Oh, Yeah – The OUYA!

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 11, 2012

It’s a new kind of video game console. Now the fastest-funding Kickstarter yet. And on track to possibly become the highest-earning Kickstarter project. Though since most of the Kickstarter donations are actually more pre-orders for the console, this may not be quite as impressive as it sounds. But still… two million dollars in 24 hours is pretty frickin’ amazing.

(And yes, I’m a backer… Here’s hoping I don’t regret it…)

So what’s the big deal, anyway? It’s a console. It’s a console in a world of consoles. Apparently I didn’t get the memo that console gaming was dead, but even after three years out of that side of the biz, it’s clear that it’s kind of on the rocks. So why the heck are they launching yet another console – and one that will obviously be woefully underpowered with the next-generation consoles? (Well, okay, maybe not compared to Nintendo, but we’ll see).

It’s basically an open game console that also acts as a gaming portal. The console manufacturer takes its cut of the sales, just like Apple does with its app store, or Microsoft does with XBLIG. Since it’s basically running on the Android O.S., it’s even something that can be ported from portable devices. At it’s core, it is basically a high-end Android tablet with a cool controller that plugs into your TV instead of having its own screen.

So technologically, it’s pretty simple. The business model is familiar. I’ve seen this kind of thing (maybe not with the app store concept) launch and fail several times during the mid-late 90s, and as recently as the vaporware ND handheld. The big difference here from some of the past failures  is the number and quality of games industry vets that are involved or supporting the project. Individually, several of these folks do have track records in the biz to give them some credence.

Their take is this: If you ignore things like XBLIG (which Microsoft seems pretty content to ignore most weeks, anyway), the existing consoles are still very closed platforms and very expensive to make games for. Not only the indies, but a lot of publishers are jumping onto doing games for mobile devices because the games are much cheaper to make (thus less risky), and the platform is becoming ubiquitous.  So… why not make a living room console that is as easy to develop for as the mobile devices, is pretty wide open for indies and hackers, yet still capable of producing high-def, modern(ish) 3D games (at least by current-gen console standards)?

The other “trick” is that every game available on the system must have a free-to-play component. Which includes good ol’ fashioned game demos that can be unlocked.  Not a problem for the majority of indies.

So it’s a game platform that is easy to make / port games on, where consumers have “free games!” at their fingertips. I’d assume the market is pretty crowded with consoles already, especially with rumors of next-gen systems on the horizon. But as of this point, they’ve effectively got over 20,0000 pre-orders for the console through Kickstarter, which isn’t too shabby. Especially for a system almost nobody had heard of on Monday.

It’s too early to say that this will truly be a viable market opportunity for indies on release, but by the time there are guarantees, a platform is usually already saturated.  That’s always the risk developers have to take. I think the question is whether the early Kickstarter hype will be enough to make the platform a success in the long run. Usually a console has to release with some “must-have” exclusive titles to have much of a chance in the marketplace. The Ouya has a potential Minecraft port. Maybe there are more things “in the works” for the system they’ve not announced yet, but there’s definitely a risk that their niche is too narrow.

But I am in love with the concept.  And in the last 24 hours, I’ve gone from being a complete skeptic (“Oh, boy, it’s the Phantom or ND all over again…”) to being hopeful, to pre-ordering a console.

I’m just a little fascinated by how the indie “revolution” has really challenged the established industry over the last few years. When I first began this adventure,  it was all very much an ‘upstart’ concept, and the trick was just figuring out how to survive in the shadow of the big publishers. Now we have Valve crowd-sourcing its indie-game publishing functions, a ‘crowd-funded’ game console that may actually get some real traction, and of course mobile devices (with tons of indie games) eating away at the big console business. Big publishers are even starting to have to play a little bit of defense. These are amazing times.

And my answer to the inevitable question is: Probably, at least Frayed Knights 2. Assuming Unity ports okay for it.

Filed Under: Biz, Game Development, Indie Evangelism - Comments: 14 Comments to Read



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