With $8.6M In Kickstarter Funds, Ouya Opens Console Pre-Orders

Chameleon Man writes with an excerpt from PC Mag: "Early this morning, the Android-based Ouya console ended its run on Kickstarter with nearly $8.6 million in user donations. In recent weeks, the company has secured a number of content partners for the device, but now it's time to see if Ouya can really deliver. Interested buyers can now pre-order an Ouya on the company's website. In the U.S., one console and one controller will cost $109, one console plus two controllers will be $139, and one console and four controllers will be $199. All orders include a $10 shipping charge." Adds Chameleon Man: "Here's to hoping that an open-source console can gain a foothold in an already competitive market."

Comments

Re:I got one!

[Ironhandx]

I'm hoping its something that can beat the Wii at its own low-end game. A cheap console with cheapish games without Nanny Nintendo watching all of the games that get released on it to make sure they're fit for our eyes would be fantastic.

How open is this "open console"?

[Adrian Lopez]

I asked developers whether Ouya will run games sold outside the official store (without having to root the device, like with to Android's "unknown sources"), but they never replied. Until they do, I don't consider this a particularly open console.

Have we reached an era when even those who advertise openness won't release commercial platforms that aren't like walled gardens?

Re:How open is this "open console"?

[guises]

Have they advertised this as an open console? I didn't get that impression at all. Do we know that they aren't going to require a signed OS? Will I be able to run my own ROM? I haven't been able to find that information.

Actually, I can't understand why so many people are behind this. Both from a gamer's perspective and from a developer's this seems like a non-starter. Open platforms can sometimes overcome the lack of a customer base by virtue of their openness, but we don't seem to have that here. It's underpowered compared to other consoles, the 30% cut that they want for selling games through their store is huge - I've never heard of Nintendo or Sony taking more than 20%, though Microsoft jacked up their cut on XBLA after a while - and that plus the small potential customer base means there's no financial reason to develop for this thing.

I also somewhat resent their business model. They're funding development of their product through donations, at no risk to themselves, and then demanding 30% of all sales. That's rent-seeking if I've ever seen it.

Too much of a good thing

[SuperKendall]

o me, that lack of power is a VERY good thing because it means the developers will be forced to make their games fun rather than pretty.

And who is going to bother to make games for it when they can just continue to make games for platforms that sell far more (iOS?)

I don't mean to rain on this parade because I think efforts like this are fantastic generally, but I have serious reservations about this being able to go anywhere...

One last issue is how will Ouya address Android piracy? If developers are experiencing high piracy rates on Android already, how will this diminish in an Android based console? That question alone is vital to address to get strong and sustained support for the platform.

Re:I got one!

[Skarecrow77]

To me, that lack of power is a VERY good thing because it means the developers will be forced to make their games fun rather than pretty.

I -know- there are some people on here who remember that there were games before ansiotropic filtered bump mapped motion blured LOD textured polygons.

I even seem to remember enjoying a few of them. Super metroid anyone? Final Fantasy II and III (4j and 6j)? mario kart, ice hockey, bubble bobble, zelda(s), sonic(s), punch out, tecmo bowl, come on how long do I have to go?

there are a ton of good 2d sprite games on the android market. 2d doesn't -need- to be dead.

Not to mention that "underpowered" is relative. This thing is roughly as powerful, give or take, as the original xbox or ps2, and I'm pretty sure there were some good enjoyable 3D games for them as well.

Re:Probably going to get one, but not preordering

[Anonymous Coward]

I actually did. When I showed my pre-order receipt from -01 to the cashier a hush fell over the entire store. I laminated it in about -07 because it was getting in pretty bad shape... I was a bit worried that they wouldn't accept it, but they did more than that - they gave me the game for free and took pictures with me and the receipt to hang up in the store, with the caption "Our most patient customer".

Sometimes it pays being a hoarder. Other times, three hundred used bottle caps sorted by size.

Controller Markup?

[TheAngryMob]

Anyone else notice the odd markup on the extra controllers? It's $20 per controller when you go from one to two controllers, but $30 per controller when going from one to four. Are they going to sell controllers separately or if you buy the 1 or 2 controller box, that's it, no adding on?

we have a failure to communicate

[OrangeTide]

So you don't understand what kickstarter is? Or are you having difficulty wrapping your brain around the idea of a pre-order?

It's fine if you don't want to be an early adopter. But acting like you have the superior position seems ludicrous.

Ouya U

[tepples]

Make an Ouya game that links up over ad-hoc Wi-Fi with a client on a Nexus 7 tablet. Instant Ouya U.