OUYA Update
It’s been an interesting few weeks. Not only has OUYA been able to garner an outstanding $5.8 million on Kickstarter with eight days remaining, but the start-up has also made some big confirmations on which games will be available on the platform. Before jumping into the confirmed games, OnLive has confirmed the service will be on OUYA from day one (targeting March 2013), and that will bring “hundreds” of games to the platform right away including big hits like the Mass Effect series.
In terms of games that have been confirmed by either the publisher or developer, as hitting the OUYA at launch or sometime thereafter, we’ve got…
Final Fantasy III (Square Enix) – March 2013
Gunblitz (Rapture Game Studios) – March 2013
Hawken (Adhesive Games) – TBA
Human Element Prequel (Unnamed) (Robotiki) – TBA
Invaders Pretty Sure From Outer Space – Round 2 (Freak Mind Games) – March 2013
Legends of Aethereus (ThreeGates) – TBA
Super Retro Squad (Exploding Rabbit) – After March 2013
While that’s certainly a small list, having Square-Enix onboard at launch, with a promise to support the platform into the future, should give those on the fence at least a little more securing that this device will eventually see the light of day. Currently progress has been ramping up quickly and the company says they’re still on target for a March 2013 launch. Obviously a lot can change between now and March, but I’ll continue to post updates as they happen.
I’ve also received quite a few emails over the past few weeks that I wanted to address. I think people need to readjust their expectations a little. While this Kickstarter may have broke records for the fastest to ever achieve their funding goal, OUYA will likely not be able to surpass the Pebble watch’s mind blowing $10.2 million total. That doesn’t really mean anything in the long term, just that the OUYA hasn’t set the world ablaze like some people are suggesting. Another reality check we all need to realize is that as of right now OUYA has 45,000 backers, which is a far cry from the millions of people on indie-supported services like Steam, or the traditional consoles which have tens of millions of consumers. The bottom line is, while I’m sure OUYA is going to be a big success for the indie market and it’ll have its own nice niche, let’s net get carried away and believe this is going to dethrone Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft as that’s just not going to happen. Keep in mind that the biggest flop in gaming history, the Virtual Boy, sold over 350,000 units within the first three months of availability. So hopefully that puts things into perspective.
All that said, I’m still very much looking forward to the OUYA, but I think people need to lower their expectations somewhat. This is a device that will cater to a very specific market. While I don’t know what the future will hold, I think the OUYA will have tons of incredible indie-developed games, and a plethora of crap released on it. That’s the way an open market works, but at the end of the day I’m still very pleased to be along for the ride.
-
The one thing I like about the OUYA is that it has that Apple I feel to it. Back then when Apple was just a name, and the “company” was in Steve Jobs’ garage, it was the passion of doing something he and Woz loved that eventually created the company we know today. They were omega nerds that were making a mobo for other nerds, simple as that. They went to conventions and other fares in order to get their product out there, which the two likely would have used Kickstarter or something like it had that option been available back then. Like I said, I’m hoping this thing does well, but people need to realize that as of now there are 45,000 people who are getting units, which is a far cry from seeing this at Wal Mart with Final Fantasy XXIV on it. Know what I mean?
-
#3 written by Marc-Andre Lacroix 9 months ago
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1523379957/oculus-rift-step-into-the-game
Speaking of kickstarters… This one has a lot of industry leading people exited for it :) It would be awesome! :)
-
I saw that the other day, and it looks promising if they can do everything they say they can. It’s interesting that this particular kickstarter is directly geared at the tech, and not reaching the mass market or anything like that. I wish them the best of luck and will be sure to keep my eyes peeled on future developments.
-
-
Leave a Reply
- Comment Feed for this Post
I definitely agree with the sentiment. It seems like so many online are expecting this console will completely change the landscape, which I don’t understand. It is unprecedented, but I feel that it’s mostly because online platforms like Kickstarter just didn’t exist in the past. I’m sure this would’ve happened years ago if the tools were there. And honestly, despite having as many backers as it does, OUYA doesn’t strike me as a mainstream device. It’s a device made by passionate people for those who care and know about it. It’s not something made that will cater to everyone, that they can go to any store and pick up. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft are household names.
I’m not trying to disparage OUYA though. Far from it. I think it’s very cool that they’ve received so much praise and support from people. It shows that fans really will put their money where their mouth is, if they feel it’s worth it. It’ll be a boon for indie gaming. Hopefully the big three can take notes from OUYA though. I feel like indie gaming as done a great job at creating a good relationship with fans, because so many have voiced such a great dislike for so many “faceless” companies, especially this generation. I guarantee if I brought up EA, Zynga, Microsoft, Sony, Treyarch, Infinity Ward, Capcom, and Sega in conversation, I’d get some really hateful responses (not saying all of that is unwarranted either).