Ouya: Open Source Android Console

Ah, but I was talking about Micro USB on the starting end. I have many devices that use Micro USB on the device end and regular USB on the computer end.

As for the page for the third device, I don't usually look at the overview unless I am buying. For quick looks, I go right for the details and the only listed ports were the HDMI and the 3.5mm audio jack. Hence my confusion on that device.

As far as an Android device, I have seen many. For fictional sightings, there is C-3PO in Star Wars and of course Commander Data from Star Trek. For real life, there is Asimo the robot, it is vaguely an android because it is humanoid in shape. Then there are those Japanese androids that are in the news all of the time. There is a female one in the results page for google that I have linked below. But the Android device I was talking about is a device that runs the Android OS.

https://www.google.com/#hl=en&gs_nf....,cf.osb&fp=9900b10f12cd540e&biw=1440&bih=777

 

Wow, guys, way to keep it heavy in my absence.

I imagine the idea is that the good stuff will float to the surface of the pool through a rating system or some-such. Will there be a whole bunch of cloneware? Yeah. The Xbox Live indie marketplace is like that too. I can sum up most of the content on that channel in a few words: "Zombies" and "Twin-Stick."

But there are some gems on the platform too. There are a few roguelikes (yes, roguelikes I can play on my T.V.), and some really creative and interesting games too (because roguelikes aren't? )

I'm pretty excited. Here's an opportunity for me to put a game onto a console in front of thousands.

 

For the record, since Ouya is using an Nvidia "System on a Chip" called Tegra, you can expect they would suffer greatly if there were no quality standards. That is to say, if everyone else involved said "Eff quality, we need 80K of these even if they are paperweights", Nvidia would sue the everloving crap out of them for all manner if defamation and slander and other such stuff if they tried that mess.

Nvidia makes good hardware. They would be grievously harmed if "Nvidia Inside" was on the side of 80K paperweights that the gaming public was pissed about. Can anyone *Really* offer a counterargument? I thought *I* was the cynic here...

 

Well, since you asked....

$#!7 happens.

 

I was reading comments and found this:
*Start Quote*
There are some nay sayers who say it is impossible to have this console under $100 . They are wrong. There is nothing pie in the sky about the hardware it is all off the shelf.
You can grind out controllers for $5 a pop. (heres one for $3 http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/543814771/2012_new_hot_good_usb_game.html)
The processor is $25 (http://news.softpedia.com/news/Nvid...-15-25-11-3-to-18-9-Says-Company-236695.shtml)
RAM is $1 (link to 4gig ddr2 if you buy 5000:http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/465823438/39M5791_ddr2_4_GB_tested_pc2700.html…)
What's the board, bluetooth,wifi, and ports? $10 max. (heres a link to something pretty close to OUYA :http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/594025266/HDMI_Dongle_Google_TV_dongle_Android.html for $36)
It's safe to say this console might be costing them $60 - $70 shipped.
*End Quote*

Then there was this as well:
http://www.ouyaforums.co.uk/

*Edit* I fixed those retarded links. The quote had links, but they were for other things. Stupid morons making links to nonsense...

 

You are right Daynab. I have bought shitty controllers in the past. But the one they are making does not look like garbage. And the touchpad probably costs more than the rest of the controller combined. I just quoted what I thought was useful from the comments. And I should point out that the controller is not a finished product yet. No-one can currently answer if it is wired or wireless. Plenty of people have nonetheless decided it is one way or the other, but there is no official standard on that or the DPI of the touchpad or anything really. They are even talking about putting different symbols on the buttons so that colorblind people can recognize them easier. So disregard the images you have seen of the controller.

I think after all expenses it will probably cost them a tiny amount more than the purchase price to make each console. (Shipping is not factored in the $99 for the system. They will manage a good deal on shipping due to volume, but it will probably be $15-20 each.

But they get their foot in the door for 30% of sales on applications and games for the system forever. They will make a fortune on this thing.

 

http://penny-arcade.com/report/edit...e-doesnt-match-the-hype-why-you-should-be-ske

Have a read, chaps.

 

I wonder how much penny arcade was paid off to pretend that the hardware does not exist and lie like that?

Tegra 3 exists. No bullshit. Search for yourselves. Games will be ported for a fee. That happens on every major platform. It is far better to have your game on ten platforms for only a few dollars a copy than one or two platforms for $60 each copy.

They want to pretend piracy is going to be an issue because the hardware is not locked down tight? Bullshit. I had an Xbox 360 and the very first thing I did was mod it to play backups. Exactly zero amount of work to make it more difficult to modify a console works if the owner cares to modify it.

Special hardware and secure torx screws makes no difference to those who want to open the system and flash the drive or drives. They will manage. And the extra expenses in securing the hardware only add up to lost sales because you had to increase the cost of the system.

 

Fun fact: Nintendo's most recent System Menu (i.e. OS) patch was released specifically to counteract several of the homebrew mods that people were using. Most notably, the Homebrew Channel got deleted, and the most popular way of installing it (through a banner exploit) got blocked.

In response, the people making the homebrew channel changed a few letters in the channel's ID and published a letter (notifications) exploit to replace the banner exploit.

It's been two years since then, so it seems Nintendo (wisely) gave up trying to prevent people from doing what they want with the consoles they bought.

 

Some pretty well known individuals have attached themselves to the project and would stand to lose quite a deal if the ouya were a scam or terrible failure. Yves Béhar for example probably wants the ouya to succeed more than I do.

He's designed several successful pieces of hardware, and I imagine he will be doing his best to make sure this system is a huge success.

 

I don't think anyone honestly thinks OUYA is a scam. However, getting widespread adoption of a console is VERY HARD, so even with a great plan, this could easily fall short.

 

There are already several well noted games that have been promised to port to the system once it is finished. And the fact that $99 gets a developer system instead of god only knows how much for most console systems will no-doubt make it appealing to many other games. Some of them would not happen otherwise.

The biggest lingering question I have is the power of the GPU side of the CPU and if it will be possible to expand the RAM or not. The Xbox 360 has 512 MB RAM shared between the CPU and GPU. The PS3 has 256 each. So even at a seemingly small 1GB RAM this is twice what they have. But RAM is very cheap.

My PC has 4GB RAM and that is probably twice what I ever use. No single process can even allocate more than 2GB RAM on Windows 7 x64, despite what most think the x64 means. This is a limitation of the Kernel. If you wanted to allocate more than 2GB you have to use multiple processes. But my point is that this system will have far more memory than it is likely to need unless you attempt to use it as a cheap PC.

I read somewhere that a "developer" Xbox 360 costs 2k and then you are tied down to licensing fees and conditions. This is much cleaner. If you have the $99 system, you have the full SDK to make and sell games. 30% of the sales are given to the owners of Ouya. Presumably that will be the means that the expenses will be covered for things like the online sales system and all the bandwidth. But if not, then I would love to hear how this will be handled.

Gaslamp Games. Do you think you may port Dredmor to Ouya if it works out? It will certainly be easier than porting to any other console. (Since there is no reason you cannot plug a keyboard and mouse/trackball in and control the game natively.)

 

It sounds nice but the big 3 of console gaming are going to crush this thing any way they can.

 

No doubt they will try. But the same has been said before about other subjects. Microsoft was going to crush Linux. Linux remains unaffected by Microsoft. Intel was going to crush AMD. AMD remains. Cellular phones were going to crush copper land lines. I have a copper land line. E-mail was going to crush paper mail. Paper mail service remains. I could go on, but I am certain my point is made.

 

Let's face it, we're too fond of Zelda and Metroid to just let Nintendo's consoles die. Especially when they've kind of maybe promised that if they ever stop making consoles they'll stop making games.

 

If you had an unlimited amount of money, as a gamer you would have every console and every game. There is ample room for a new console. Nintendo is actually using an outdated console. I too love Zelda and Metroid. I played the original and a half-dozen of the series of each. As a matter of fact, although I lack a console and television to play it with, I still have the original cartridges for many of those old classics. As such, I have no legal issues with downloading a backup copy of the ROMs to play in emulators. Making an emulator for this Ouya platform will be easy as pie. It may infact be as easy as taking the existing source code and compiling it on the system. (Then tweaking and making plugins to make it optimize and use the hardware to it's fullest.)

I can assure anyone reading that this is already planned by many groups for many systems. Some will not easily work, and some may not even be possible without far more work than it is worthy of. But if a stable working emulator exists on the PC, getting it to the Ouya will be easy by comparison.

I do not have any desire to see Ouya kill Nintendo or any other console. I do however love the fact that they will be shamed into bothering to innovate rather than continue a stagnant console. The Xbox 360 is pitiful today. Netbooks have similar power in terms of actual computational prowess. Microsoft should finally get around to competing. This may well only be a minor point to make them do it, but I will be glad when they do.

 

If they get it off the ground, it sounds like it may take the console place of the GP2X Line in the hand held markets. Which didnt realy kill off the others, it just makes for more options.