Ouya

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console

So yeah, this is pretty big. A $99 console using Android tech. The specs aren't going to be anything close to a PS3 or even a Wii. At best it has the power of a high end tablet, but that's beside the point. The Ouya is an independent developer's wet dream: development and distribution are more approachable.

Also, we talked about this on IRC a few days back, and I think it was Mitchell that said that everyone was mulling over the possibility of releasing an Android-friendly RPG Maker. Just imagine the possibilities!

Only 1 thing I can say: Ewwww Android >.>

I'd buy it!

Having a real controller would be a big plus.

I have an iPhone, but I have nothing against Android. A lot of my favorite games/apps are cross-OS anyways... I think this is a great idea!

Well with the money they have now, hopefully they can afford to upgrade the performance of this system. Having a better processor and GPU can help some of the bigger name companies integrate themselves into porting over, or making new games for this system. It's a great idea, but the one thing holding it back from me, as of now at least, is how it will appeal mostly to 'indie developers' and 'casual games'. They get the bigger name companies on this (Square-Enix as an example) then I'm definitely on board with this. And when I say bigger companies I don't mean the big companies designing little games. I mean the big companies designing actual games, akin to what they would for consoles.

I'm kinda excited because I'm interested in if I'd be capable for making games for it. Even though in terms of processing power it's probably leagues behind the current gen consoles, the fact that it's $99 is a breath of fresh air. I don't need cutting edge graphics to be entertained and hopefully this console gets enough interesting games to keep itself going.

Anyone here expecting a port of Call of Duty or Final Fantasy are completely missing the point, I think. We still have the PS3 or XBox for that. As far as the quality of the library for this goes, well, that's the question.

The Android and iOS markets have a LOT of stuff. 90% are garbage, mind, but with the significantly lower risk of developing on either than on the big three it should be easy to see why. I think the only thing that held gaming for mobile platforms back were the devices themselves; people just seem to prefer the 'traditional' way of playing their video games over the gimmick of touch screens and motion control and that's basically what the Ouya is offering. They're offering the opportunity to build your own game--on a console-- while dodging most of the huge hurdles you'd encounter trying to do the same elsewhere, legally, for cheap, and on adequate hardware. And again, as a community of folks that make games and share them, I'd think it'd be hard not to be excited.

Ouya does nothing that an Android phone doesn't do. They are marketing "Free Development Tools" but developing for Android is already free. People aren't going to make Ouya specific games, games like Angry Birds and Minecraft Pocket Edition are just going to run on Ouya. This is a collection of buzz words and media attention grabbing methods to generate a ridiculous amount of income for a product that does nothing that isn't already available. Prepare to see another "console" hit the ground tumbling and fall into obscurity. Assuming they don't just take the money and run.

I'm skeptical. Right now all it is is a list of plans on an extremely tight schedule (are they really expecting to build a bug-free and working console from the bottom up by March 2013?). A $99 price tag doesn't mean a whole lot to me either if I can't get much entertainment out of it.

Maybe my opinion will change once I see a working version, but right now it just seems like a gamer's dream. Would also need some decent third-party support, I don't need a console to play Angry Birds ripoffs or other 5-minute games. The reason they work for portable devices is that you can play them on the go like on the bus or at work when your boss isn't looking.

The free open-source and hacking doesn't seem too attractive from a money-making perspective either...seems like it would make pirating very easy.