Um, Did Anyone Buy An OUYA?

[Satoshi_Matrix]

must be nice to see the Ouya in stores at all. It just isn't in Canada. I thought there was a chance when Target bought out Zellers, but nope.

[buzz_n64]

Reading Rainbow Limited Edition Ouya (4 days left)


"Hey this is Bob.

Today we’re going to help bring Reading Rainbow back – and we’re going to have fun doing it! We’ve joined with four of the top-earning Kickstarter campaigns of all time to show our support for a super-special cause. We’re creating a READING RAINBOW LIMITED EDITION OUYA in wondrous sky blue! What’s more, LeVar Burton will sign the first 500 consoles personally before shipping to backers!"


https://www.ouya.tv/take-a-look-its-in-a-b-ouya/

[josekortez]

I will probably download Fotonica later today, which is 50% off this weekend. It appears to be a first person endless runner that looks like Rez wireframe graphics. I was also astounded that Pier Solar HD is coming to Ouya before it comes to Xbox Live. Shocker.

[Tupin]

I got one of these, it sadly has gone unused for a few months. Definitely need to get back into it because it does have a lot of good content now.

[PreZZ]

Ouya is one of the best purchase I have ever made, if you manage to set up xbmc properly you get so many tv channels, movies and tv shows that you can cut the cable. I did. All I want to watch, when I want, without commercials. And all NHL games!

[Atarileaf]

My only complaint with xbmc is the horrible buffering, even with our very speedy internet access which works great with other services like netflix.

[josekortez]

I'm late to the party - does XBMC only play videos from a video library or can it be used to play videos from the Internet? Sorry but I can't find a good wiki online to explain it in layman's terms.

[PreZZ]

@atarileaf try to set 0 cache in tweaks of istream maintenance add on it helps the buffering a lot, I also use powerline adapters. And joe it gets shows from internet, but you can also stream your own librAry too.

[josekortez]

I thought I should mention a few sales to the die-hard Ouya owners. Fotonica is $2.50 and Goblin Quest: Escape is $2 through the end of today, October 7th and Towerfall: Ascension is $10.04 through October 14th.

[Atarileaf]

@atarileaf try to set 0 cache in tweaks of istream maintenance add on it helps the buffering a lot, I also use powerline adapters. And joe it gets shows from internet, but you can also stream your own librAry too.

that worked thanks

[PreZZ]

Also dont Forget to clear the cache often in istream maintenance add on (and others you watch too) because thats a garanteed bufferfest if you dont.

[Manhattan Sports Club]

I still see myself as an apologist of the Ouya faith. And I have yet to fully utilize the machine! They remain loyal to their followers. I will probably pick up the full version of Crystal Picnic next for $2.99!

All the imitators like GameStick and the others are not catching on because they didn't have the proper strategy and planning that OUYA has. I hope they will stick it through and continue to slowly build an entourage. Even the Nvidia Shield doesn't have alot of the same philosophy as OUYA does which makes it so great.

[Steve W]

I haven't used my Ouya in a while either. I'd really like to get MAME4Droid running properly on it, but it doesn't seem to like 90% of the ROMs I try to use.

[Manhattan Sports Club]

I haven't used my Ouya in a while either. I'd really like to get MAME4Droid running properly on it, but it doesn't seem to like 90% of the ROMs I try to use.

I didn't hear about that. It's certainly not without its faults but there's plenty of room and community for improvement.

Another defense I'll make of the OUYA is this: Although I still think a solid desktop or laptop PC is the best platform to have around, you must consider how Android branching out as a new major OS and catering to its own exclusive releases will not be made irrelevant by such a machine. Second, I think tablets are just the pagers/beepers of this generation. I don't see them perfecting the touch-screen capabilities much more, despite all the amazing technology we have, unless they start integrating more interaction via pen accessories. The reason I say this is because both finger and website sizes (or arrangements) vary so much that it's difficult to make a one size suits all approach. And come on, how many Android devices can you name that are NOT tablets, much less ones that had the kind of backing or clever strategy that OUYA has? Nvidia Shield is close but is still missing some of the community ideals.

Try as you might, there is no excuse to defend tablets by making the case that the HDMI and USB connections offer TV and controller experiences in the same context of OUYA. The inherent evils of touch-screen tablets remain and tablets of this sort are almost unanimously designed to be navigated with the screen, not a controller. That usually only works inside of a game application. And the idea of buying a touch-screen tablet to use a remote on it is not only inconvenient but paradoxical.

[Bojay1997]

I didn't hear about that. It's certainly not without its faults but there's plenty of room and community for improvement.

Another defense I'll make of the OUYA is this: Although I still think a solid desktop or laptop PC is the best platform to have around, you must consider how Android branching out as a new major OS and catering to its own exclusive releases will not be made irrelevant by such a machine. Second, I think tablets are just the pagers/beepers of this generation. I don't see them perfecting the touch-screen capabilities much more, despite all the amazing technology we have, unless they start integrating more interaction via pen accessories. The reason I say this is because both finger and website sizes (or arrangements) vary so much that it's difficult to make a one size suits all approach. And come on, how many Android devices can you name that are NOT tablets, much less ones that had the kind of backing or clever strategy that OUYA has? Nvidia Shield is close but is still missing some of the community ideals.

Try as you might, there is no excuse to defend tablets by making the case that the HDMI and USB connections offer TV and controller experiences in the same context of OUYA. The inherent evils of touch-screen tablets remain and tablets of this sort are almost unanimously designed to be navigated with the screen, not a controller. That usually only works inside of a game application. And the idea of buying a touch-screen tablet to use a remote on it is not only inconvenient but paradoxical.

Millions of people game on tablets everyday. As such, there is a massive install base and that's not going to go away anytime soon. Tablets also have the advantage of being highly portable and including their own screen. There are also tons of tablets that can output to television screens and that can be controlled with external controllers just like the Ouya. The Ouya is a niche product and despite some early successes, the general impression I get from other Ouya owners is that they use them for emulation or XBMC boxes, i.e. applications that will never result in any revenue to Ouya or developers outside of the initial purchase. I suspect the rumors of Ouya seeking a merger or acquisition by a larger tech company are probably accurate as they have likely burned through most of their funding at this point and have little revenue to show for it. I backed the Ouya Kickstarter, I actually bought one of the white limited editions and the Reading Rainbow edition, but there is no way you will ever convince me that it's anything other than a niche product that will always be admired by a small but dedicated group and will eventually disappear from the market as the company behind it runs out of cash.

[Manhattan Sports Club]

Millions of people game on tablets everyday. As such, there is a massive install base and that's not going to go away anytime soon. Tablets also have the advantage of being highly portable and including their own screen. There are also tons of tablets that can output to television screens and that can be controlled with external controllers just like the Ouya. The Ouya is a niche product and despite some early successes, the general impression I get from other Ouya owners is that they use them for emulation or XBMC boxes, i.e. applications that will never result in any revenue to Ouya or developers outside of the initial purchase. I suspect the rumors of Ouya seeking a merger or acquisition by a larger tech company are probably accurate as they have likely burned through most of their funding at this point and have little revenue to show for it. I backed the Ouya Kickstarter, I actually bought one of the white limited editions and the Reading Rainbow edition, but there is no way you will ever convince me that it's anything other than a niche product that will always be admired by a small but dedicated group and will eventually disappear from the market as the company behind it runs out of cash.

Millions of people also smoke cigarettes. That doesn't mean anything about the merits of it. I also addressed many of those things in my post.

Again, controllers tend to be horrible for navigating web sites and many non-game software. It doesn't matter if it is made for Wii or even a system like OUYA. That is something I prefer to save on the PC.

As as alternative view, you can also see OUYA as opening the gateway for future innovators to improve on the concept. Almost every product that ever failed was not in vain since it showed people a living example of what went wrong. The Odyssey 1 was a huge failure, but did that stop people from creating consoles as we see today? No! Even if OUYA fails in its current iteration, someone will likely use it as the basis for a future product. In that sense, people would be buying a spiritual successor to the OUYA. Also, OUYA's plan was to begin small and develop a dedicated following, not start off as some monstrous blockbuster. Often the more rewarding stuff takes more time to fully appreciate and consume. It's like real food vs. junk food. I'm not saying that all mainstream stuff is trash, but they could take a few cues from OUYA.

The fact that it is rootable means the hardware can be re-used by other developers (i.e.; Google, Desura) to install a similar service and OS in case OUYA themselves goes out of business, both now or in the future! That extends its lifespan. Think Win/Mac/Linux on PC. The OUYA also makes itself proof that an affordable package (flexible console+controller) can be produced at this price and can be of interest to future investors or manufacturers. Of course, you can go back to the fact that tablets are rootable, but OUYA made itself moddable outside of the box and is documented. And again, I continue to declare my disdain for the inherently problematic concept of touch-screen tablets.

[Bojay1997]

Millions of people also smoke cigarettes. That doesn't mean anything about the merits of it. I also addressed many of those things in my post.

Again, controllers tend to be horrible for navigating web sites and many non-game software. It doesn't matter if it is made for Wii or even a system like OUYA. That is something I prefer to save on the PC.

As as alternative view, you can also see OUYA as opening the gateway for future innovators to improve on the concept. Almost every product that ever failed was not in vain since it showed people a living example of what went wrong. The Odyssey 1 was a huge failure, but did that stop people from creating consoles as we see today? No! Even if OUYA fails in its current iteration, someone will likely use it as the basis for a future product. In that sense, people would be buying a spiritual successor to the OUYA. Also, OUYA's plan was to begin small and develop a dedicated following, not start off as some monstrous blockbuster. Often the more rewarding stuff takes more time to fully appreciate and consume. It's like real food vs. junk food. I'm not saying that all mainstream stuff is trash, but they could take a few cues from OUYA.

The fact that it is rootable means it can be used by other developers (i.e.; Google, Desura) to install a similar service using the same hardware in case OUYA themselves goes out of business, or even now! The OUYA also makes itself proof that an affordable package (flexible console+controller) can be produced at this price and can be of interest to future investors or manufacturers. That extends its lifespan. Of course, you can go back to the fact that such a thing is possible with tablets, but OUYA made itself moddable outside of the box and is documented. And again, I continue to declare my disdain for the inherently problematic concept of touch-screen tablets.

Your smoking analogy is totally irrelevant. You claimed that tablets were somehow the pagers of modern technology, the implication being that they are some stopgap measure toward some other better technology. I disagree. Tablets will continue to get smaller and cheaper and more reliable and accurate. As the new Shield tablet demonstrates, they will also be customized for gaming. Tablets are also great at both gaming and navigating websites. That's something I can't say for a set top box like the Ouya.

While I agree that the concept of the Ouya (a lot cost Android gaming platform that can be played with controllers on a television) spurred action on the part of other companies including NVidia, ultimately, the Ouya has fallen far short of its promise. Like I said, most of us who own them have used them for things like emulation or XBMC. These are not things that most consumers want or need and they don't generate revenue for either hardware manufacturers or software developers. As such, Ouya's features and open ended nature essentially destroyed any real possibility of financial success.

I believe it's very unlikely that anyone will continue the Ouya as a separate platform once the company folds or is acquired. It's already underpowered compared to the competition and frankly, as Gamestick and Fire TV showed, the market for low cost Android gaming boxes is not all that large and certainly not expanding in a way that can sustain growth.

As a classic gamer and collector, I think the Ouya is a neat little marker on the road, but I never bought into the hype and I frankly have never been that impressed with either the technology or the management behind it.

[Manhattan Sports Club]

Your smoking analogy is totally irrelevant. You claimed that tablets were somehow the pagers of modern technology, the implication being that they are some stopgap measure toward some other better technology. I disagree. Tablets will continue to get smaller and cheaper and more reliable and accurate. As the new Shield tablet demonstrates, they will also be customized for gaming. Tablets are also great at both gaming and navigating websites. That's something I can't say for a set top box like the Ouya.

I don't see how being smaller will help improve accuracy. I said in one of my previous posts that it seems inherently flawed to think you can get one-size-fits-all accuracy when for one, people have fingers of varying sizes, and the items that can be clicked on will not always appear the same in every browser, especially small ones, which could lead to some people clicking the wrong thing. I have this problem on an Android tablet that has a clunky interface. Yes, there is room for improvement. But I think part of it could be achieved through pens. And that's not always ideal for games that require both hands.

While I agree that the concept of the Ouya (a lot cost Android gaming platform that can be played with controllers on a television) spurred action on the part of other companies including NVidia, ultimately, the Ouya has fallen far short of its promise. Like I said, most of us who own them have used them for things like emulation or XBMC. These are not things that most consumers want or need and they don't generate revenue for either hardware manufacturers or software developers. As such, Ouya's features and open ended nature essentially destroyed any real possibility of financial success.

Most consoles in this day and age should be things no one wants or needs. Consoles were generally about convenience but now the divide between the two (console and PC) is not that great. Thus, it's pointless not to invest in either a decent laptop or desktop instead. OUYA maintains both PC flexibility and the traditional convenient access of a console. On the other hand, OUYA lacks graphical power, but with it was made with a retro/indie 'gameplay-over-graphics' philosophy.

I believe it's very unlikely that anyone will continue the Ouya as a separate platform once the company folds or is acquired. It's already underpowered compared to the competition and frankly, as Gamestick and Fire TV showed, the market for low cost Android gaming boxes is not all that large and certainly not expanding in a way that can sustain growth.

As a classic gamer and collector, I think the Ouya is a neat little marker on the road, but I never bought into the hype and I frankly have never been that impressed with either the technology or the management behind it.

Some truth to this. I never said it was not possible that the OUYA can or will fall apart sooner or later, but honestly I think the same about the console market in general.

[Bojay1997]

I don't see how being smaller will help improve accuracy. I said in one of my previous posts that it seems inherently flawed to think you can get one-size-fits-all accuracy when for one, people have fingers of varying sizes, and the items that can be clicked on will not always appear the same in every browser, especially small ones, which could lead to some people clicking the wrong thing. I have this problem on an Android tablet that has a clunky interface. Yes, there is room for improvement. But I think part of it could be achieved through pens. And that's not always ideal for games that require both hands.



Most consoles in this day and age should be things no one wants or needs. Consoles were generally about convenience but now the divide between the two (console and PC) is not that great. Thus, it's pointless not to invest in either a decent laptop or desktop instead. OUYA maintains both PC flexibility and the traditional convenient access of a console. On the other hand, OUYA lacks graphical power, but with it was made with a retro/indie 'gameplay-over-graphics' philosophy.



Some truth to this. I never said it was not possible that the OUYA can or will fall apart sooner or later, but honestly I think the same about the console market in general.

I think you just have a badly made Android tablet. I own several iPads, an NVidia Shield tablet, a Surface and an Amazon Fire HD and I have never had an issue tapping the wrong thing and I have fairly meaty fingers. I also don't think stylus control is coming back even though the NVidia Shield Tablet did come with one.

Not everyone wants a PC, even if the price gap between a PS4/Xbox One and a PC is closing or is virtually non-existent. In fact, I know a lot of people that don't have laptops or PCs at all anymore and instead they own a WiFi router, a tablet and a console. That allows them to do basically everything they need to do which is surfing the Internet, watching streaming video services and playing games. People are also buying Chromebooks or similar laptop/tablet hybrids. I also know a couple of friends who don't do any word processing at home anymore and just do whatever typing they need to do at work, so they have no use for a PC or laptop.

I don't think the Ouya fills a niche many ordinary consumers want to have filled. For classic gamers, it definitely has an appeal, but as I've said repeatedly, emulators don't generate revenue and therefore are not sustainable as a basis for a viable consumer product.

[Manhattan Sports Club]

I think you just have a badly made Android tablet. I own several iPads, an NVidia Shield tablet, a Surface and an Amazon Fire HD and I have never had an issue tapping the wrong thing and I have fairly meaty fingers. I also don't think stylus control is coming back even though the NVidia Shield Tablet did come with one.

Not everyone wants a PC, even if the price gap between a PS4/Xbox One and a PC is closing or is virtually non-existent. In fact, I know a lot of people that don't have laptops or PCs at all anymore and instead they own a WiFi router, a tablet and a console. That allows them to do basically everything they need to do which is surfing the Internet, watching streaming video services and playing games. People are also buying Chromebooks or similar laptop/tablet hybrids. I also know a couple of friends who don't do any word processing at home anymore and just do whatever typing they need to do at work, so they have no use for a PC or laptop.

I don't think the Ouya fills a niche many ordinary consumers want to have filled. For classic gamers, it definitely has an appeal, but as I've said repeatedly, emulators don't generate revenue and therefore are not sustainable as a basis for a viable consumer product.

I have no problem admitting that you're right in some respects. I have a poorly designed Zeki tablet. So my experience is definitely flawed a bit, but I still believe that there are some things that I would not want to use on a touch screen. I DO use word processors as a writer, so that would be a no-no for me. I enjoy my laptop for that. I'm also skeptical of how programs for editing various media would fare on that. Definitely not for me.