf0

did you order one? i did, back in the day. with two controllers. hope it's good!

I didn't order one. Because a) I'm applying my usual 'do I buy this console or not?' rule and waiting to see if it's going to have games I actually want to play (see also WiiU), b) I'm going to let other way more qualified people determine first if it's suitable for Android hacking.

there's a neo geo portable/console hybrid out that is apparently hack-friendly for all you MAME/emulator types.

this?
http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?239578-NeoGeoX-Hacking-and-Mods
Games on an SD card, Linux on a micro SD card soldered to the circuit board.

yeah -- the whole thing is just weird. you plug in the portable into a clamshell charger that makes it look like the original console, which you plug in to the TV. very xzibit yo dawg-esque.

It's like the reverse of a SNES Gameboy Player cartridge.

man that thing looks HELLA cheap

Yeah, like it should come with a happy meal.

That frosted clear plastic makes everything look cheap.

Shipping to kickstarters on March 28 (am i the only one?)

full launch/in stores in June.

I'm one of them, I'll be in India then though, grr.

I'm one too.

retail launch: June 4

the reviews haven't been too hot, to say the least

http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/4/4180242/ouya-review

This console isn't finished — it's not even close.

That's a criticism that can be levelled at every console at launch, ever.

true. here's the full conclusion, though:

For $99, everyone who backed Ouya's Kickstarter has unwittingly signed up to beta-test a game console. Alpha-test, even: this is a product with some good ideas and a potentially promising future, but it's a million miles away from something worth spending your money on. Even if the concept is right, the Ouya misses the mark. The controller needs work, the interface is a mess, and have I mentioned there's really nothing to do with the thing? I'm not even sure the concept is right, either: there are plenty of fun Android games, but currently few that work well with a controller and even fewer that look good on your television.

Let's say everything goes exactly right for Ouya. Every good game in the Play Store becomes available to Ouya, Netflix and Amazon decide to play nice with the device, and the ROM and hacker community explode and make every app and many more available to the nascent platform. Then and only then, Ouya can be viable — if it can combine a decent set-top box with a decent gaming platform, it may have a case to make for your $99. But those are a lot of cards that have to fall a particular way, and without them the Ouya is a lot more like a Raspberry Pi than an Xbox 360.

To its credit, the company says loudly and often that this is only the beginning of a long road for Ouya — and I'll be watching its progress with interest. But the device is currently being sold as a product, not a prototype, and that's just wrong. Ouya isn't a viable gaming platform, or a good console, or even a nice TV interface. I don't know what it is, but until Ouya figures it out, it's not worth $99.

I don't think anyone's unwittingly signed up to be a beta tester - people who have an Ouya now know what they're getting into. In no way have Ouya mis-sold or mis-represented what this console is or it's immediate future capabilities. The interface problems are likely one of the top priorities and will probably be sorted by June 4. After that, maybe there'd be cause for complaint if the interface isn't any better. But the PS3 had a terrible interface for a long time (and arguably still has a terrible interface).

without them the Ouya is a lot more like a Raspberry Pi than an Xbox 360.

I sort of get what the writer is saying here, but these three platforms are all very unlike each other. The Pi is a hacker box, while the Ouya is only that secondarily. With the 360, it would be fairer to compare the Ouya to XBLA. Or maybe compare it to a supercharged version of one of those no-name HDMI Android dongles, but with way better support and investment.
OTOH I have to agree that the battery compartments in the controller look terrible, and could have been put around the back like on a 360 controller.

haven't read their review yet, but the verge panned it

http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/4/4180242/ouya-review

dude, that is what was linked and quoted a few posts above

great link! ;)

Yeah I dunno, my support for this was totally raspberry pi style. I want a low powered TV-connected machine with a game pad which I can hack around with and play emulators on. If I'd bought into it thinking "yes! new console!" then I guess I'd be rightly disappointed but has anyone actually done that? (Mine hasn't actually shipped yet, may change my tune when it arrives).

probably should've actually looked at the thread tbh

I don't think anyone's unwittingly signed up to be a beta tester - people who have an Ouya now know what they're getting into.

Yup. It's $99 - not $599. People know what they're getting, especially people who dropped money into the kickstarter.

I only watched the video review, but complaining it took some effort to get emulators and ROMs to work, but that they were able to, was a weird complaint - did they think you could just press a button and have every old game downloaded and running on the console (or maybe that they would be preloaded)?

that d-pad looks as crappy as the 360 one, can you pair up other controllers with this thing?

I've heard you can, any bluetooth controller (including the ps3 one), or the wired 360 one will work (not the wireless 360 one yet though). The problem is the other controllers don't have the touchpad you need to navigate menus and play some games...

It's Bluetooth so I'm sure someone will hack it. The touchpad might be an issue though. OTOH if someone got a PS4 controller working with this that'd be hilarious.

The PS4 controller is gonna cost at least $60 alone

Yeah I know, but surely someone will hack it to show off their skills. Just because a hack is expensive and has limited value doesn't stop people.

man, if it can run an NES/SNES/Genesis/Turbographix emulator we're all good

i really just want a retro system for roms, the end.

related: http://neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=528855

plain old hacked wii is pretty good at running the roms...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hKKCoTlDjHo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59CjuKmGwyo

related: http://neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=528855

― I offer about as much diversity as a saltine cracker. (forksclovetofu), Friday, 5 April 2013 03:48 (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol at people complaining about how nes games look in hd

i know how that sounds, but old systems often look really bad on HDTVs, worse than they did on CRTs

Gotta be Ouya, Wii U's performance was fairly predictable

Got both, feel ok.

at least the bath people took on the ouya was a cheaper bath.

And the Wii U does have some good stuff; it's just looking like GameCube Redux.

i just got an email from ouya with the subject line "Fart where no frog has farted before"

this company's gonna go out of business or something

i'm sure the mass market will pick this over a fire tv or android tv

they're just gonna sell apps

if only someone would have warned me that buying an Ouya might be a bad idea

speak for yourself, i bought mine with bitcoin

i was a little shocked at the enthusiasm for ouya given the graveyard of linux-based game systems already out there plus the well-established and polished hacks for existing systems if your main interest was emulation.

maybe ouya was just a way to vote against the big 3? like it's main feature was being a political lever -- in which case I'd say it was a success.

pyrrhic, but yeah

feel like the steambox is gonna be what ends up getting that Fuck Everyone dollar

hahaha

i would get that over this

um
http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BmqJnR5IUAEC4z7.jpg

lol

http://i.imgur.com/iEPBagF.png

Amico Intellivision - this holiday season's Ouya (if it actually gets released on time).

who's in?!

afaict the guys behind it are all hardcore conservative christian boomers who wanted to make a console for conservative christian parents without all that sex and violence and microtransactions that would fill little johnnies head with sin. no surprise that creepos like Doug TenNapel are working on games for it.