Ouya tops $8.5 million as Kickstarter campaign comes to a close • Hacker News Board

Re: Ouya tops $8.5 million as Kickstarter campaign comes to a close

#81

Post by surgeterrix » Fri, Aug 10, 2012, 4:03 PM UTC

eropple wrote: post #42

praptak wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Their platform [...] has a tiny user base A platform. That does not even exist yet. Has a tiny user base. We have a genius here.

That it hasn't yet released doesn't mean we don't know what we're looking at in terms of a market. 60,000 committed users is a spectacularly tiny user base. I'd bet money (and am in fact betting my own time, which isn't entirely dissimilar) that the userbase of modern Android devices--say, from as far back as the Nexus One phone to the current Nexus 7 tablet--is so much bigger that if even one in twenty users care ab…

60,000 pre-orders for a completely unknown company months before launch is not small. Usually they sell more once the thing is actually in stores, and they already have the best kind of marketing they can get, hype and people putting dollars into it before a physical product exists.

Yes, the big console makers sell that many every week, but they are not a big console maker, so they don't need lots of numbers to sustain themselves, that's what growth is for, and they are showing better indications of it then Nintendo or Sony when they first got on the market, assuming they actually deliver the product they will see more. and their price point puts them in closer competition to a PS2 or Roku.

Re: Ouya tops $8.5 million as Kickstarter campaign comes to a close

#82

Post by surgeterrix » Fri, Aug 10, 2012, 4:06 PM UTC

tomflack wrote: post #60

xam wrote: post #28

Very impressive! If I were Google, I'd buy the company immediately. With Google's backing, they could go into production with more speed, maybe even using the Nexus Q's USA-based manufacturer. I think once they've release the first Ouya, Google should start working on putting in more Google TV and Nexus Q features.

That's exactly what I don't want to see. Yet another device tied in to Google. For me, all the promise of the Ouya is in doing things independently, not tied to the mission of a corporate behemoth. If corporate behemoths want in, they can do the same thing as everyone else and write SN app for it.

Well, if Ouya is successful, they will eventually become a corporate behemoth too.

What was it, maybe 7-8 years ago Google was still a scrappy start up sticking it to MS and AOL?

Re: Ouya tops $8.5 million as Kickstarter campaign comes to a close

#83

Post by BHSPitMonkey » Fri, Aug 10, 2012, 4:49 PM UTC

angersock wrote: post #76

dinkumthinkum wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh what is this nonsense. Why don't you just come out and say what your position is. So any consumer of content deserves simply scorn and ridicule? What high and mighty bs.

So any consumer of content deserves simply scorn and ridicule? That's not what I said--please don't put words in my mouth. I did not expand my definition to include any consumer of content, and I did not suggest anything other than that developers have no reason to view their target audience as anything other than entities paying for their product--they have no reason to see them as people with feelings and emotions,…

Wow. Good to know that you have a healthy respect for your users.

Re: Ouya tops $8.5 million as Kickstarter campaign comes to a close

#84

Post by tomflack » Fri, Aug 10, 2012, 5:16 PM UTC

xam wrote: post #79

tomflack wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's exactly what I don't want to see. Yet another device tied in to Google. For me, all the promise of the Ouya is in doing things independently, not tied to the mission of a corporate behemoth. If corporate behemoths want in, they can do the same thing as everyone else and write SN app for it.

I understand what you're saying, but I don't think Google would do much of anything to tie the Ouya to its 'corporate behemoth' mission. Besides, I believe that Google's immense power could improve Ouya's standing by backing it thoroughly.

They would, 100% absolutely try and make it the new Google TV.

Re: Ouya tops $8.5 million as Kickstarter campaign comes to a close

#85

Post by tomflack » Fri, Aug 10, 2012, 5:23 PM UTC

surgeterrix wrote: post #82

tomflack wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's exactly what I don't want to see. Yet another device tied in to Google. For me, all the promise of the Ouya is in doing things independently, not tied to the mission of a corporate behemoth. If corporate behemoths want in, they can do the same thing as everyone else and write SN app for it.

Well, if Ouya is successful, they will eventually become a corporate behemoth too. What was it, maybe 7-8 years ago Google was still a scrappy start up sticking it to MS and AOL?

Then they'd be a new corporate behemoth, introducing variety. If these guys entertain a Google acquisition at all, I am out.

Re: Ouya tops $8.5 million as Kickstarter campaign comes to a close

#86

Post by eropple » Sun, Aug 12, 2012, 5:07 PM UTC

surgeterrix wrote: post #81

eropple wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That it hasn't yet released doesn't mean we don't know what we're looking at in terms of a market. 60,000 committed users is a spectacularly tiny user base. I'd bet money (and am in fact betting my own time, which isn't entirely dissimilar) that the userbase of modern Android devices--say, from as far back as the Nexus One phone to the current Nexus 7 tablet--is so much bigger that if even one in twenty users care ab…

60,000 pre-orders for a completely unknown company months before launch is not small. Usually they sell more once the thing is actually in stores, and they already have the best kind of marketing they can get, hype and people putting dollars into it before a physical product exists. Yes, the big console makers sell that many every week, but they are not a big console maker, so they don't need lots of numbers to susta…

For them, the hardware order isn't small, no. However, they're pricing it so low that they're almost certainly making very little money per-unit, so they're hoping to make money on their app store.

To make money on their app store, they need games.

Not many developers are going to write games for a platform with around 1/16th of the user base of your average front-line Android phone. (Please don't say "it's an easy port"; it's not and the Ouya people's claim that it is is fucking dishonest.)

A few companies have committed to bringing their products to the Ouya. I am interested in seeing how many of them follow through. Of those who follow through, I am interested in how many just push shovelware because doing a real port to a platform with 60,000 guaranteed users, many of which are probably going to be hacking the shit out of the thing (and making software security a non-starter), is not economically viable for most people.