OUYA: The future of gaming?

Has anyone looked into this new concept in gaming?
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console

It has perked my interest even though I prefer the old school "hard copy game in my hands." I was wondering what sort of impact, if any, this will have on the future of "gaming as we know it." Is this where we are headed? If this takes off and flies, and there are elements there that could give a console like this a big boost in popularity. It reminds me of the days of the Commodore 64 and the Atari ST. With the economy still squeezing the gamers pocket and the ipad, iphone gamer out there, this could be a winner for some. And I am so sure it will have things like Netflix and Hulu. Technology is pushing us in directions I do not want to go.

Great idea: home console completely hacker / dev friendly, open source, could potentally integrate steam type game delivery

Needs work: power seems lacking, wont stack up to big 3's next offerings

screwed: it looks like someone made a home theater pc out of 4 year ago tech. and crammed it in a neat case and used android as the os. An ipad gets away with these dinky games and lower power because it's portable. The idea behind this machine seems like only part of a whole, someone should do this but in a big bad a$$ console that'll compete with sony, m$, and nintendo.

I actually mostly prefer first party or exclusive games, so it's going to be hard for the OUYA to interest me.

targetrasp said:

Great idea: home console completely hacker / dev friendly, open source, could potentally integrate steam type game delivery

Needs work: power seems lacking, wont stack up to big 3's next offerings

screwed: it looks like someone made a home theater pc out of 4 year ago tech. and crammed it in a neat case and used android as the os. An ipad gets away with these dinky games and lower power because it's portable. The idea behind this machine seems like only part of a whole, someone should do this but in a big bad butt console that'll compete with sony, m$, and nintendo.

Click to expand...

I think the idea is that it does not need the power of a big console. IF it is mainly streaming the game content, the work horse is somewhere else. It is heavily dependent on fast Internet service. This might be good for a Blizzard strategy game or iphone and ipad games.
"Mai Valentine" But I agree, it is hard for me to believe that you would be able to play anything as comparable to a PS3 or 360 game. Your talking about a game designed by a team of individuals vs. maybe one or two?

My interest would be the indie games from the garage, or home grown, programmers. Lot of interesting stuff came from those people in the Commodore-Atari days. The big question is, "what is their business model and how will they maintain their income after the initial volume of hardware sells?" Wouldn't want to invest the money only to find 6 months later I couldn't play because their servers was shut down.

I know I blasted this thing several months ago but for some reason I've become interested. Retro I know you've got one now so maybe you could chime in on some of my questions / concerns.

1. Have they fixed the controller? The early reviews said the controller had buttons that stuck
2. Any games worth playing I've not seen elsewhere?
3. I read emulators were some of the top software... what if anything works well on this under emulation?
4. I don't like cell phone games because the screen size sucks so i've not had a lot of exposure to android games - anyhting in that realm worth playing and ported well on the system
5. Basically is it worth a C-note?

1. I have never had a problem with their controller. (I have read that they fixed some stuff after the initial release of the system.) Then again you can use the PS3 controller, an added plus.

2. I know this will seem long winded but I am trying to answer your question. I am a retro gamer. I am finding a lot of stuff that scratches that itch. I enjoy one and two button gaming and prefer it to the present generation consoles where you use every button on the controller. I love arcade type gaming and loved its influence on the early Atari, 8bit, and 16bit systems. You must keep that in mind. A lot of the games remind me of 8-bit and 16-bit gaming with graphics comparable to original gameboy to PS1 or slightly better, depends on the programmer or team. When you open a system like this to everyone to program for, that in and of itself, brings some limitations as to what a person or small team can and will do, and it reflects in the games that are available. I do not have a smart phone, so I do not know what is available on both the Ouya and the phone.

I am finding a lot of good old school type shooters, some good platforming, and puzzle games that I really like. They are simple games, but they are fun to play. Some people have got some nice ideas and they are talented. I really do not spend my time on any of the emulators.
A short list of some of my faves,
Teslapunk
Raiden Legacy
Siine Mora
Ballistic- love this sort of stuff
Inferno+ 2- love this sort of stuff
Reaper
Heavy Recoil
GunSlugs
Tennis in the Face
EFMB
Super Crate Box- this is totally insane fun
Pix'N Love Rush
Chronoblade- in which I wished they would do more with this concept

And the game "Hero of Many" I cannot even begin to know how to classify that game, but it is fun. Its exploratory puzzle elements captivate me.

I could list a lot more that I enjoy. I purchase games on this system which I have surprised myself in doing. I am a touch it, feel it, sort of gamer.

If you are really into the present generation gaming complexity & graphics of console gaming, then you may be disappointed. The Ouya has my attention while the Wii sits on one side and my Daughter's PS3 sits on the other gathering dust. Then again you need to understand I am presently enjoying playing my original Gameboy games too. :lol And the answer to my wife's question this week as to why? Because it is still fun.

3. The emulators work surprisingly well. But I do not spend my gaming time with them. To me, they are not the main reason for owning the system, I can see that for some it would be. Neo Geo works well from some of the games I have tried.

4. I don't have working knowledge of cell phone games. If you did not play because of screen size, make it as big as the TV you have in your house. My gaming experience with the Ouya has been fun. Just keep in mind what I have said above about my taste in gaming.

5. When I sit down to do gaming on my flat-screen in my family room, it is going to be the Ouya. There are games on there I can play for a few minutes to an hour. If you like simple addictive stuff from the golden age of gaming. I think it is worth the price of admission. I have not regretted my investment. I am a happy camper. The Ouya is for a niche market, not for everyone. And I would not compare it with the PS3, Xbox 360, or the Wii. It does not fit in that group, or camp. Not sure if one could consider it a complementary second system to those consoles or not. It would be a matter of ones own particular gaming tastes. I love having my Ouya and would not want to do without it in my gaming. I give it a big thumbs up, but that is me.

I hope, in one way or another, I have given some sort of idea, or more than just a vague answer. It is sort-of difficult to answer some questions. It is sort-of like reading a gaming magazine with three people giving their opinion about a game to the whole population of gamers. Reeeeeally? Whelp....! I have always scratched my head over that one.
Do feel free to ask more questions.

I asked because we have similar tastes and I noticed in another post you'd bought it.

I'm not as heavy retro as you are but I typically play one brand new game every quarter, last year's blockbuster when it goes on sale on steam, and I collect up anything halfway decent under 10 bucks at flea market, yard sales, game stops, etc with my favorites in the 8 and 16 bit flavors.

I do find some games from the past don't age well (data east games as a whole) or some genres I've gotten tired of (burned out on fighting games from sam showdown, sf, and mk series) but all in all I prefer playing the oldies.

On a side note I've been very hit and miss on these indie games. FTL has kept my attention for hours but stuff like supa meat boy has not enticed me to even try it (despite the fact that game was made within minutes of where I live).

Basically I just wanted to hear someone speak its praises. The controller issue scared me but I love to tinker and open source stuff makes me happy. I'm glad its getting some respect and will have one at some point in time. Although, at this point in my life I'm more of a collector than a gamer with the back log of crap I've got.

$89.99 on cyber monday amazon sale but I couldn't pull the trigger because I just put my car in the shop (right at christmas) ..... I will have one by tax time, unless the steam box is out (or I get the one of the betas) by then.

My original purchase of the Ouya was a, "now I want it, naa maybe not, now I want it, I don't know hmmmm," And really all my hesitation was fueled by the terrible reviews i was reading which was very bad analysis on the part of those doing the testing. It seemed that some people were bias going into the reviews. Then suddenly I had the cash in hand and in the mood willing to take the chance.

This week I was looking to see what games are going to be on the next generation of consoles. Just curious. Again, nothing that interest me. I will stick to my Ouya and my 3DS.