Which apparently has had a name change in the last few years. So now J and Q are correct answers. But the pub quiz master only accepted J so we are elite.

Too late.

To be honest, we did think it was Q to start with.

But we thought Protactinium was Pq when it was actually Pa thanks to the small screen of my smart phone.

This thing seems super dodgy, I hope it makes Valve/Steam make a move towards something for the telly. Now is the time...for something.

Over $2m.  Yoiks.
Apparently the world is shocked.
They've emailed people asking what games they want.  Not convinced that's a very sensible question to ask.  (Can't imagine COD getting ported; and can't imagine Nintendo etc. delivering stuff.)  But still, hopefully it shows a big enough niche that the thing does actually happen sensibly.

Mod74 wrote:

THAT'S NOT ON THE TABLE!

(anymore)

Not just yourself mod, but including me, and several others here, I could imagine that a B&B pub quiz would be the most horrible, pedantic event of all time.

"It's all a bit of fun, lads!"


Aye right.

Have already mentioned that I'm getting a little over-excited about this. I can understand the cynicism and this particular project may fail, but something like this WILL revolutionise the gaming industry. It's not a case of if, it's a case of when.


Think about it. As mainstream games have got more complicated and expensive to make, fewer companies are willing to take risks and the industry starts to stagnate. The rise of indie games is rectifying that but there isn't an obvious platform to develop for. Developing for phones or web browser is the easiest to get into, but there are issues with both (size of phone, user interface, lack of standardisation across PCs as everyone has a different set-up). Indie developers need a dedicated console and this could just be it!


Yes, if it's successful there will be hundreds of shovelware dross and opportunistic money-making, but it also might open the door for hundreds of talented, creative people who may just make some amazing games. Or, you know, it could just fail and stuff.

OOoohhhhhh Yeaaaaahhhhhh!!!!

I wont be funding. But it's a neato idea.
$99 is about £64 yeah?

So, Android based (Will it be upgradable to ICS and newer versions over time?) but the overlay is reminiscent of MS's last Xbox dashboard update.
How will touch based games translate to a control pad?

Intereting that people will be able to make their own peripherals for it.

@Mouldy: this has surely got 'niche' written all over it.  I struggle to see this going mainstream.  Nearly everyone will either be happy with a phone or want a "proper" console, I'd imagine.  

I can see there being lots of interesting games / demos / ideas etc. though.  So I view myself in that niche.  Certainly portfolio fodder if I do make a move to the industry.

@Sas: the control pad has a touch pad on it.  But no screen.  I can see it working ok, but yes, not the immediacy of touching what you're looking at or anything nice like that.

$2mil will pay a factory's 'leccy bills for what, a month?

The thing is, even if the console dies a death it'll still be supported as people will still be making Android based games.
True, at some point the general architecture will become obsolete, and a hardware revision will be required, I'm sure the hardware hackers will be more than up to the task.

regmcfly wrote:

Long enough to smelt 20,000

He who smelt it Reg, he who smelt it.

RamSteelwood wrote:

also, will it support games already bought through android app store (google play?), or will everything have to be bought through the 'ouya store' (as i guess they'd want a small cut of each sale)?  and in that sense, will google then 'approve' or will they simply look to bring out a newer version of android just to quickly make it a lame duck?

To use the Google Play application (and store) you have to have your device certified by Google. One suspects this won't be (because of the 70/30 payment split) but who knows. They don't mention an intention to.

I think this will work more like the Amazon App Store or any third party store. Which means you'll only access games that they've added to their store.

Which is less of an issue than persuading existing developers to re-tool their games to work on a big screen (and not look shit) and support the controller.

Despite being very similar code wise to Android (apart from graphics and controls) you're basically talking about a whole new platform, which as Windows Phone 7 has shown it's not always easy to attract people to. At least to begin with. 20k users isn't bad to begin with but it's microscopic in relation to other platforms.

Or indie developers who have no desire to attract the big boys could make some amazing games specifically for the console, games that require a controller and benefit from being played on a bigger screen. That could theoretically attract a wider audience who want to play those specific games.

On the increasingly rare chances I get to play a video game on an actual television, I can't see myself opting for a glorified smartphone experience over the 360.