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Ouya console review: "Pass on it"

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Re: Ouya console review: "Pass on it"

#31

Post by porsupah »

LawnGnome wrote: post #26
ergo14 wrote: post #2

I actually think that as an inexpensive XBMC TV device + emulator gaming Ouya is an outstanding offering for its price. But if someone expected current gen console compatition here - it means that the product was misunderstood.

I couldn't agree more: mine runs XBMC well and, for me, is worth the $100 just for that. That there are emulators that work well and some fun games are pure bonuses, really. It's something that slots in alongside other consoles rather than replacing or even competing with them.

Is its 1080p performance perfect? It'd be an interesting option here, if so. The Pi isn't up to the job, which seems to leave something of a toss-up between this and an Apple TV, suitably jailbroken for Matroska support.

Re: Ouya console review: "Pass on it"

#32

Post by jiggy2011 »

ianterrell wrote: post #27
jiggy2011 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Problem is that you are trying to hit a middle ground between people who are gaming enthusiasts and want to play games on a dedicated device be it a console or PC with a fancy GPU. And a larger casual market; many of whom are probably looking to buy games for a system they already own like a laptop or tablet.

I'm not sure if it's more accurately described as a middle ground or as a niche: Casual gamers who want to play cheap games on their TV, with a controller, and/or with friends. (Another possible interpretation of "midcore.") I think Towerfall's popularity is due in some measure to hitting that specific formula: cheap & fun same screen multiplayer; "mobile philosophy" on a television. I do think overall you're right t…

The problem with having a niche market of people who buy your system because it is cheap is that it's not a particularly profitable thing for developers to target compared to a more serious console where you can charge $50 for a game or a smartphone/tablet where you make your money by selling many copies. So all of the best games end up being ported to other platforms anyway, which reduces the incentive to buy an Ouya unless you have the might to lock developers into exclusive deals.

Re: Ouya console review: "Pass on it"

#33

Post by GuiA »

jjsz wrote: post #30
GuiA wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes I leave my primary laptop at work. Sometimes my girlfriend may want to play a SNES game while I'm using my laptop. Sometimes I want to reinstall my laptop and don't want that to impact my gaming console. Sometimes I may not want to bother with having to plug in my laptop in the TV and find the controller, to play 20 minutes of Dr. Mario. (I'm very lazy) I'd rather have several cheap, interchangeable devices…

I found this forum [0] that lists Android USB sticks, which are more portable than the Ouya, and cheaper. This "Tronsmart CX-919 Quad Core Google Android 4.2.2 OS Rockchip RK3188 Cortex A9 1.6GHz Mini TV BOX Dongle HDMI HDD Player 2G/8G BT/HDMI/External Wifi Antenna-Blackis" is $65 [1]. [0] http://forums.redflagdeals.com/android-tv-stick-convert-norm... [1] http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Tronsmart-CX-919-Quad-Core-Go…

Oh that's neat, thank you! (although I may pay the Ouya premium because Towerfall looks really fun)

Re: Ouya console review: "Pass on it"

#34

Post by __david__ »

reitzensteinm wrote: post #15
Zimahl wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

where will you get legal ROMs for those consoles? You don't. You put on your eyepatch, grab your cutlass, and raise the Jolly Roger.

You've both missed his point, which is: why pirate SNES games but not Xbox 360 games?

I, for one, have zero moral qualms about pirating something that isn't being produced any more. I'd even argue that pirating abandonware is a net-positive to society--it keeps the past intact (much like a museum or a library) and as a bonus, the people that work on the (usually open source) emulators get to dig in and understand yesterdays technology.

There's pretty much zero downside.

Re: Ouya console review: "Pass on it"

#35

Post by ekianjo »

GuiA wrote: post #28
EpicEng wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another cheap way to play SNES games; your computer and a $10 controller.

Sometimes I leave my primary laptop at work. Sometimes my girlfriend may want to play a SNES game while I'm using my laptop. Sometimes I want to reinstall my laptop and don't want that to impact my gaming console. Sometimes I may not want to bother with having to plug in my laptop in the TV and find the controller, to play 20 minutes of Dr. Mario. (I'm very lazy) I'd rather have several cheap, interchangeable devices…

It's not super cheap, unfortunately (well, apart from the used models you can get), but the Open Pandora would nicely fit some of your requirements. It's excellent for emulation, among many other things. It also plays many Android games pretty well.

Re: Ouya console review: "Pass on it"

#36

Post by ekianjo »

brigade wrote: post #24
reitzensteinm wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You've both missed his point, which is: why pirate SNES games but not Xbox 360 games?

Whose point? People don't pirate 360 games because it's probably fairly annoying - you need a 360 console to begin with, then mod it which might need an older one running an out-of-date OS, and likely can't play multiplayer without the risk of your account being banned. Plus the size of games means torrents which means letters to your ISP. And if it's a couple years old you can probably buy the game for $10-20. Pirat…

The "makers" of the games (i.e. developers) don't get the money for re-released games, just the publishers do. It does not cost them anything, it's full profit and they own all rights to their distribution. I don't think it makes it more reasonable to support them for making fresh, full money out of completely outdated games.

Re: Ouya console review: "Pass on it"

#37

Post by seivan »

vinkelhake wrote: post #23
seivan wrote: post #13

Make a game editor, with a decent 2d editor and a nice integrated IDE.

That will surely remedy the lack of quality games.

Woaaaah, easy there sarcasmo!

That sorta sounds like Sony. Hey lets make our platform an entirely new platform, different from x86 and as hard as possible to get quality game developers.

Sounds familiar?

Re: Ouya console review: "Pass on it"

#38

Post by Dylan16807 »

zoba wrote: post #11

This review states the Ouya is "hacker friendly" and I think thats far from the truth. It comes with a locked bootloader and, as far as I've been able to research, no one has been able to put any other version of Linux on it. I think piracy concerns ended up causing Ouya to close their system some, making it less hacker friendly.

Not only is the bootloader locked, it has no recovery mode. It's dangerous to even update the system, let alone install custom OS-level software.

Re: Ouya console review: "Pass on it"

#39

Post by jjsz »

GuiA wrote: post #33
jjsz wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I found this forum [0] that lists Android USB sticks, which are more portable than the Ouya, and cheaper. This "Tronsmart CX-919 Quad Core Google Android 4.2.2 OS Rockchip RK3188 Cortex A9 1.6GHz Mini TV BOX Dongle HDMI HDD Player 2G/8G BT/HDMI/External Wifi Antenna-Blackis" is $65 [1]. [0] http://forums.redflagdeals.com/android-tv-stick-convert-norm... [1] http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Tronsmart-CX-919-Quad-Core-Go…

Oh that's neat, thank you! (although I may pay the Ouya premium because Towerfall looks really fun)

Yeah, no sweat. Supposedly games like FF will be Ouya optimized so I'm imagining FFIV will have better graphics. We'll see, it might turn out like the 3DS and have games come a little late.
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