SPDCA: The Ouya Game Console
The success or failure of a Kickstarter project to secure my backing depends a lot on what buzzwords the project can combine together into a single concept that speaks directly to my core principals.
Things that I have funded so far, based on my selling buzzwords:
And finally, the Ouya (www.kickstarter.com): "Android," "Open," "Game Console"
With the exception of Ortus (which was, admittedly, my first Kickstarter backing, and my worst decision), all of the projects I've backed have been funded, and I've had some degree satisfaction from it. All backing I've done has been around the $10-20 range, and usually only ranging upwards if I'm interested in a poster, or something that requires shipping.
The backing I gave the Ouya console was $99. I did this because it valued the things I find the most wrong about the games industry (closed platforms, extreme distrust of gaming, lack of innovation, lack of diversity). It embraced open source software, claimed to have open hardware, and appreciated the notion of customization and compatibility. I also funded it with the expectation that it would probably never succeed, as it seemed too obscure to gain traction. I guess I was wrong.
I was impressed to see that the Ouya project had been funded, and with remarkable financial support. However, almost a year later, when the box arrived, it sat for a couple of weeks before I even opened it. And even more before I finally plugged it in last night. The timing was poor: it's summer, I'm biking, I have projects, and there were other games that I had wanted to play.
I finally opened it and plugged it in. The device is surprisingly tiny (about the size of a coffee cup). It came with a single Bluetooth controller, an HDMI cable, and a power cable. When it started up, it started performing firmware updates, during which it displayed randomly chosen quotes and quips that reminded me of the quote generators from my own projects of yore. It was endearing.
Something that bothered me, though, is that despite having a Ouya account, and being a Kickstarter backer, I was required to enter credit card information before I even accessed the console. I don't understand the justification for this, being that the majority of the games are try-before you buy. That I would have been locked out of the device for not having a credit card bothers me a good deal.
Once past that, I decided to test out a few games. Towerfall is one that most of the game review sites I visit spoke well of. I queued it up for download, and bid my time visiting some of the system options. I had heard that one could plug in or even associate PS3 controllers with the game console. I attempted to do so, only to find that the association process disabled Bluetooth entirely, and required a reset of the game console before I could get the Ouya controller back into place. I was interested to see this fixed (as I would have wanted to have multiple PS3 controllers paired), so I spent some time troubleshooting. Apparently, there is a "bug" such that plugging anything into the USB port of the Ouya causes the Bluetooth radio to go out. That, to me, is sort of a killer bug. I know they're working on firmware updates. I would hope that is something that could be fixed in software, as otherwise that is a critical hardware flaw.
Playing Towerfall and a number of other games, I was pretty impressed. There could be some interesting things done with the Ouya, particularly with the resurgence of "retro" gaming and graphics from indie game developers. There are also available console emulators that allow you to play a number of NES games (with more console emulations to come).
I like that the Ouya happened. I want to play with it more, experiment with it, and potentially turn it into a media server. However, I don't know how well it will do to compete with the bigger game consoles. The PS4 and Xbox One are trying to make "openness" a selling point, and with their improved hardware, name recognition, and already-signed veteran development studios, it will be hard for the Ouya to compete. In addition, Valve has plan to come out with a Linux-based Steam platform, with modifiable hardware and access/support to its existing games library. Right now, the Ouya has only the Android games that were easiest to port from their mobile phone counterparts.
But hey. It's $100, compared to the $300-$500 price tag on the bigger consoles. As the community develops for it, it'll likely have all the goodness that things like Linux or Raspberry Pi have to offer. If people starting coming up with custom firmwares, or allow booting from external media, it could be an interesting/portable computer. Or it just be a neat idea, collecting dust in my basement.
