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OUYA in discussions with NAMCO BANDAI, adds four controller support as Kickstarter campaign nears end

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OUYA’s Kickstarter campaign is ending tonight, but the company has sent out an update to insure investors in the highly hyped Android gaming box that the real work is only beginning. The biggest announcement today is word that the OUYA folks are in discussions with NAMCO BANDAI, makers of such games as PAC-MAN and TEKKEN, to bring a selection of their classic games to the console. Also revealed is an upgrade from two controller to four controller support. The feature was added due to user demand with OUYA providing an option for those who have already pledged to pay an additional $90 to receive four controllers instead of one when the device ships in March.

Additionally, OUYA is rounding out media player support with Plex. Yesterday the company announced support for XBMC but is looking to please customers with their choice of media streaming software.

As the end of OUYA’s first round of funding draws near, the company has already sold out of personalized OUYA consoles as well developer preview editions. I still hold the opinion that OUYA won’t be quite as successful as most think it will be, but I have to admit they have done a remarkable job turning concept into cash cow.

 

Kevin Krause
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23 Comments

  1. If the timing is right and with its growing number of backers, this thing could be the “4th next generation console”.

    Question is, when will all the cheap imitations start flooding the market and make the OUYA look run-in-the-mill?

  2. Don’t see why it won’t succeed. The console era is dead. Some are smart enough to see it now and move. PlayStation will die. Xbox will continue to become a games plus media platform. Everybody else will start launching games plus media platforms as the mobile world continues to do influence everything.

    1. Are you serious!? The Ouya is like a portable console. You can EASILY take this with you. This is what people will be looking for. Something comparable to an actual console, yet easily portable. And Namco Bandai and Square Enix support? Oh yea, they’re going places.

      1. Think you may have misunderstood me. Ouya WILL succeed. When I said consoles would die I meant the traditional “next gen” go buy your game at the store console we are used to. Things like this and tablets will become the consoles.

        Sent via Android.

        1. I see. Yes. I did misunderstand your statement. And for that I apologize. LoL!!

    2. As long as Zelda, Mario, Metroid are nintendo only, they will exist.
      With SmartGlass, xbox is becoming OUYA with better games and hardware
      Playstation…..well they won’t be going anywhere, they still have another console coming.
      Plenty of console games that just won’t work on OUYA or are just sony/nintendo/MS exclusives.

      1. Don’t see how old exclusives are going to sell new consoles. The bar for entry to develop for phones tablets and devices like the Ouya are way too low for traditional consoles to remain propped up. Developers won’t be so quick to build Xbox and PS games. Combine that with OnLive and the fact that the devices don’t need the horsepower to play the most advanced games and yea…. consoles are dead. Sony should hang up their new console if its not in line with this trend. MS is playing it smart with the XBox so far except they will have to compete on prices as well. The Vizio costar had Onlive support and only runs me 99 while providing possibly more content than my 360.

        Sent via Android.

        1. Don’t see why nintendo, ms or sony can’t go the OnLive road, so that is a bogus argument. Mobile games mostly suck, Who wants to play Angry birds on their TV? Even Dead trigger is nothing compared to any decent console game. Halo, Zelda, Mario, God of War are must-have games. So far there is not a single game for android that is anywhere near that level of quality.
          The micro transactions will ruin most games. The flood of crapgames will ruin the image of OUYA as a valid console.
          Also, let’s not forget the big red alert for malware in the Play store. Goodluck targetting the OUYA to the casual crowd.
          Not to mention the rampant Piracy affecting Android. Which developer would ever create an awesome game only to have it pirated? The only way that could work is with microtransactions and those games suck for that reason.
          Not to forget that Android lacks a unified online user profile. Most games use either FB, or an email or openfeint. There needs to be a unified experience. There are no achievements, trophies, cross-game chat.
          Issues with games need to be resolved with that specific developer, lets hope he can be contacted, you can;t just call Android/Google’s helpdesk like you can with MS/SONY/Nintendo.

          Trust me, I really want to see it happen. I am for android becoming an excellent game experience, but it just is not gonna happen with the OUYA. The OUYA will be for early adopters, it will pave the way, but Nintendo/MS and Sony have plenty of time to see where it is headed and plan their response appropriately

          1. Yes MS , Sony etc could go to an OnLive like system but then that wiuld mean the death of the current type of console like i said wouldnt it… Look at some of the games coming to Ouya….they look mobile to you? Ouya doesn’t use the Play Store to my knowledge. Regardless pirating an Android game is no different than pirating a computer or console game. Hell the computer game is easier to pirate. Think of your favorite PC game and stick it in Google with “crack” behind it. Does this stop PC game makers? And it doesn’t take that much to build a network system. It doesn’t need to be a part of Android itself plus there are already systems like ScoreLoop and OpenFeint.

            Most of your arguments seem to come from ignorance or you’re just trolling. Either way it makes you look silly.

            Sent via Android.

          2. The death of current type consoles? It seems like you are the one being ignorant. As if any device will ever be the end-all consumer device. OUYA with OnLive won’t last you forever. Eventually you will need to buy a new console. What? You’re OUYA can’t play ULTRA HD Video? It does not support USB 5.0, does not work with the new Bluetooth version? Hmmm guess time to buy a new CONSOLE. As long as people will buy new devices, no service like Onlive or any other streaming service will render new devices obsolete.

            I have taken a look at some of the games announced for OUYA and yes they look like mobile crap games, with few exceptions. Maybe I just looked at the bad ones, so I wont make up my mind yet, hoping you can direct me to the good games.

            As far as I am aware, pirating console games is a lot HARDER than android games. You either need to modify the console, install homebrew software and hope that system updates do not negate all of it. Android its just: Google the app, download to device and install. Ta-daa! (Keep the talk focussed on consoles btw, no need to drag PC’s in it)

            It doesn’t take much to build a network system? Really? And you are calling me ignorant? Yeh, I think Sony just hired a bunch of monkeys to do their networking, that would be the only reason for all the troubles it has been experiencing right, given how EASY it is. I bet there is a youtube movie explaining how I can create one in 5 minutes. Pffff

            Now either put some thought in your posts or stop trolling!

          3. Reading is fundamental buddy.

            I said PC games are easier to pirate than Android. Do you see this stopping PC games? Oh right no need to drag PC’s in because it destroys the whole pirating argument. PC games are pirated and game makers keep making PC games. Android nor any other platform will be any different so its a moot point. Its nothing but blogger hype.

            If you read this and my other posts carefully you’ll see I’m talking about the death of the console AS WE KNOW IT. Nobody said the Ouya will be the LAST device you need to buy. Obviously you’re going to have to have some sort of device. Will that device be the “next gen” PS4 or 5 or will it be the next tablet or set top box to hit the market? And you actually make my point for me. How long does it take for traditional consoles to catch up to “USB 5” or “hyper HD”? Years. How long does it take phones or tablets or even these cheap to produce set top boxes? Months. Which do you think consumers would prefer?

            Nvidia has already shown their roadmap to console graphics on mobile level hardware. So again where is an expensive console going to fit in when your tablet or even phone can plug into a TV and provide a console experience while still providing more use than a stand alone console? Why are devs going to pay $1000’s for a dev kit and deal with distribution channels when they can develop on cheap hardware and distribute themselves? And understand I’m not just talking about Ouya. I’m saying we are now seeing a shift in the entire console landscape. I started saying this about 2 or 3 years ago and everything I expected so far has been happening. No real next gen consoles on the horizon and studies showing people increasingly reaching for the tablet as their main gaming system.

            And no it doesn’t take much to build a network system and I’m telling you that as a software engineer. Achievements, leaderboards, trophies and the like are not difficult to handle and there are service out there for this right now anyway. Voice comm doesn’t have to be built from scratch as there are libraries out there for this. If they want to handle matchmaking for the games then that’s a bit more difficult but they’d probably leave that to the individual game shops and provide the needed hooks. The rest is as simple as a REST service for experienced devs. This is by no means any huge barrier.

            And I think you are also doing waaaaaaay to much thinking about Google in this. Google isn’t in this from what I understand. Ouya uses Android but it has its own store. I don’t know if there are plans for the Play Store along side it but for the most part this isn’t directly about better games on Android. But since it is Android it doesn’t take much for devs to port games to the Play Store…if any work is needed at all.

            Now if you’re going to continue to argue then base it on something besides blogger hyped up “pirating”, fixating on Google and Ouya, or thinking every networking system requires millions of man hours to build.

          4. Writing is fundamental buddy

            A quote from you:

            “The console era is dead. Some are smart enough to see it now and move. PlayStation will die. ”

            And another:

            “If you read this and my other posts carefully you’ll see I’m talking about the death of the console AS WE KNOW IT.”
            “Will that device be the “next gen” PS4 or 5 or will it be the next tablet or set top box to hit the market?”

            So please before you accuse someone for a lack of reading comprehension, make sure you know what you type. Because you DID not say:
            “The console era as we know it is dead”
            “Playstation as we know it will die”
            Get your point across in a clear manner, because now it looks like you’re just trolling.

            PC games are harder to pirate. That is why you see Blizzard requiring a battle.net account an internet connection for what can be a singleplayer offline game: Diablo3.
            Pirating pc games requires cracks for each new update that disables the previously working crack. For android it just the same action all over: Download and install the APK.
            Pirating has already been mentioned as a reason why developers prefer to develop for iOS over android.

            “Why are devs going to pay $1000’s for a dev kit and deal with distribution channels when they can develop on cheap hardware and distribute themselves?”
            This argument is hardly as impressive as you make it out to be. Nintendo already has a online store for simple games that are easy to develop, as does MS (not sure about Sony) but that didn’t cause a sudden huge rise of developers to start producing those games. Now you could blame the distribution system, but OUYA’s system will have it’s own faults. With so many generic crap games it becomes an ocean in which it becomes hard to stand out. Newcomers will be hard pressed to earn a profit with Zynga, EA, Rovio and other big names getting most of the attention.

            Also, still waiting on that list of good games for OUYA.

          5. And I differed from this where? Didn’t I just lay out how phones and tablets are basically the next consoles? Does this somehow not equate to PlayStation and the like being dead to you? Or are you talking about the literal current PlayStation console? If so I’m not saying people are going to go throw their current consoles out the window right now? I’m saying this is the end of the era. Is this what you’re confusing?

          6. Saying: Phones and tablets are the next consoles, after saying the console era is dead is a contradicting statement.
            Saying, the console era is dead implies that consoles will be dead, Fullstop.
            If you meant to say the consoles as we know them today will die, then say that. Because basically, all I hear you saying now (if I finally correctly understand you) is that nothing will change.
            Consoles are already slowly moving towards digital distribution with lower investments required for developing games, they are already moving towards becoming multimedia systems, they are already becoming everything the OUYA will be able to do next year in march.
            So, saying the console era as we know it is dead, would hold the same value as saying it during the times of the nintendo 64 and playstation, when they moved on to incorporate multimedia features, internet connections. Or when they started to incorporate HD images.

            The fact remains that the statement: “The console era is dead” was nothing more than useless, because it just added extra impact to what was already a meaningless statement; that consoles are continuously evolving into something better.

            Great job, you have successfully identified the path consoles take. You did this what? 2-3 years ago? Well Big Whoop seeing as that statement was true 5-6 years ago, maybe even longer.

    3. Playstation and Xbox will be around for one more generation. Then they will either evolve big time or vanish

  3. I see OUYA starting a HUGE revolution in console gaming. With this being the first generation device and based on its’ apparent success, its’ successor, if there is one would more than certainly be based on a Tegra 4 or something as powerful using the Cortex A15 + Mali 6xx or PowerVR equivalent. In which case you will see PS3/Xbox 360 quality, if not better, for a much lower price with near infinite possibilities due to the platforms open nature.

  4. This looks nice and all but until they can give me something to rival XBL I won’t be going anywhere. If you can’t turn it on jump into a party and play with my friends with no problems then it will be at a disadvantage. I love a single player game but most of the fun happens when you’re in a game with your friends. but I still plan on picking one up.

  5. I wouldnt mind picking one up but no way in hell will it be replacing my ps3 I just don’t see it. Sure it “may” have current gen graphics but the next gen console’s are on their way as well and soon most games will be downloadable onto your HDD via xbox live or playstation sotre.

  6. does anybody know the assumed date and price? I want to get rid of my xbox, it sucks.

    1. March 2013, $99 with one controller.

  7. Still no Tegra 4, though? :(

  8. HD + 3D Graphics or GTFO.

  9. just curious… how many from the phandroid editorial team has pledged for one? ;)

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