I honestly hadn’t heard about the console until this week. It is a TEGRA3 powered ‘custom’ Android (Jellybean 4.1) based ‘console’.
From a bird’s eye view - it’s a Roku designed for playing games.
It’s big pros - $99…and…OPEN
It’s big cons - $99…and…OPEN
I’m still doing my research on it as it appears similar to something I’ve worked on in the past, but with a smaller footprint. It’s a low powered cube - about the size of a rubix cube, that can play a plethora of games from its on Android store (though Google Play is currently blocked), AND as I don’t want to dabble in taboo on SRK, but it also has a ‘strong’ list of emulators that it can run at full speed. It comes with the wireless controller that you see above - that everyone says out the box is ASS-cheeks, but it can use USB based controllers (no word on MadCatz or Hori fight sticks) and bluetooth controllers (PS3 & PS4 controllers confirmed). It can use XBMC, and the crew over at XBMC are working full force on it as well - it can ‘struggle along’ at 1080p, they are working to get it all the way there.
Current reviews are mixed, depends on the intended audience - casual gamers hate it (right now because of software issues that are being fixed), advanced users are on the line (its a hackers paradise, but there are some issues, you can root it easily for instance, but there is currently no ‘return from bricking’. If I go scoop one, I’ll post pictures and impressions.
Why buy a Android console if you already have a Android phone or mobile device? Hell, how would most Android games even translate when put on a big screen? Is it going to stretch or will it require borders like the Super Game Boy used to?
@Wellman
iDunno - I don’t personally have a single android device (been all iOS with me). All the games though have to be made FOR the Ouya, so I’d assume the developers would take first strokes at the resolution. They also have to release a ‘Demo’ or ‘Freemium’ version of all games that are put up, so you can literally try everything.
@Rabbit2k7
I’d love to develop games, but I don’t have time for that hahaha. I’d read elsewhere about Towerfall, guess I should google it. - http://www.towerfall-game.com/ looks like immense fun with friends. In a Smash Bros without random shit kind of way. :tup:
Again, I don’t understand the purchase. You’ve already got a PS3 controller, and I’ll assume you’ve got a smartphone. Buy an HDMI out adapter and you’ve got yourself an Ouya… unless it’s an iPhone in which case I believe the hardware on the Ouya is a bit better.
It’s the same concept as the Roku - a set top box with everything conveniently setup. You can always run a cable to your phone/tablet/PC, but each comes with some issue. I’ve been doing different things to get ‘emulation’ on the big screen for years, dedicated HTPC need to be configured and that can be a pain in the ASS for extensive collections. I’m all Apple on the phone/tablet front, so I had to buy a special cable just ot get a friggin HDMI out, the cable is crap quality and already ‘loose’, and frankly the iPad (1st gen speaker) aint great at everything - hell up until recently it had a shitty 32GBs of storage with no room for expansion. My phone is a little better than my iPad, but I’m ‘not’ jailbreaking my phone, and the last thing I want is to plug/unplug my phone constnatly - to play games/watch Netflix…so those types of things I use in a pinch.
That is where the Roku comes in, and subsequently - where this comes in. It’s pretty much already configured out the box. It’s foot print is super small - so it doesn’t eat retail space (like a HTPC does). And it’s cheap @ $99. I’d rather get something a bit more powerful with more storage space at a slightly higher premium, but it’s a pretty good value at $99.
Its 100 bucks, open source, has games developed specifically for it, uses all sorts of controllers, runs XBMC, supports the hell out of indie developers, easy to develop for, and it has nowhere to go but up.