If I were to ask the average American teenager to name their favorite video game system, they would probably respond with one of three answers: Xbox360, Playstation 3, or Wii. What if I were to tell you that one year from now, “Ouya” would be the the most popular video game console in the U.S.? I’m sure I would get a lot of puzzled reactions, considering that not too many people have heard of this “console of the future” yet.
Set to be released in March 2013 for $99, the Ouya is an open-source, Android powered gaming console that works more like an iPad than an Xbox, where a user hooks up the system to a TV and downloads games online instead of going out to the nearest Target to purchase the hottest video game releases. The Ouya is open to any video game developer, and is fully hackable, which gives users the ability to mess around with the system as much as they want, something that is not as easy to do on a current console.
It will be interesting to see how the Ouya will compete against the current giants in the video game market, and how the games will compare in quality to popular console titles such as Call of Duty, Super Mario, etc. The one thing that will attract consumers is the $99 price tag, considering that most people don’t want to invest hundreds of dollars on a video game console, not mentioning the $60 price tags on many of the popular titles.
By this time next year, the Ouya will most likely be in the growth stage, and we will have a better understanding on what the Ouya really is, and if it really does offer a unique experience for gamers, or if it is just a forgettable console in the same category as the DreamCast or the N-Gage. Only time will tell.
I think this is the first console and their next step will be a full console like xbox or PS3. I am not a game-fan but $99 is a good price. I bought xbox for $170 with the memory but it was refurbished. Generally speaking, from my point of view, they want to see if their console will be popular. Noone expects to see big sales, but I think they have their own goal after what they will decide whether to make a new console or not.
This is something I am probably gonna look more into because my main concern is wouldn’t there be any ethical violations? I don’t know how this works, like i said i would have to further research it, but isn’t the problem know these days people downloading things online illegally? SO wouldn’t this open up to more ethical violations because you COULD get the games online assuming you buy from whichever online store they provide or people can find a way to get free downloads especially since its more hackable. I wonder if there are any video game company that have agreed to having their games as downloadable accessible.
I fall into that category of “haven’t heard of it”, but an very intrigued by the concept. While I completely understand the previous comments ethical concerns, I wonder if it would be more of a “Linux” situation. Linux being open-sourced software is completely free, but user generated. I suppose if games were made available on this system they would have to be entirely user generated so as to not infringe on game’s copyrights.
I’d have to agree with Elaine regarding her ethical concerns on downloading and “free games”. I’ve been a life-long gamer since the first 8-bit systems, and I simply don’t see how this is possible, especially with very popular (and highly-protected) IPs for all major gaming systems. I assume that they would probably be what Scott suggests, more “Linux”/open-source/community-generated.
While this system does not interest me in the slightest (as my games are all console-based), I’d be interested to see if the community can come up with some stellar material… or even possibly create an entirely new generation of developers who might threaten the standard dev houses. I can see this work as being valuable for entry-level in the gaming industry as experience in a resume to enter or even develop an independent studio of their own with their trusted collaborators.
Even though this idea is innovative, I don’t see it succeeding given the current way it’s being marketed. I’ve been waiting for Google or Apple to come out with their own console but something like this would not compete with casual nor serious gamers. The hardware would not be enough to run most games nor will the price tag be $99 without some sort of subscription. For the casual gamer, they can pick up a smart phone or tablet. In addition to what rembrandte599 said, there would need to be sufficient back-up and funding for titles that people would enjoy and the studios will have to back this up as well.
I am also one of the many people that have never heard of this console. Since the system is a platform for video game developers, I find it hard to believe that it will be able to compete with Xbox or Playstation which already have the games people want. This console seems like a good idea for game developers, but does not seem like it will attract serious gamers considering most people have never even heard of it.