Ouya now available at several retailers for $99, sold out at Amazon

[Jos]

Ouya is off to a good start. Following a very successful Kickstarter campaign, the open-source game console finally launched to the public this morning, and just hours into the day it has already sold out on Amazon. Of course, it’s hard to gauge how well it’s selling without knowing how many were available in the first place. For what it’s worth the company says it has shipped ’tens of thousands’ units to early backers.

The $99 console features an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of internal storage -- expandable via USB. It ships with one wireless controller, over 170 free-to-try games, as well as streaming services such as Twitch.tv, TuneIn, XBMC, iHeartRadio and Plex. Extra controllers will run you $49.99 each.

Also included is the Make Channel, which enables developers to build and test games right from the hardware. The company says more than 10,000 developers worldwide have signed on to create content for the Ouya, so you can expect new titles “every day, every week.” Whether these titles will be able to challenge AAA releases on the upcoming generation of consoles from Sony and Microsoft remains to be seen. But Ouya isn’t passing on the opportunity to throw a few jabs at its opponents saying they are “not the same old games by the same old folks adding +1 to the version number and slapping on a price tag of $60 or more.”

Despite the initial enthusiasm over the affordable console not everything has gone without a hitch. Besides the delay from its original launch date on June 4, many early backers have yet to receive their units, despite promises that they would have them before the console hit retail stores.

Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman says they are working over time to resolve this issue, explaining that the vast majority of affected users are international backers, and it just takes more time to ship to some countries.

Interested buyers can also shop for the Ouya at Best Buy, GameStop and Target.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/53020-ouya-now-available-at-several-retailers-for-99-sold-out-at-amazon.html

 

[Jad Chaar]

Hopefully in about a year they refresh the Ouya with a Tegra 5, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage for the same price .

 

[The O]

?not the same old games by the same old folks adding +1 to the version number and slapping on a price tag of $60 or more.?

Cosidering the games they have, they can't back this up. I much rather play on Playstation, Xbox or PC than play the crappy games they have.

 

[comma]

?not the same old games by the same old folks adding +1 to the version number and slapping on a price tag of $60 or more.?

Cosidering the games they have, they can't back this up. I much rather play on Playstation, Xbox or PC than play the crappy games they have.

They don't need to back it up with games. They're just making the point that console gaming is just about sequels that don't very often deliver anything new. It's like you're playing the same game over and over again for years and handing out $60 every time just because the graphics are better. You're paying for graphics, not games. Ouya has a point that there's way more potential for individuality because they're not bound to the money-making strategy of releasing sequels.

 

[Guest]

When they make a game as good as Skyrim let me know!

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

?not the same old games by the same old folks adding +1 to the version number and slapping on a price tag of $60 or more.?

Cosidering the games they have, they can't back this up. I much rather play on Playstation, Xbox or PC than play the crappy games they have.

They don't need to back it up with games. They're just making the point that console gaming is just about sequels that don't very often deliver anything new. It's like you're playing the same game over and over again for years and handing out $60 every time just because the graphics are better. You're paying for graphics, not games. Ouya has a point that there's way more potential for individuality because they're not bound to the money-making strategy of releasing sequels.

Good in theory, but now they have to back it up. Sequels might not be very interesting, but creating new stories and characters isn't an easy thing to do. It's much easier to create a few good characters and send them on multiple adventures.

 

[Littleczr]

I will buy one soon. I have spent 100 dollars on more stupid stuff like adult clubs. The only thing I don't like is the controller but it doesn't matter. It will go perfect next to my computer desk and plugged in to my u2711.

 

[cmbjive]

Well, if you're not a backer you might be happy.

 

[Vrmithrax]

?not the same old games by the same old folks adding +1 to the version number and slapping on a price tag of $60 or more.?

Cosidering the games they have, they can't back this up. I much rather play on Playstation, Xbox or PC than play the crappy games they have.

You are making the common mistake of lumping the OUYA into the big AAA gaming consoles, which is not where it belongs. Some of the indie PC gaming genre would provide a closer analog to the gaming experience they are pushing for. Very casual gaming at the core, with the intention of very low price points, but expecting a Skyrim-esque game (yes, I'm looking at you, @Guest) is ridiculously off the mark.

A huge chunk of the early buyers and pre-order crowd want the OUYA for emulation of old game platforms and things like XBMC. It's a cheap way to get into something of a ROKU experience, with the added benefit of playing games. And, who knows what other interesting things will appear as more people get their hands on the units and start hacking, just as the OUYA founders encourage.

 

[cmbjive]

You are making the common mistake of lumping the OUYA into the big AAA gaming consoles, which is not where it belongs. Some of the indie PC gaming genre would provide a closer analog to the gaming experience they are pushing for. Very casual gaming at the core, with the intention of very low price points, but expecting a Skyrim-esque game (yes, I'm looking at you, @Guest) is ridiculously off the mark.

A huge chunk of the early buyers and pre-order crowd want the OUYA for emulation of old game platforms and things like XBMC. It's a cheap way to get into something of a ROKU experience, with the added benefit of playing games. And, who knows what other interesting things will appear as more people get their hands on the units and start hacking, just as the OUYA founders encourage.

He's not making the mistake of lumping OUYA in with the big boys. OUYA is purposely taking swipes at the big boys in the hope that people look at it as an alternative. That's what they mean by their slogan, "A new kind of game console."

 

[Vrmithrax]

He's not making the mistake of lumping OUYA in with the big boys. OUYA is purposely taking swipes at the big boys in the hope that people look at it as an alternative. That's what they mean by their slogan, "A new kind of game console."

Yes, a NEW kind of game console, not ANOTHER game console. The OUYA does not have the backing of a massive corporation with deep pockets, a huge R&D budget, high licensing fees for each title to guarantee revenue, or the hardware horsepower to compare to the big consoles. It's a different beast entirely. And yes, they are taking swipes at the big boys, but that is because they are trying a completely different tack on how console gaming is done. This is an interesting distraction from the big consoles, not a direct competitor... Yet. Future generations of the OUYA might be more of a direct competition, as the base hardware improves yearly while the big consoles enter their 7 year stagnation phases. If the entire concept and ecosystem even manages to take off and builds some momentum with developers deciding they like the pricing models and players actually playing games, that is.

 

[avoidz]

I saw Stuart Ashens review a beta unit of this console he found in a second hand shop. Looks interesting, The battery covers are weird on the controller, assuming that was the final revision. Could be a nice, cheap game device and/or media box.

 

[cmbjive]

Yes, a NEW kind of game console, not ANOTHER game console. The OUYA does not have the backing of a massive corporation with deep pockets, a huge R&D budget, high licensing fees for each title to guarantee revenue, or the hardware horsepower to compare to the big consoles. It's a different beast entirely. And yes, they are taking swipes at the big boys, but that is because they are trying a completely different tack on how console gaming is done. This is an interesting distraction from the big consoles, not a direct competitor... Yet. Future generations of the OUYA might be more of a direct competition, as the base hardware improves yearly while the big consoles enter their 7 year stagnation phases. If the entire concept and ecosystem even manages to take off and builds some momentum with developers deciding they like the pricing models and players actually playing games, that is.

You're trying to create an apples to oranges comparison when it is a direct apples-to-apples comparison. Simply because it does not have the features that are typical of a console manufacturer does not negate the fact that the OUYA is a console. OUYA can play several games that are traditionally on a console, such as Final Fantasy III and, supposedly, a port of GTA Vice City. They are working to get more developers to make games for their system, akin to that of console developers. You have it exactly backwards: In order for OUYA to succeed gamers must be willing to see it as an alternative console to their Xbox 360s and PS3s and, soon, the Xbox One and PS4.

 

[Vrmithrax]

You're trying to create an apples to oranges comparison when it is a direct apples-to-apples comparison. Simply because it does not have the features that are typical of a console manufacturer does not negate the fact that the OUYA is a console. OUYA can play several games that are traditionally on a console, such as Final Fantasy III and, supposedly, a port of GTA Vice City. They are working to get more developers to make games for their system, akin to that of console developers. You have it exactly backwards: In order for OUYA to succeed gamers must be willing to see it as an alternative console to their Xbox 360s and PS3s and, soon, the Xbox One and PS4.

If that is the case, then the OUYA is doomed before it ever starts. I've been following this thing since the initial announcement, and ridden through all of the arguments and comparisons and discussions about how it's going to make it. If they were going into this expecting to pull gamers away from the big budget AAA titles on the heavy hitter consoles, they would be bankrupt in a matter of weeks. The OUYA looks to target an interesting demographic, one that skews only partially into the hardcore gamer arena. Pulling in casual gamers, ones that might see the OUYA as a bridge to play their mobile games on the big screen, people who are interested in the media capabilities... Maybe some of the more heavy gamers that are curious and have some extra money that isn't being thrown at their main console or PC game titles... Getting some traction and surviving through the launch and into the first year refresh is what is needed to achieve long term success. The buzz and excitement right now will diminish fairly rapidly, and be overshadowed by the PS4 and XboxOne launches, so they need to have a "grass roots" movement that keeps the momentum going. If they try to target hardcore gamers head-on, with brand new next-gen versions ready to drop, they will lose due to inferior hardware and the lack of big name exclusives. Grab some of the fringe demographic around the hardcore gamers, ones that like the casual aspect and the low cost, and you can slowly build a strong user base.

You say I'm trying to "create" an apples to oranges comparison, but that's not the case at all. This is a discussion that has been going round and round since the OUYA Kickstarter was announced. It's going to take time to court big developers, get actual exclusives that can pull the hardcore crowd in, and will probably take a pretty good refresh (like Tegra4) to get enough power into the platform that those developers won't feel like they are wasting their time. Only after some big developers are on board and the hardware is a closer analog to and XboxOne or PS4, will it actually be the apples to apples comparison that you seem to think it is now.

 

[GeforcerFX]

Hopefully in about a year they refresh the Ouya with a Tegra 5, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage for the same price .

"logan" chips are to be released as it sits in Q2 2014, Tegra chips usually come out at around $50-$75 for the top chip (retail) add in the manufacturing and other features that a updated Ouya would need and it would be closer to $200-250, the reason they were able to go with a Tegra 3 at $99 is because the Tegra 3 has already been around for 2 years and Nvidia sells them for around $15, meaning retail wise they sell for around $25. basically in the time frame you want you might get a tegra 4 refresh at the price point but not tegra 5, or maybe not even a tegra at all unless nvidia can really show well in the benchmarks.

 

[Jad Chaar]

"logan" chips are to be released as it sits in Q2 2014, Tegra chips usually come out at around $50-$75 for the top chip (retail) add in the manufacturing and other features that a updated Ouya would need and it would be closer to $200-250, the reason they were able to go with a Tegra 3 at $99 is because the Tegra 3 has already been around for 2 years and Nvidia sells them for around $15, meaning retail wise they sell for around $25. basically in the time frame you want you might get a tegra 4 refresh at the price point but not tegra 5, or maybe not even a tegra at all unless nvidia can really show well in the benchmarks.

True .