Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman outlines annual console refresh plans

Shawn Knight

Posts: 15,255   +192
Staff member

During a recent interview, Ouya founder and CEO Julie Uhrman revealed the fact that the company plans to release a new console every year to leverage the best-performing chips and take advantage of lower component prices to continually deliver the best experience possible for gamers.

The $99 price tag will remain the same but internal hardware will be upgraded. The upcoming console, which was just made available for pre-order earlier this week and will be readily available in June, will ship with Nvidia’s Tegra 3 processor. It’s a chip that is a bit dated at this point but considering the unit plugs into the wall and doesn’t have to rely on battery power like a tablet or smartphone does, the company is able to run all four cores at 1.6GHz continuously.

ouya

If you’ve been keeping up with mobile processor news, however, you likely already know that the Tegra 4 processor is just around the corner. Odds are, we will see this chip or maybe even something else in next year’s Ouya refresh. The executive also noted that she would offer the Ouya for less than $99 if it was possible.

It’s an unusual strategy for the console market as most major systems stay on the market for several years. Just take the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 for example. Microsoft’s console was first available in late 2005 – more than seven years ago. Similarly, Sony’s current gaming machine didn’t hit retail availability until November 2006. The idea of a yearly refresh, even if it’s a low-cost system, could really shake things up.

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Geez are the moderators on a vacation? not trying to be rude or anything, just never seen a bot problem here before...
 
Excellent idea, but it remains to be seen what games will be develop for it. They will need only One smash hit to make it the toy to buy. I will keep my eyes open.
 
So in other words if you buy a first gen machine, next year it will be obsolete, or pay the 99 dollar yearly sub.
 
So in other words if you buy a first gen machine, next year it will be obsolete, or pay the 99 dollar yearly sub.

Not really... Your initial system doesn't just stop working when the new unit comes out. Consider mobile phones - you buy a phone and within a year the next model comes out that is bigger badder and better... But the app store doesn't suddenly become full of apps that only that model can run, you are still able to run most of the library available. At some point down the line, your older hardware will, indeed, become limited and obsolete. But hey, that's the name of the game in tech.

And, in this case, odds are you'll be able to just buy the upgraded board and install it yourself - after all, the Ouya is all about being open and hack friendly. Worst case, you buy a new processor cube when you decide to upgrade, which should be substantially less than the initial $99 buy in (which included the $50 controller).
 
Not really... Your initial system doesn't just stop working when the new unit comes out. Consider mobile phones - you buy a phone and within a year the next model comes out that is bigger badder and better... But the app store doesn't suddenly become full of apps that only that model can run, you are still able to run most of the library available. At some point down the line, your older hardware will, indeed, become limited and obsolete. But hey, that's the name of the game in tech.

And, in this case, odds are you'll be able to just buy the upgraded board and install it yourself - after all, the Ouya is all about being open and hack friendly. Worst case, you buy a new processor cube when you decide to upgrade, which should be substantially less than the initial $99 buy in (which included the $50 controller).

I have a sony ericson x10 running froyo, many many apps are missing from the appstore, and will not run at all.
 
I have a sony ericson x10 running froyo, many many apps are missing from the appstore, and will not run at all.

And I have a Nexus S that still runs a good portion of the app store, some well, some not so much... But then again, it's 3 year old hardware, and at least I had the option to update mine to a later Android version. Point is, there will always be exceptions to longevity in an open hardware marketplace, where manufacturing choices in processor and GPU have big impacts. But the Ouya is a closed marketplace, it will have a single set configuration every year, and a single official software path, so the odds of maintaining longer term usability should be substantially increased.

That said, I'm sure as the new hardware versions arrive, there will be the elite selection of games or programs that run best on (or even require) the latest rev of boards. But, if you are a PC gamer, you are very familiar with that path. In the case of the Ouya, the upgrade will be less than $100 to obtain top of the line hardware relevance, which is quite a small buy-in.
 
have a sony ericson x10 running froyo, many many apps are missing from the appstore, and will not run at all.

You are making a very strange argument. Would you prefer to stay on old hardware? Nothing is going to be obsolete, but Android games are going to be continually developed whether the Ouya hardware keeps up or not. Wouldn't you rather have the option of playing new games?
 
So in other words if you buy a first gen machine, next year it will be obsolete, or pay the 99 dollar yearly sub.

I would say in 2 years it would be boring, but hey its only 100 dollars including controller. All that is needed is a killer app. I want to get my hands on this thing. I rather buy this then the raspberry pi.
 
I would say in 2 years it would be boring, but hey its only 100 dollars including controller. All that is needed is a killer app. I want to get my hands on this thing. I rather buy this then the raspberry pi.
two completely different devices with two completely different purposes...
 
True that, sounds like another unnecessary electronic gadget with an annual obsolescence cycle. I wonder where the next landfill is planned in your area that will hold all this crap? Also, who would want to develop games that may or may not work properly on the next year's console?
 
I just don't know how long something like this will remain in relevance. It can only remain viable until phone manufacturers bring out proper cradles: full-power, HDMI-out, sound-out, USB ports.
 
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