Comment by mtgx | Hacker News Reader

Comment by mtgx | Hacker News Reader

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I've tried to warn OUYA countless times that if they're going to launch in 2013, they're going to need a 2013 chip, not a 2011 one (Tegra 3 was initially launched in 2011, and was also delayed a bit). They're probably going to lose points in reviews because of it, and everyone will be overall less excited about it having significantly less graphics quality and performance than the latest high-end (granted, more expensive) smartphones.

I thought Tegra 4 or something in that rage, was a MUST for OUYA. But they didn't listen, either because it was impossible to make the switch at that point, or they couldn't get a good Tegra 4 deal, or they just didn't think it was that important. But I hope they at least expected that this is going to hurt them at least a bit, and they might need a change of strategy.

I think OUYA could still succeed if instead of targeting it against Nvidia's Shield, and towards more "hardcore" gamers, they target it more as sort of a "toy", like something they could sell at Toy R Us on the cheap, and for sub 12-14 year old kids. Another strategy is of course promoting it heavily as a cheap media device, kind of like an Apple TV or Roku alternative.

There's still a way for them out of this, if they do it right, but personally I'm still disappointed it's not coming out with a Tegra 4 chip or something cutting edge like that. Hopefully OUYA 2.0, if launched in 2014, will have Tegra 5 or some other cutting edge 64 bit SoC with support for OpenGL ES 3.0 and OpenCL. This is the sort of stuff that gets "gamers" excited, and they've kind of ignored that. But again, it might not be a huge problem for them, if they refocus on a slightly different market.

And I agree that OUYA, Shield and other such devices will basically help each other, and Android gaming in general.

I don't feel bad about backing the OUYA at all to be honest. Even without pushing boundaries, you can imagine how hard it is for a small team to ship their first device - they have to get a number of things right - controller design, casing, UI, app store etc. Once they get the basic right, it'd be much more straightforward to upgrade the internals.

The nice thing about OUYA is that they aren't bound to the traditional console pricing nonsense - launch a loss-leader, then sell crummy old hardware for a decade to make a profit. They can iterate every year and make some profit both from the hardware and the app store.

I give credit to their team, I can hardly imagine how hard it is to reach goals and deliver a hardware product while driving a martetplace and partnerships to deliver content to your new device.

That being said, I think you're making too many assumptions before it exists. Hardware is expensive, I have no idea how much profit they make per device, or if all the seed money from kickstarter is completely gone. But I know that their future depends on several things. Aside from future sales being a must. In order to iterate, they need to get a lot right -- now. I don't think Ouya is that much more free than any other piece of hardware. They will not be able to iterate that fast, fix bugs that fast, push updates that fast, or sell consoles every year, easily. There's always hope that a random assortmant of people will hack it to the point it's constantly relevant, or that the games that end up getting launched on their marketplace all hit a home run. But it's completely unclear to me at this point. In the age of crowd-funding, a funny thing happens. Backers are already invested in products before they are even created. Speaking much further than just monetarily. There's a fake sense of success and security even knowing that projects can and will fail. Ouya's massive funding only proved the idea, not the implementation.

That being said, when it's finally here, it still has to get people excited. People will still have to want it when it arrives, and when they plug it in, it still has to essentially be awesome. Right now, its too much speculation, if you pick up the real thing and say -- hey, aside from the shit controller, and the lack of power, i still love it. Than, that will mean something significant. As it stands now, Ouya is kind of floating aimlessly in the market, they got too big too fast, haven't really carved out a dedicated chunk of the market. And is already falling far behind as far as the technology used. It falls between a media device and a toy, but in kind of a bad way. If I wanted a media device, i'd buy a roku or build one. If I wanted an android based gaming system in 2013, as of right now, i'd probably end up with a shield. I think that says something. I think the ouya will be a nice little device for sometime, but i'm having a lot of doubts about it's future and it's ability to grow in the competitive and expensive space they opted to jump into.

Ouya, on launch day, will not be able to handle the newest games on the android market. That is a significant issue, one crowd-funded projects are going to have to solve or abandon in the next few years.

I 100% agree with you. Ouya currently is falling in a very strange place in the market. I think they priced themselves correctly, but it falls between a roku and a toy as you mentioned. Where that leaves them is beyond me. The point that matters, is I think if someone was looking for a media device, they'd end up with a roku or apple tv. If they wanted a gaming system, right now the shield is far more appealing. A huge issue with crowdfunding these projects is keeping them relevant. If I buy something this year, and get it next year, it's very difficult to stay relevant. In order for an Ouya 2.0 to be possible, I think they will have to sell a number of post-kickstarter consoles. In order for that to happen, people are going to have to love it when it hits their door steps. They will have to get excited about it. Right now, on launch day, the ouya will not be able to play the newest games on the android market. Despite it having it's own market, if my friend is playing a better quality game on his phone next to me, there is a significant issue there. Even just a mental one, where my new shiny device, doesn't feel all that new and shiny. I don't think it's too late for the Ouya, but think a lot is going to have to go their way in the next year in order for them to succeed in that space. And I think this is going to be yet another eye opening experience for everyone with regards to crowd-funding and how it currently works--The realities of it.

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