# OUYA to Refresh Hardware Every Year



## IBNobody (Feb 7, 2013)

Unlike Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, OUYA is planning to refresh their hardware on a yearly basis.

From Engadget
http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/07/ouya-annual/



> "Our strategy is very much similar to the mobile strategy," OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman told us in an interview this afternoon, following her DICE 2013 speech. "There will be a new OUYA every year. There will be an OUYA 2 and an OUYA 3," she added.


 
Assuming the OUYA makes it past its first 2 years, and assuming SoC's keep improving, the OUYA could grow to rival graphics on the more expensive consoles.

Cue the "it's going to fail. I'm not going to buy one" messages in 3...2...1...


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## rad140 (Feb 7, 2013)

Sounds like somebody got greedy.


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## Deleted_171835 (Feb 7, 2013)

IBNobody said:


> Assuming the OUYA makes it past its first 2 years


Assuming the Ouya makes it past the first month.


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## raulpica (Feb 7, 2013)

What.. is that feeling? Is the Ouya getting more and more unattractive by the second?

Uhhh. Yep, it's that.


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## Valwin (Feb 7, 2013)

this whole thing is one of the biggest scams ever


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## KingVamp (Feb 7, 2013)

IBNobody said:


> the OUYA could grow to rival graphics on the more expensive consoles.



Is that a joke? If not, with mobile hardware they going to do so?

This how it's going keep longevity overall by annually upgrading. One year is kind of short.
Should at least of been 2 years apart.


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## Gahars (Feb 7, 2013)

Oh, OUYA, you are a hoot.


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## Guild McCommunist (Feb 7, 2013)

For some reason I'm just imagining a stack of Ouya cubes sitting next to your TV.

I'm still flabbergasted that people still support this device.


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## 2ndApex (Feb 7, 2013)

As long as they're upgrades and not replacements I'll be fine.


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## Guild McCommunist (Feb 7, 2013)

Gahars said:


> Oh, OUYA, you are a hoot.


 
I still found it odd that the last ten minutes was just 9/11 news coverage.


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## Foxi4 (Feb 7, 2013)

Guild McCommunist said:


> For some reason I'm just imagining a stack of Ouya cubes sitting next to your TV.
> 
> I'm still flabbergasted that people still support this device.


Don't worry - at least _they take up less space than a PC or a standard console, right? _


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## chyyran (Feb 7, 2013)

Called it!

Android hardware just moves at such an astonishing rate that doing this is almost necessary if you want to keep up.


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## Foxi4 (Feb 7, 2013)

Ron said:


> Called it!
> 
> Android hardware just moves at such an astonishing rate that doing this is almost necessary if you want to keep up.


Especially when you want to make a low-cost device. In any case, if you want your Android-based gaming device to be competitive on the market, it pretty much requires hardware upgrades or even whole revamps on a yearly basis.


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## IBNobody (Feb 7, 2013)

KingVamp said:


> Is that a joke? If not, with mobile hardware they going to do so?
> 
> This how it's going keep longevity overall by annually upgrading. One year is kind of short.
> Should at least of been 2 years apart.


 
One year IS short, and they'd have to really sell me on the upgrade. If I'm using the box as a media consumer, and it's playing everything I throw at it, what is going to make me want to upgrade?

Plus, I definitely don't want to have to rebuy a new controller every year. 

If they didn't upgrade every year, though, they wouldn't be able to keep up with the rest of the mobile market. Games would be released for Android that wouldn't work on the OUYA


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## Veho (Feb 7, 2013)

raulpica said:


> What.. is that feeling? Is the Ouya getting more and more unattractive by the second?


We knew from the start that by the time it came out, it will have been overtaken by cheap Android sticks. But having an upgrade option is not a bad idea. Now it all depends on how much the upgrade board will cost. $50 seems about right for that kind of thing.


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## chyyran (Feb 7, 2013)

Veho said:


> We knew from the start that by the time it came out, it will have been overtaken by cheap Android sticks. But having an upgrade option is not a bad idea. Now it all depends on how much the upgrade board will cost. $50 seems about right for that kind of thing.


The "upgrades" are probably full sets. Even if they sell just the new box, it'll be for around $69, or full set again for $99.


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## KingVamp (Feb 7, 2013)

Veho said:


> We knew from the start that by the time it came out, it will have been overtaken by cheap Android sticks. But having an upgrade option is not a bad idea. Now it all depends on how much the upgrade board will cost. $50 seems about right for that kind of thing.


Make sense if you only pay 1/2 for a upgrade and full with your first Ouya.


IBNobody said:


> Plus, I definitely don't want to have to rebuy a new controller every year.


I don't think they would update that much. Maybe add a better responsive touch pad or
a real touchscreen. Not something you can't use your old controller for.


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## FAST6191 (Feb 7, 2013)

Valwin said:


> this whole thing is one of the biggest scams ever



In a world that gave us the Gizmondo can you really say that?


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## Foxi4 (Feb 7, 2013)

IBNobody said:


> Assuming the OUYA makes it past its first 2 years, and assuming SoC's keep improving, _*the OUYA could grow to rival graphics on the more expensive consoles.*_


I didn't notice that part before.

Let me take a deep breath before I start laughing. About 5 minutes should be fine.


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## Veho (Feb 7, 2013)

Ron said:


> The "upgrades" are probably full sets. They may sell just the new box for around $69, or full set again for $99.


Well that would just be silly. You the only thing you need to change is the board. They should give old users that option instead of forcing them to buy an entire new box if they want to upgrade.


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## p1ngpong (Feb 7, 2013)

Personally I don't see what the big deal is about this, in fact it kind of makes sense when you think about it. The ouya is not a traditional console that would be expected to have a five plus year lifespan and its price reflects that fact.
It isn't a $400+ console and seeing as it is android its hardware evolves at a very fast pace and would become antiquated equally quickly. A two year old ouya would show its age much more than a two year old console because of the speed in which that type of hardware develops, and let's face it a few years down the line who would want an android device with three or four year old hardware? It would be completely redundant and the compatibility for new apps would be extremely low. Anyway just like you don't have to upgrade your phone yearly nobody would force you to upgrade the ouya yearly and once a new model comes out it doesn't mean the old one has immediately become useless. And even if you did upgrade every year the cost is negligible, $100, the price of two console games, it would be well within even modest means to keep up with the pace if you really wanted to.


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## xwatchmanx (Feb 7, 2013)

Sheesh. The Ouya has gone from "mildly interesting, maybe I'll buy it if I ever have a spare $100, just out of curiosity," to "If ANYTHING, I'll buy an old model used for $40, when it comes to it," for me


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## Foxi4 (Feb 7, 2013)

p1ngpong said:


> Personally I don't see what the big deal is about this, in fact it kind of makes sense when you think about it. The ouya is not a traditional console that would be expected to have a five plus year lifespan and its price reflects that fact.
> It isn't a $400+ console and seeing as it is android its hardware evolves at a very fast pace and would become antiquated equally quickly. A two year old ouya would show its age much more than a two year old console because of the speed in which that type of hardware develops, and let's face it a few years down the line who would want an android device with three or four year old hardware? It would be completely redundant and the compatibility for new apps would be extremely low. Anyway just like you don't have to upgrade your phone yearly nobody would force you to upgrade the ouya yearly and once a new model comes out it doesn't mean the old one has immediately become useless. And even if you did upgrade every year the cost is negligible, $100, the price of two console games, it would be well within even modest means to keep up with the pace if you really wanted to.


The problem here is that in six, seven years time you will _still_ be playing your current generation Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo console _which you bought for $350-$450 on launch day _and you'd have spent _$500 just on OUYA upgrades_. If it takes yearly updates to stay competitive on the market, I, the consumer, might as well buy a PC and upgrade that when necessary, alternatively dish out for one of the big boy consoles instead. Sure, you're paying $100 _at first_, but are you really saving any money here? That's debatable.

The OUYA's main selling point is supposed to be its _"Indie"_ nature, but with yearly $100 dollar updates I get the feeling that it's merely _pseudo-Indie._

_That said_, to stay afloat on the Android market these days, you do need those updates, yes.


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## IBNobody (Feb 7, 2013)

Foxi4 said:


> I didn't notice that part before.
> 
> Let me take a deep breath before I start laughing. About 5 minutes should be fine.


 

You can laugh, but Moore's law wins out.

Microsoft and Sony have committed to their chips already, and once the systems release, they'll be locked in an architecture for the next 6-7 years. You don't think that the mobile SoC's are going to catch up to them in that time frame?


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## Foxi4 (Feb 7, 2013)

IBNobody said:


> You can laugh, but Moore's law wins out.


Not when comparing mobile to non-mobile chipsets, no. The OUYA will never match the processing power of the NextBox, the PS4 or the WiiU simply because those three machines are made with the intention of being competitive for up to 10 years - the OUYA will merely get small yearly upgrades to match the current Android handsets in processing power.


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## narutofan777 (Feb 7, 2013)

wait i don't get it..


but i guess I would feel sad for anyone who buys ouya. you know that feeling when u buy a nintendo ds or new console and news of the next slim/new version comes out or there's a sale a week later?

i hate that #%$#$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## KingVamp (Feb 7, 2013)

xwatchmanx said:


> Sheesh. The Ouya has gone from "mildly interesting, maybe I'll buy it if I ever have a spare $100, just out of curiosity," to "If ANYTHING, I'll buy an old model used for $40, when it comes to it," for me


Yeah, just pick it up from Gamestop.


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## Foxi4 (Feb 7, 2013)

narutofan777 said:


> I guess I would feel sad for anyone who buys ouya. you know that feeling when u buy a nintendo ds or new console and news of the next slim/new version comes out or there's a sale a week later?
> 
> i hate that!


To be fair, Nintendo did _f*ck all_ with the DSi's enhanced capabilities and it was hardly a good purchase for DS Lite/DS Classic owners.


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## IBNobody (Feb 8, 2013)

Foxi4 said:


> Not when comparing mobile to non-mobile chipsets, no. The OUYA will never match the processing power of the NextBox or the PS4 simply because those two machines are made with the intention of being competitive for up to 10 years - the OUYA will merely get small yearly upgrades to match the current Android handsets in processing power.


 

What's your definition of "being competitive"? Who are they competing with, other than themselves?

There is more competition in the mobile SoC business than in the console business, and there's a hell of a lot more growth in mobile business, too.

EDIT: More competition and more growth mean a greater push on R&D to develop new technologies. Look at the mobile roadmaps.


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## Foxi4 (Feb 8, 2013)

IBNobody said:


> What's your definition of "being competitive"? Who are they competing with, other than themselves?
> 
> There is more competition in the mobile SoC business than in the console business, and there's a hell of a lot more growth in mobile business, too.


From what you wrote I gathered that you meant the OUYA will reach comparable specs to the three competing home consoles, which it will assuredly not do within its lifespan.

Mobile CPU's and GPU's are less power-monging than their full-scale cusins, but at a cost - they're also less powerful. The mobile CPU's/GPU's we're seeing today still haven't matched the processing power of full-scale CPU's/GPU's from 10 years back, I don't see why it would change this time around.


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## IBNobody (Feb 8, 2013)

Foxi4 said:


> From what you wrote I gathered that you meant the OUYA will reach comparable specs to the three competing home consoles, which it will assuredly not do within its lifespan.
> 
> Mobile CPU's and GPU's are less power-monging than their full-scale cusins, but at a cost - they're also less powerful. The mobile CPU's/GPU's we're seeing today still haven't matched the processing power of full-scale CPU's/GPU's from 10 years back, I don't see why it would change this time around.


 
They have some catch-up to do. But mobile SoC's were pretty dull before the iPhone came along. Look how far they've come so far. With NVIDIA being one of the driving forces, and AMD trying to break into the market, you're going to see those companies try to push the envelope of what is possible graphically. Those companies are also competing against Apple, who strategically bought a few GPU companies and is sitting pretty on tech.

NVIDIA is hurting particularly bad, because they got shut out of all 3 consoles this next generation. That's why they are doing things like project Shield and helping with the OUYA.


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## Foxi4 (Feb 8, 2013)

IBNobody said:


> They have some catch-up to do. But mobile SoC's were pretty dull before the iPhone came along. Look how far they've come so far.


I disagree. Mobile CPU's evolved rapidly even before the iPhone rolled in and the Intel XScale (Now Marvell) is a pretty good example of that. Heck, later Dell Axim's (Powered by Windows Mobile) even played Quake III at a reasonable framerate years, years back. The progress has increased in pace, yes, but not as significantly as you might think - the mobile CPU industry has been around for a long time, just for the more "prestigious" customers - such handsets were mostly offered to businessmen.





> With NVIDIA being one of the driving forces, and AMD trying to break into the market, you're going to see those companies try to push the envelope of what is possible graphically. Those companies are also competing against Apple, who strategically bought a few GPU companies and is sitting pretty on tech.
> 
> NVIDIA is hurting particularly bad, because they got shut out of all 3 consoles this next generation. That's why they are doing things like project Shield and helping with the OUYA.


Pretty sure they're not "helping" the OUYA, they're just selling their chip to them. 

Also, NVidia's relatively fine with or without consoles - they're focused primarily on PC and Smartphones these days, petty OUYA sales would be very little help.


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## IBNobody (Feb 8, 2013)

Foxi4 said:


> I disagree. Mobile CPU's evolved rapidly even before the iPhone rolled in, and the Intel XScale (Now Marvell) is a pretty good example of that. Heck, later Dell Axim's (Powered by Windows Mobile) even played Quake III at a reasonable framerate years, years back. The progress has increased in pace, yes, but not as significantly as you might think - the mobile CPU industry has been around for a long time, just for the more "prestigious" customers - such handsets were mostly offered to businessmen.


 
In the past 2 years, though, the industry has gone from single cores to dual-cores to quad-cores. Last month, Samsung announced its 8 core Exynos. That's pretty darn fast.



> Pretty sure they're not "helping" the OUYA, they're just selling their chip to them.
> 
> Also, NVidia's relatively fine with or without consoles - they're focused primarily on PC and Smartphones these days.


 
Here's another quote from the article in my OP...



> Uhrman pointed out that, because of OUYA's home console form factor (which plugs into a wall, rather than relying on a tiny battery), the console will be, "the best Tegra 3 device on the market." It also doesn't hurt that OUYA's working directly with the Tegra 3's manufacturer, NVIDIA. She said that NVIDIA has a group of folks dedicated solely to getting the chip driving the OUYA to run at its highest capacity ever.


 
Application support is more than just sales.


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## Foxi4 (Feb 8, 2013)

IBNobody said:


> Application support is more than just sales.


I must've missed that part. Well, that's great - in a lot of ways it's an advert for NVidia and the gaming capabilities of their chips.

As for multicore architectures popping up, it's infinitely easier to add more cores to a CPU than it is to refine a core - once CPU designers ironed out the "how-to" on PC architectures it comes to them naturally, I think. The only boundry here is the power intake of the chips as well as their efficient cooling, but hey! As long as you get more processing power, it's all good. The more "Oomph!" the better, I have faith in the mobile CPU/GPU industry, just not enough faith to risk saying that they'll match their bigger brothers performance-wise, even with a 10-year deadline.


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## Jax (Feb 8, 2013)

When Apple releases a $500 phone every year it's ok, but when it's a $99 Android console, all hell breaks loose!


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## Foxi4 (Feb 8, 2013)

Jax said:


> When Apple releases a $500 phone every year it's ok, but when it's a $99 Android console, all hell breaks loose!


It's not okay and people constantly bi*ch and complain about it, not because of the release schedule but because of the scarce improvements introduced in each version _(with the honourable exception of the 4S which was entirely acceptable for Smartphone standards)._


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## Wombo Combo (Feb 8, 2013)

I think they regret not waiting for tegra 4.


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## lovewiibrew (Feb 8, 2013)

I can't understand all the hate on Ouya. For $100 I have a device that will run xbmc, emulators, games, and android apps on my TV. I guess I could use a raspberry pi for xbmc but I don't really know, nor care, to use linux. I can't wait to receive my Ouya.


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## xwatchmanx (Feb 8, 2013)

lovewiibrew said:


> I can't understand all the hate on Ouya. For $100 I have a device that will run xbmc, emulators, games, and android apps on my TV. I guess I could use a raspberry pi for xbmc but I don't really know, nor care, to use linux. I can't wait to receive my Ouya.


I can do the exact same thing with my Asus Transformer Pad. All I needed was a Micro USB to HDMI cable (a few dollars), and a handheld bluetooth keyboard/touchpad for the convenience of not having to physically hold the tablet while setting things up (about $20).

That said, I suppose it is nice to have a version of Android that's more console-dedicated, in a way.


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## LightyKD (Feb 8, 2013)

AWW FUQ NAW!!!!!  What the hell???!!! I don't want these guys to start acting like smart device manufacturers. The fact that they are advertising this device as a console gave me hope that the damn thing would not be refreshed every five seconds. It's my issue with smart devices now. Why cant these manufacturers at least wait two damn years before shitting out another phone?!?! Ugh!!!!! I'm REALLY starting to hate gaming!!!!


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## Bladexdsl (Feb 8, 2013)

I can do that with my pc


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## ferofax (Feb 8, 2013)

2ndApex said:


> As long as they're upgrades and not replacements I'll be fine.


Well, yes, they're upgrades. Going from OUYA to OUYA2 will be like going from PS1 to PS2. Upgrades.

So they want you to buy hardware on a yearly basis. They made a conscious decision to render your hardware obsolete after just one year. That's wrong. That's just so wrong.


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## 2ndApex (Feb 8, 2013)

ferofax said:


> Well, yes, they're upgrades. Going from OUYA to OUYA2 will be like going from PS1 to PS2. Upgrades.
> 
> So they want you to buy hardware on a yearly basis. They made a conscious decision to render your hardware obsolete after just one year. That's wrong. That's just so wrong.



That's not an upgrade, that's a new console.

I was thinking upgrading like upgrading a computer, because then yearly upgrades would not only be acceptable but better than staying with the same hardware for an entire gen.


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## Santee (Feb 8, 2013)

Well this things looking better and better, it's going to need the yearly hardware update to keep up with the android phones, and seeing as it's going to be backward compatible then this is a fine idea, the only alternative would replaceable parts but that would cost about the same. Don't really understand all the hate, I wouldn't but one as I have no need for it but it doesn't look bad.


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## Celice (Feb 8, 2013)

2ndApex said:


> That's not an upgrade, that's a new console.
> 
> I was thinking upgrading like upgrading a computer, because then yearly upgrades would not only be acceptable but better than staying with the same hardware for an entire gen.


This is what I thought the OUYA was doing: they were offering, if you wanted to pony up the case, new"er" hardware. That doesn't mean the previous version wouldn't be able to keep up with the games. It means there's an option  for people who would like to have the very best they can as soon as it's available, and otherwise, they can keep the older hardware knowing that there's a chance it may have a performance hit on newer games.


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## 1NOOB (Feb 8, 2013)

it'd be nice if the hardware of the ouya could be switch like a catridge ... is it possible to do ?


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## Taleweaver (Feb 8, 2013)

Hmm...at first, I was skeptic like most of you guys. And I still am. But there's another side of this story.

A hundred bucks isn't that much. If you buy the ouya 1, 2 and 3, you'll still have spent less money than on a next generation console.


That said...the ouya sequels will have a pretty hard time selling. Unlike major consoles where every major developer at least poops out a port of a grade A game, the ouya doesn't have this backing. And I think most indie developers will be more than content to just keep developing for the first ouya. And since the thing is completely mod-allowed, you can't really lure customers with a better interface either.

So the only reason this can pick up is if the customers step in the same pattern as apple users (oooh! a new version!!! I MUST HAVE IT!!!!!). But I seriously doubt it will happen. Perhaps it would have had a chance if it was the only gaming console on the market...but it isn't. Those who want the best of the best _already go for a different console_.
In marketing terms: they're hoping that the poor gamer segment is going to act like the rich apple owner segment.


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## shakirmoledina (Feb 8, 2013)

why is this bad? if sony and all companies change their consoles due to the changes of hardware and software technologies, why shouldn't OUYA?
and even if they want to update just for the sake of it, its not like your old consoles won't work. They still will play them but the newer games, that are coincidentally not OUYA's fault for being more power-hungry, will need a more powerful machine.

there is no where in that para which said 'We don't want to support customer but rather want money every year.'


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## Qtis (Feb 8, 2013)

1NOOB said:


> it'd be nice if the hardware of the ouya could be switch like a catridge ... is it possible to do ?


Steambox is maybe something you're thinking of? Yes it's possible if the console is made modular in the first place (like a PC if you will). If everything is soldered into place like modern laptops and phones, you're out of luck.


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## Luckkill4u (Feb 8, 2013)

shakirmoledina said:


> why is this bad? if sony and all companies change their consoles due to the changes of hardware and software technologies, why shouldn't OUYA?
> and even if they want to update just for the sake of it, its not like your old consoles won't work. They still will play them but the newer games, that are coincidentally not OUYA's fault for being more power-hungry, will need a more powerful machine.
> 
> there is no where in that para which said 'We don't want to support customer but rather want money every year.'


An xbox 360 was $299 on launch day, and PS3 was $499. Both consoles expected to last 7-9 years. $700-900 for the same type of thing for Ouya in a span of 7-9 years? I'll go with the REAL console thank you!


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## Celice (Feb 8, 2013)

They weren't expected to survive that long. They were forced to, mostly as an economic decision, but similarly out of a greed for easy money. Consumers kept buying--the console makes just rode out the wave of profits.

Some analysts believe this drought of new systems brought about a well of stagnate game development. Where a new console every four or five years meant developers trying new franchises and OP to launch work with new consoles, this last generation, series were milked for as much money as possible, because devs needed that money to survive, and publishers wanted that money for profits.


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## Another World (Feb 8, 2013)

it's funny to me how easy it is for some to bash the ouya without having used it. all the talk is of hardware, it seems no one wants to point out the current wave of development the ouya is receiving. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ouya_software
http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/29/ouyas-create-game-jam-yields-more-than-150-games-in-10-days/
http://ouyaforum.com/showthread.php?18-List-of-Games-Coming-to-the-OUYA

hands down this is going to be an affordable way to game. it will offer android exclusives, emulation, hdmi, wireless controllers, upgradable software and hardware, portability, and all for $99. 

this system will breath new life into the console market, something which has been stagnated for years. nintendo, sony, or microsoft, gee, what fun it is. 

-another world


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## KingVamp (Feb 8, 2013)

xwatchmanx said:


> I can do the exact same thing with my Asus Transformer Pad. All I needed was a Micro USB to HDMI cable (a few dollars), and a handheld bluetooth keyboard/touchpad for the convenience of not having to physically hold the tablet while setting things up (about $20).
> 
> That said, I suppose it is nice to have a version of Android that's more console-dedicated, in a way.





Bladexdsl said:


> I can do that with my pc


Ouya will have its own games, game support, be easier to move around and set up, do all that was mentioned, and save space under a $100 device (as you pointed out) aim at mostly gaming. It as well as indie catered.




Celice said:


> This is what I thought the OUYA was doing: they were offering, if you wanted to pony up the case, new"er" hardware. That doesn't mean the previous version wouldn't be able to keep up with the games. It means there's an option for people who would like to have the very best they can as soon as it's available, and otherwise, they can keep the older hardware knowing that there's a chance it may have a performance hit on newer games.


Even if they support two versions of Ouya at a time. Soon or later they will make some games that can't be played on the old one.


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## Celice (Feb 8, 2013)

KingVamp said:


> Even if they support two versions of Ouya at a time. Soon or later they will make some games that can't be played on the old one.


I don't know--the xbox 360 skimmed by with out-of-date hardware for quite some time. So long as OUYA keeps up with *its* market of developers, setting its own benchmarks, the idea of an "outdated" version is a hard one to attain.


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## KingVamp (Feb 8, 2013)

Celice said:


> I don't know--the xbox 360 skimmed by with out-of-date hardware for quite some time. So long as OUYA keeps up with *its* market of developers, setting its own benchmarks, the idea of an "outdated" version is a hard one to attain.


How long do you think the 360 will be supported when the 720 comes? Wouldn't 720 games not be able to play on the 360 unless scale downed? Would they keep scaling down games when a new version of the hardware is out?

I hope you know what I'm getting at.


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## Jaems (Feb 8, 2013)

For $99, it may not be the best console, but it's likely to be the best television boxset at the price. Open-source, unlimited apps, XMBC, Netflix, Browser, emulators, and a controller. It'll definitely go good in my parents living room instead of buying an Apple TV.


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## Celice (Feb 8, 2013)

KingVamp said:


> How long do you think the 360 will be supported when the 720 comes? Wouldn't 720 games not be able to play on the 360 unless scale downed? Would they keep scaling down gams when a new version of the hardware is out?
> 
> I hope you know what I'm getting at.


Thus, notice I said, and emphasized, *OUYA's* library. If its software is created in an enclosed environment, there's no need to worry about the hardware being unable to keep up. This is how each console generation survives: it artificially limits the hardware, and develops the software around such limitation. Though there are games which push the hardware at times, and lose performance, there is always a standard by which software is made, so as to always have marketability.

I do not see such trends being bucked by OUYA. At best, I do see select software that is limited to the better hardware, but more I would see different versions of games that would run at different settings/qualities depending on the version of OUYA one has purchased and owns.

The idea behind having different tiers is not necessarily inconsistent, exploitative treatment of its consumer base. It can easily go that way, but potentialities is hardly something to cry fear over. It is enough to recognize the potential and observe the OUYA market cautiously. One who invests blindly can suck their own thumbs if it turns out to be a spiked investment.


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## Foxi4 (Feb 8, 2013)

lovewiibrew said:


> I can't understand all the hate on Ouya. For $100 I have a device that will run xbmc, emulators, games, and android apps on my TV. I guess I could use a raspberry pi for xbmc but I don't really know, nor care, to use linux. I can't wait to receive my Ouya.


You don't know or care to use Linux however you can't wait to receive your Android-powered OUYA, Android being a distribution of Linux.

Alright. 


Jaems said:


> For $99, it may not be the best console, but it's likely to be the best television boxset at the price. Open-source, unlimited apps, XMBC, Netflix, Browser, emulators, and a controller. It'll definitely go good in my parents living room instead of buying an Apple TV.


With Exyonos 5 just around the corner? Naw. As for the controller, OUYA's controller < PS3's controller over Bluetooth.


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## Luckkill4u (Feb 8, 2013)

Jaems said:


> For $99, it may not be the best console, but it's likely to be the best television boxset at the price. Open-source, unlimited apps, XMBC, Netflix, Browser, emulators, and a controller. It'll definitely go good in my parents living room instead of buying an Apple TV.


Yes, yes, yesyesyes and YES. I will have to say this will be much better than Apple TV ever is, now I can only wish it had a TV tuner lol.


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## Forstride (Feb 8, 2013)

But, but...It's indie!  So it must be good!  Right guys?  Guys...?

OUYA is shit.  End of discussion.


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## Crimsonclaw111 (Feb 8, 2013)

OHNO

Skip. No reason to get this when something like a Nexus 7 is much more capable with emulators, bluetooth, and portability for not too much more imo.


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## Just Another Gamer (Feb 8, 2013)

I wouldn't mind yearly hardware updates as long as the console itself is cheap. like $50 AUD cheap. This is since it would be obsolete in the next year anyway and charging for anything more than that is just a rip off to me if it will be outdated in a years time.


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## Kouen Hasuki (Feb 8, 2013)

It's reasons like this that I didn't want the handheld we was talking about the other day CGW or something 

Not joining a hardware rat race to just be able to play games, hell I don't even do that on phones I got what I got I'll upgrade when I feel like it lol


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## FireGrey (Feb 8, 2013)

But of course having the original OUYA will be exactly the same as if there were no revisions, apart from the fact that you can't be an elitist bastard.


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## chartube12 (Feb 8, 2013)

By November-ish of 2014, it is said smartphones should have the graphics of the ps3/xb360. I would love to see an Ouya get those kind of graphics. It will be interesting to see what indie devs do with the equal to 7th console-gen horse power w/o having to shell out cash to Microsoft.

The China Android-HDMIs seem to sell very well and they have had a 3-9 month refresh rate. I heard many decent Indie devs use them to test apps on the big screen before bringing them to google play. An official device from non-china that refreshes only once a year could be a great device for those already rocking the Chinese sticks.


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## Skelletonike (Feb 8, 2013)

Meh... I can't say I'll see the OUYA and the Steambox as actual consoles... I'll probably get an OUYA if they don't convert the price from 100$ to 100€, if they do that like they do with normal consoles over here, no way I'll buy it, if it'll have an update like phones, it should have a decent conversion like phones (unlike consoles, phone prices are properly converted to €).

Well, can't say I'll do any dedicated gaming on it if I do get one, I'll probably just use it to emulate PSX and N64, since my PSX and N64 are broken atm. z.z


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## Hells Malice (Feb 8, 2013)

lol people pretending this is a bad thing.
Just gotta bitch about everything I guess.

Anyway, considering how absurdly cheap the little cube is, this is a good idea. It's not like you NEED to upgrade every year. It's the same console, but every year the thing will get more powerful, giving game devs more room to move.
Assuming the pre-order price is anything to go by, the thing takes about a full days work + a little bit to buy...that's really not a big deal at all.
It'd likely just make some games have requirements like "Ouya4+" or shit like that. Plus I assume it'd discount previous versions to get even more of them in the hands of the people.


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## shakirmoledina (Feb 8, 2013)

Luckkill4u said:


> An xbox 360 was $299 on launch day, and PS3 was $499. Both consoles expected to last 7-9 years. $700-900 for the same type of thing for Ouya in a span of 7-9 years? I'll go with the REAL console thank you!


 
that's the point. You don't need to buy one every time it comes out. It's not like a ds and 3ds; it's an android system that will play any app as long as it's android. Also if I am not mistaken ouya is $100.


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## Gh0sti (Feb 8, 2013)

guys this is just like an iPhone or any device really there going to need to do a new one each year to use new hardware and to push new games this could change how gaming is done cheap and as a home console idk why people are hating OUYA especially if it gets emulator support i mean it uses a Tegra 3 and 1GB of Ram good games can come out of that better i think spec wise compared to xbox, ps3, and wii. the only thing limiting is storage


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## nando (Feb 8, 2013)

I can see myself always waiting for the next iteration to "finally" get the ouya... and then wait for the next one because of course I won't want the current one.


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## Foxi4 (Feb 8, 2013)

nando said:


> I can see myself always waiting for the next iteration to "finally" get the ouya... and then wait for the next one because of course I won't want the current one.


Happens to me all the time, hence I still don't have an Android handset despite planning to get one since the old style Windows Mobile got canned in favour of the new Windows Phone.


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## xwatchmanx (Feb 8, 2013)

If they handle their upgrades like Google's Nexus devices, where a device gets supported for at least two years, even though a new one comes out every year, then, honestly, I would be cool with it.


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## mechadylan (Feb 9, 2013)

nando said:


> I can see myself always waiting for the next iteration to "finally" get the ouya... and then wait for the next one because of course I won't want the current one.


 
This.  Announcing that a new model/upgrade will be available every year is akin to informing your loyal customers that any product that they buy comes with an active countdown timer to a possible extinction date.  Yes, I understand that the software will be compatible with future hardware releases.  But unless the price of the current hardware gradually decreases from month to month, this announcement is a sales department's worst nightmare.


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## DaggerV (Feb 9, 2013)

I think a lot of you all are looking at this all retarded. 



Plus, it can be like the current smartphone debacle, wait for next gen and buy previous gen for way under it's value. You can do the same with selling to, won't cost you that much in long run I'd imagine.


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## mechadylan (Feb 9, 2013)

Smartphones are subsidized to new customers and contract renewals by their respective carriers. If customers were forced to pay MSRP each and every time they bought a new phone, it wouldn't be a "smartphone debacle;" it'd be a smartphone outrage. But perhaps, you're onto something.... If Ouya were to team up with big 3G/4G carriers, incorporate said architecture into their hardware, and offer their hardware at a significantly reduced rate to customers due to corporate subsidizing, then, yes; it wouldn't cost you that much in the long run.


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## indask8 (Feb 9, 2013)

I'm surprised nobody has posted a link to this:

Osborne effect


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## IBNobody (Feb 9, 2013)

indask8 said:


> I'm surprised nobody has posted a link to this:
> 
> Osborne effect


 
I wasn't aware that effect had a name. Thanks. I agree with you.

I think that Julie (OUYA CEO) is doing a great job trying to raise awareness, but she made a mistake when she announced the yearly refresh. She should have given more information such as how the upgrades would happen (i.e. buying a controller-less system for a special discounted cost) and how long they expect the first set of systems to remain viable. Or, she should have been more vague and said that there would be OUYA upgrades and left it at that.


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## Another World (Feb 9, 2013)

there is a poll, you can vote to have hardware upgraded every year.

http://ouyaforum.com/showthread.php?1352-New-OUYA-Console-Every-Year

-another world


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## KingVamp (Feb 10, 2013)

Maybe they will change their mind about this.


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## Deleted User (Feb 10, 2013)

oops nvm


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## ShadowSoldier (Feb 10, 2013)

Oh that's nice. Great to know if I ever decide to buy one, it'll be outdated in a year. And before I get the "phones are outdated each year!"

I don't play games on my phone, so in a way, it isn't outdated.


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