The difference in price between buying a tegra 4 card to upgrade, vs buying a whole new Ouya is going to be so small as to be not worth it, as actually the electronics inside make up 95% of the manufacturing cost. The bits you wouldn't be upgrading (the plastic box) probably have a negligible cost anyway
even if it's a small difference, a year from now when tegra4 is going to be replaced by tegra5 or something the board swap should be plenty cheaper. not to mention you'd need not get new controllers and other extras.
I second a 2 year gap before upgrading. considering that the Ouya team sticks with Nvidia with the next iteration of the console and the rate that Nvidia release a upgrade of tegra, a 2 year gap would allow Ouya to stay at a cheap price point, while allowing dev's and consumers the chance to fully maximize and benefit from their purchase. considering other consoles like ps2 and ps3 didn't get fully utilize till way into their life cycle. Even the PSP was like this.
Might be against the grain but I'd be fine with an upgrade in one year. The OUYA isn't a particularly powerful console to begin with, and there's a lot of competition heating up.
iOS has issues because they stop supporting old hardware too soon, but so long as OUYA doesn't do the same, I don't see the problem with yearly offerings.
I think a switch to sth other than Tegra3 as fast as posibble would be advisable just because Tegra3 is a little too slow for fullHD resolution new GPUs released this year are much better suited for high resolution. So I think a switch to Tegra4 as fast as posibble would be great and then maybe 2-3 years of no udpates. Old Tegra3 could be easily supported by almost all games, no problem. Working on Tegra3 might even be made a requirement to make sure first adopters are not screwed.
@Noct: Do you think the Ouya team is financially in a position to support multiple devices, that kept on increasing on a yearly basis?
@Magnesus: You do know that 2-3 years from now there will be a tegra 6/7 right. Nvidia release a new tegra every year. Best thing the Ouya team can do is do a leap frog. The next time ouya gets updated would probably be using a tegra 5 and that's if they stay with Nvidia.
PS. I would love for someone to show me a playable game that ran at those crazy high res that these manufactures are hyping about.
@Trist I don't understand the question. It's all speculation at this point, the first OUYA isn't out yet. I'm just saying I'd buy an upgrade next year if it was offered.
@noct: what I'm saying is that it wouldn't be beneficial to upgrade so soon because then it would be like apple releasing a new device each year. The Ouya team don't have the money to do that even if they wanted to. Think of it from a Dev standpoint, if you manage to make one game by the end of the year only to find out that there's another ouya coming out next year how would you feel. not to mention gamers that just bought the device.
@Trist Having developed for iOS before, I can honestly say I don't mind. Improved versions are generally easy to handle, if you choose to handle it differently at all. You either add some new optional features or you stick to the baseline unit.
If a new device brings in new gamers who were waiting for improved hardware, that's a huge benefit to developers too. So are customers brought in by a cheaper original unit.
A year from launch is a long time; we don't know how much the OUYA will grow post-launch, so I don't think it's reasonable to say it's a bad idea just yet. Certainly I don't expect the team to launch hardware they can't afford to manage, but I also don't expect them to pass up opportunities for growth.
@noct: Being an old time Designer/Technical Artist, I guess I'm just too comfortable with how the Big 3 operate their consoles. I'm not one to purchase a console at first launch and usually wait after the first wave of " Demo" games are release. That usually takes a year or two and also the reason why I could never really follow the mobile gaming crowed. Especially considering like you said before, manufactures stop supporting their devices after only a year after release just because they want you to buy their newest gadget on the market.
How do you change the output resolution on the OUYA output? I'm running the OUYA through the HDMI on a BENQ monitor. I can't seem to find any way to change it.
Those benchmark apps don't have any way of changing output resolution either AFAIK. They are meant to use the max resolution of the device.
Personally, I'd love for the OUYA to be a console that can be updated on a more regular basis. We're already used to yearly hardware improvements on the iOS side of things. And you don't even have to buy the controllers again!
Two wrongs don't make a right. Having yearly updates is also a source of annoyance among iOS users of perfectly functional, unsupported devices. The gap should be of at least two years, and devs should be required to have their games functional on obsolete Ouya versions for two years after the upgraded version launches.
That shouldn't be terribly difficult to do if the OS stays Android and Google has NDK targets available to whatever cpu/architectural platform OUYA's future version ends up on. One of the major things "managed" code has going for it is that it's virtual machine-based execution abstracts the actual execution environment. But I doubt we will see many major titles being written entirely in Java.
OUYA could provide an ARM emulation of some sort on a virtual machine in a future version to accommodate backward compatibility. In 2 years, that might even be cost effective.
Otherwise, it's difficult to "require" anyone to do anything on your system for retroactive support. Even if it's worked into some sort of contract somewhere. Because legally, contract elements have to be reasonable in the eyes of the court, and it's problematic to collect on losses that are hard to prove.
There was a lot of confusion in the press about Shield and Steam. AFAIK, the Shield does not run Steam, because Steam distribute PC apps, not Android apps. If it's a Google certified Android device, it will run Google Play for app distribution.
The Shield has a feature which enables streaming of PC games from a desktop PC with an Nvidia GPU, which is where the mention of Steam 'big picture' mode comes in.
Don't forget that nvidia also announced their grid http://www.nvidia.com/object/cloud-gaming.html computing systems. Basically hardware which would have made life easier for everyone at OnLive or Gaikai. The only thing holding it back is a mine field of patents filed by Onlive, which they have admitted to holding only to sue anyone coming into streaming games.
i'd hate to see the Ouya update in just a year... maybe in two or three, that way, you A) get the OUYA name out, B) Don't tick off anybody who just bought an Ouya, C) By then a Tegra 5 will be out, far surpassing the 3 and 4 (considering tegra 4 is roughly 6x better than the tegra 3)
Or maybe an "upgrade" motherboard? If you own a Ouya, and the new tegra 4 board still fits ... Buy the upgrade. that way, Ouya\You save money because by selling a MB and not a whole product, OUYA's not building a whole new set of cases and saving money. and no need to purchase an extra controller
^ plus by doing this you get the hardware hackers happy because they can build a custom case or fit it in to a pre existing modded case and not spend a lot of money
Tegra 3 is nice but it's not super fast and many people myself included will find they have to scale back their game tech in order to make it run smooth, so I don't think it's a matter of people not having maxed out Ouya's hardware yet or `pushed it to the limit`. The limit is already reached, although perhaps there is room for `making the most of` the hardware in clever ways. Still, Tegra 4 is like several times more powerful so there is no way overclocking Ouya would come anywhere near its performance, unless you were at like 10GHz, lol
It'll be interesting to see, though, how Ouya progresses over the next few years and hardware like Tegra4, Tegra5 etc will be very tantalizing as upgrades which hopefully become less expensive within a year or two.
I bought both. They will provide for different testing platforms and give me a better look at how the different devices will work under different circumstances. Also, the added power of the tegra 4 is nice :]
I think this thing's gonna flop hard. If you look at the abysmal sales of the PlayStation Vita it should be enough to tell you that gamer's don't necessarily want high end games on a mobile device, and those that do don't want to pay such an extremely high price.
Now let's look at it's other main feature which is the ability to connect it to a TV via HDMI. This is a nice feature, or it would be a nice feature if you weren't forced to have that clunky screen attached to the top of your controller while you're playing. This is a terrible design flaw, now maybe it detaches (doubtful), or maybe it's very well made and you barely even notice it (we'll see, haven't gotten my hands on it, although it is NVIDIA'S first foray into this type of hardware).
If you want my honest opinion, I think the OUYA and the SHIELD have a bit of an identity crisis. It's like the one want's, and maybe should be, the other. While OUYA runs lower end games and has lower end hardware and of course cost less, the shield runs high end games, has better hardware, and of course will most certainly come with a hefty price tag. If you where to up the specs of the OUYA to the Tegra 4 and make it compatible with Steam then maybe the OUYA would give the next gen consoles a real run for their money. If you lowered the price of the Shield and put in weaker hardware, canned the high end games, and lower the price tag then you would give Nintendo a serious run for the money.
All in all I think OUYA has more appeal. It would certainly be nice if had the Tegra 4 chip though.
People don't mind the price, from what I'm seeing. It's the abysmal way Sony and Nintendo have treated their mobile platforms.
It will still flop. The mass consumer buys devices based on cost, value. What people value and at what cost they will pay for the device.
As an example the iPhone is a pretty hefty price for a phone. in fact it costs more than some consoles even at launch price. Yet the iPhone does exeedingly well for a mobile more expensive device. The reason being the value one get's from the iPhone. For most consumers it's more than just a phone. it's a handy social organize, time tracker, utility......
The next reason that devices sell well is the way and often forgotten by developers. Is that the way humans interact with the device. The easier, but more robust the input. The more that a consumer will be inclinded to consider it's value worth. Let's take a sample
* original walkman by Sony
The original walkman was a success as the alternative to radio was large wooden box glass diode. The walk offered humans a good enough portable radio.
* Wii
despite the lack of good developer support. The Wii hardware sales were incredible. This succeeded only because the pointer device was intuitive.
* NDS
often qouted as the "game machine that prints money". It's success was that the touch screen offered alternative game play that was intuitive. Some of the best games were primarly TS.
* iPad(tablet)
portable browsing computer that's easy to use.
A majority of successful devices were based on providing a behavioural effect on human usage. usually simpler, intuitive, but robust in how it can be used. Even some of the other successful devices can be attributed to the effect of human behaviour.
There is no way, that dual analog, 4 face and 2/4 shoulder buttons is ever going to be a intutive and robustly supperior input to the simplicity of definable touch screen controls.
"In the Buddhist tradition, all things are considered as either evolving from or dissolving into nothingness. This "nothingness" is not empty space. It is rather a space of potentiality. If the seas represent potential then each thing is like a wave arising from it and returning to it. There are no permanent waves. There are no perfect waves. At no point is a wave complete, even at its peak. Nature is seen as a dynamic whole that is to be admired and appreciated. "
The touch screen fits this. It's not that a touch screen is an input of nothing, but infact an input of everything. Where as a space that is used, is a space that is defined and lacks potentiality. this is the reason the Wii, NDS, Android, IOS do so well. It's why the PS360, WiiU, 3DS do not so well in comparison to prior iteration.
The Shield is while power wise superior. it is inferior on how a human interacts with the device. Of course there is always preference, but human behaviour speaks louder than preference and currently human behaviour on mass is screaming. INTUITIVE and EASY TO USE. 15 input controllers are not that.
So Shield will flop. Because it asks more in cost, but provides less of open gaming experience.
I'm wondering if anyone's considered if the next Ouya will be able to act as a "low tier" Steam box as mentioned previously by folks like Gabe Newell. I mean I'm not huge on Nvidia for my PC graphics cards but considering they've invested and supported the Ouya quite well I wouldn't be surprised if the next version of the Ouya console with Tegra 4 featured this desktop streaming feature.
It would make the Ouya a great way to play PC games on the TV and create a situation where essentially everyone wins. Nvidia sells more hardware. Ouya becomes more desirable. Steam can grow in the living room. Frankly it sounds like a dream come true to me minus the fact that I would likely NEED an Nvidia graphics card in my desktop. But that seems like a small price to pay for the potential convenience.
Not a lot, given the vastly different form factor and higher price point.
Additionally, Nvidia are part of the whopping $15million investment drive OUYA announcement last month, so they clearly see a place for it in the market and a good way to market the capability of their low power, relatively high performance chips.
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I second a 2 year gap before upgrading. considering that the Ouya team sticks with Nvidia with the next iteration of the console and the rate that Nvidia release a upgrade of tegra, a 2 year gap would allow Ouya to stay at a cheap price point, while allowing dev's and consumers the chance to fully maximize and benefit from their purchase. considering other consoles like ps2 and ps3 didn't get fully utilize till way into their life cycle. Even the PSP was like this.
Just my 2 cents. :)
iOS has issues because they stop supporting old hardware too soon, but so long as OUYA doesn't do the same, I don't see the problem with yearly offerings.
@Noct: Do you think the Ouya team is financially in a position to support multiple devices, that kept on increasing on a yearly basis?
@Magnesus: You do know that 2-3 years from now there will be a tegra 6/7 right. Nvidia release a new tegra every year. Best thing the Ouya team can do is do a leap frog. The next time ouya gets updated would probably be using a tegra 5 and that's if they stay with Nvidia.
PS. I would love for someone to show me a playable game that ran at those crazy high res that these manufactures are hyping about.
If a new device brings in new gamers who were waiting for improved hardware, that's a huge benefit to developers too. So are customers brought in by a cheaper original unit.
A year from launch is a long time; we don't know how much the OUYA will grow post-launch, so I don't think it's reasonable to say it's a bad idea just yet. Certainly I don't expect the team to launch hardware they can't afford to manage, but I also don't expect them to pass up opportunities for growth.
If it's a portable, it certainly doesn't have the form factor. Imagine putting this in your pocket.
CEO, Rocket Bunny Games
The only way you can test 720 is by having a TV that only supports up to 720. Sucks, but that seems to be the way it is.
The Shield has a feature which enables streaming of PC games from a desktop PC with an Nvidia GPU, which is where the mention of Steam 'big picture' mode comes in.
"In the Buddhist tradition, all things are considered as either evolving from or dissolving into nothingness. This "nothingness" is not empty space. It is rather a space of potentiality. If the seas represent potential then each thing is like a wave arising from it and returning to it. There are no permanent waves. There are no perfect waves. At no point is a wave complete, even at its peak. Nature is seen as a dynamic whole that is to be admired and appreciated. "
The Shield is while power wise superior. it is inferior on how a human interacts with the device. Of course there is always preference, but human behaviour speaks louder than preference and currently human behaviour on mass is screaming. INTUITIVE and EASY TO USE. 15 input controllers are not that.
Additionally, Nvidia are part of the whopping $15million investment drive OUYA announcement last month, so they clearly see a place for it in the market and a good way to market the capability of their low power, relatively high performance chips.