[url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2012/jul/10/ouya-android-games-console-kickstarter[/url]
[quote=The Guardian][img]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/7/9/1341869538283/ouya.jpeg[/img]
US startup Ouya has launched a Kickstarter funding campaign for its Android-based games console, which will cost under $100 when it goes on sale in the first quarter of 2013.
The console – also called Ouya – has been designed by Yves Béhar, best known for his work on Jawbone's Jambox speaker, and the One Laptop per Child project. The Verge published initial details early in July, but the company has now gone public with its plans.
Ouya is aiming to raise $950k on crowdfunding site Kickstarter to complete development on the console, make the first production run and fund the development of some launch games. When it goes on sale, it will ship internationally.
"We think we're really going to disrupt the console market," says Julie Uhrman, Ouya's chief executive, in an interview with The Guardian. "It's inexpensive, all the games will be free to play, and it's open to any developer that wants to make a game for the TV."
The device will run Google's Android 4.0 software, with a customised user interface designed for TVs and its own curated app store.
By "free to play", Uhrman means that every game available on Ouya's store will have a free component: either demos where players can then pay to upgrade to the full version, or freemium games that make their money from in-app purchases.
"We've seen a lot of developers leave triple-A console development shops and do mobile gaming, which is why a lot of the creative and exciting games are going to mobile platforms," says Uhrman.
"Yet TV is still the best screen: the number one platform if you survey gamers. It's where the majority of gameplay happens and the majority of dollars are spent, and it's the best screen, from its HD quality to surround sound to that lean-back communal experience. We want to bring games back to the television."
Ouya will have a Tegra 3 quad-core processor inside, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of flash memory, and a 1080p HDMI connection. It will come with a wireless gaming controller with two analogue sticks, a D-pad, eight buttons and a touchpad.
[img]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/7/9/1341869629385/ouya-controller.jpg[/img]
Uhrman says the controller is key to Ouya: the physical buttons and sticks for twitch games like shoot 'em ups, racing and sports games, with the touchscreen used to play existing Android games designed for smartphones. Over time, she hopes new titles will take advantage of both.
Another key feature for Ouya is its openness. The company will actively encourage hackers to tinker with the device. "The console and controller are both openable, with standard screws," she says. Rooting the device won't void its warranty, either.
"People will be able to lift off the top, boost chips, add features and memory, and there's a USB port to add peripherals too. We'll publish the hardware design if enough people are curious about it."
Meanwhile, anyone buying an Ouya will get a software development kit (SDK) thrown in, and every unit is a debug console. "For the same price it costs to become an iOS developer, we'll give you a console and an SDK for free," says Uhrman.
Ouya's Kickstarter launch was accompanied by endorsements from several prominent developers, including inXile's Brian Fargo – which recently raised nearly $3m on the site for its Wasteland 2 game – and Canabalt creator Adam Saltsman.
Minecraft developer Mojang is also quoted in Ouya's launch materials, although – and it's to the company's credit that this is included – it's a more cautious welcome.
"If Ouya delivers on the promise of being the first true open gaming platform that gives indie developers access to the living room gaming market, yes that is a great idea. We will follow the development of Ouya and see how it resonates with gamers. I could see all current Mojang games go on the platform if there's a demand for it."
[img]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/7/9/1341869712803/ouya-menu.jpg[/img]
The first task is to raise that initial $950k on Kickstarter, although other recent crowdfunding examples – inXile but also Double Fine Adventure and the Pebble smart-watch – show it could smash through that target quickly and push on to a much greater amount.
Pledges run from $10 to reserve a username through $90 to get a console and controller; $225 for a console plus two controllers with their username etched on; $699 for a "Developer Special" first-run Ouya, early SDK access and a year's promotion of their game; and $1,337 for an "Elite Developer Special" that adds priority email access to the Ouya team, and tickets to its launch event.
30 backers who pledge $5k or more get a day hanging out with Behar and his company fuseproject, while 20 who pledge $10k or more get dinner with the team and their username etched into the entire first production run of consoles.
"VCs are still somewhat skittish when they come to hardware companies," says Uhrman. "They wanted to see more traction, so we raised a round of angel funding from friends and family, but now we've gotten to a point where it's time to get feedback from consumers and developers to help us take it all the way."[/quote]
Already raised $450,000 just a day after it went up
[url]http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console[/url]
And what you all came here to see
[quote]• [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBl-goBrWno]Tegra3[/url] quad-core processor
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB of internal flash storage
• HDMI connection to the TV, with support for up to 1080p HD
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
• Bluetooth LE 4.0
• USB 2.0 (one)
• Wireless controller with standard controls (two analog sticks, d-pad, eight action buttons, a system button), a touchpad
• Android 4.0 [/quote]
IMO it sounds like a unit for accessing an app store but now on your tv
Could be interesting, wonder how this one works out.
-snip-, I worded this wrong
The only bit I don't like
[quote]all the games will be free to play[/quote]
EDIT: Panic over! From the kickstarter
[quote]We're handing the reins over to the developer with only one condition: at least some gameplay has to be free. Developers can offer a free demo with a full-game upgrade, in-game items or powers, or ask you to subscribe.[/quote]
So basically they must offer a demo, awesome
Specs are kinda eeehhhhhh but I guess it's good for $99.
Open Source? Cool, then someone can make that remake of Custer's Revenge I've been clamoring for!
I'll get it. It's only $100, why not
This sounds terrible, running mobile games that don't render at 1080p on a large 1080p screen? And the hardware is decent enough for mobile games, but I don't see it as competing
The specs wouldn't be able to support AAA quality games, it's not going to last long.
[QUOTE=EliteGuy;36707366]The specs wouldn't be able to support AAA quality games, it's not going to last long.[/QUOTE]
The games have to be made for Android, in other words I don't see [I]any[/I] AAA games being made for it
I guess theoretically it runs onlive, but I mean, isn't the price of the onlive console 99 dollars too?
[QUOTE=CakeMaster7;36707395]The games have to be made for Android, in other words I don't see [I]any[/I] AAA games being made for it[/QUOTE]
GTA 3 and Max Payne are already out on Android
[QUOTE=smurfy;36707434]GTA 3 and Max Payne are already out on Android[/QUOTE]
I was under the impression that we were referring to recently released AAA games, though you're definitely right. Those are rereleases of old games, not modern AAA games being developed for consoles, like what most people buy consoles for.
[QUOTE=CakeMaster7;36707478]I was under the impression that we were referring to recently released AAA games, though you're definitely right. Those are rereleases of old games, not modern AAA games being developed for consoles, like what most people buy consoles for.[/QUOTE]
I was using them as examples that AAA developers will develop for Android
[QUOTE=CakeMaster7;36707353]This sounds terrible, running mobile games that don't render at 1080p on a large 1080p screen? And the hardware is decent enough for mobile games, but I don't see it as competing[/QUOTE]
snip, wrong = dumb
Sounds similar to [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeebo]this console[/url]:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBh-vBFeegs&feature=related[/media]
Oh god.
[QUOTE=QuikKill;36707556]Most phones run at resolutions near 1080p, so it's not a huge upscale.[/QUOTE]
But are the games rendered at every phone's native resolution? Seems unlikely with the wide variety of hardware Android supports.
God forbid a console use anything less than the latest greatest graphics hardware
[QUOTE=QuikKill;36707556]Most phones run at resolutions near 1080p, so it's not a huge upscale.[/QUOTE]
uh bro, 1080p on a tiny screen is a lot easier than 1080p on a large screen.
So it's a smartphone's app store but in a big box that sits in your living room collecting dust. No thanks.
[QUOTE=smurfy;36707602]God forbid a console use anything less than the latest greatest graphics hardware[/QUOTE]
Not even today's consoles use the latest or greatest :v:
[QUOTE=trotskygrad;36707621]uh bro, 1080p on a tiny screen is a lot easier than 1080p on a large screen.[/QUOTE]
What the hell has the screen size got to do with it?
[QUOTE=BlkDucky;36707661]What the hell has the screen size got to do with it?[/QUOTE]
how many pixels are present to be rendered on... on a large screen it's going to look more blurry and pixelated regardless.
[QUOTE=smurfy;36707602]God forbid a console use anything less than the latest greatest graphics hardware[/QUOTE]
Facepunch ladies and gentlemen - Consoles are holding pack the PC because their hardware is shitty... then hey, what's wrong with a console with shitty hardware? :v:. I sort of agree, but at the same time this console is seriously stretching it.
Seriously though - why put ARM on a console? I mean it's a good ARM processor but is the efficiency really necessary for a device with basically unlimited energy? Did they just not want to port Android to x86?
[QUOTE=CakeMaster7;36707590]But are the games rendered at every phone's native resolution? Seems unlikely with the wide variety of hardware Android supports.[/QUOTE]
My phone is 1280x720 and the game I'm developing runs at 100% native resolution on any phone it's compatible with. The way android deals with this is it gives you a set of image folders and you can put qualifiers on them like drawable-mdpi, drawable-ldpi and drawable-nodpi (which ignores the system). There's other kinds of qualifiers than DPI, but the gist of it is that you can make an app that works on any foreseeable device or screen resolution.
[QUOTE=smurfy;36707602]God forbid a console use anything less than the latest greatest graphics hardware[/QUOTE]
The weaker your graphics hardware the less you can do in your games, so it matters. I'm not as much concerned with visuals as I am with the fact that the hardware severely limits what you could put in a game.
[editline]10th July 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=Elspin;36707768]
My phone is 1280x720 and the game I'm developing runs at 100% native resolution on any phone it's compatible with. The way android deals with this is it gives you a set of image folders and you can put qualifiers on them like drawable-mdpi, drawable-ldpi and drawable-nodpi (which ignores the system). There's other kinds of qualifiers than DPI, but the gist of it is that you can make an app that works on any foreseeable device or screen resolution.[/QUOTE]
Thank you, I was a little confused as to how Android manages it's excellent scaling for different screen sizes and resolutions.
This is gonna suck for color blind people.
"hit the circle button"
[QUOTE=mr apple;36707883]This is gonna suck for color blind people.
"hit the circle button"[/QUOTE]
Depends on the type, my dad is colour blind and he doesn't see NO colours - he just sees different colours. So he'd see the same colour on the screen as he would on the controller, it'd just be a different colour than we see.
I might pledge $99 just so I can use the console as an emulator.
[QUOTE=Elspin;36707921]Depends on the type, my dad is colour blind and he doesn't see NO colours - he just sees different colours. So he'd see the same colour on the screen as he would on the controller, it'd just be a different colour than we see.[/QUOTE]
hopefully they just dont call it out
hit the red button
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