Ouya

[mvolke1]

Hey Everyone,

Have any of you been following the Ouya? It's a little console that runs Android software. It just came out. It will accept blue tooth, has an HDMI out and a couple USB ports. You can go online wirelessly and download games, and it'll run some emulators. Oh, and it's $99 and it comes with a controller.

To me, this got my brain going right away. It seems perfect for MAME machines. It's the size of a rubic's cube and if you got blue tooth controls, it seems like a lot of potental. Today on their Twitter feed, they showed a photo of it running Mario Bros.

http://mynintendonews.com/2013/03/25/ouya-to-launch-with-nintendo-64-snes-and-nes-emulation-support/

What do you guys think?

[Doltz]

From what I have seen it is awful.
The interface and specs make it really clunky and the controller has significant lag.

[mvolke1]

From what I have seen it is awful.
The interface and specs make it really clunky and the controller has significant lag.

IGN seemed to be pretty positive about it: http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/03/29/ouya-hands-on-impressions

[Doltz]

Seems better than what I have seen.
I subscribe to giantbomb and they tore it apart.
The concept sounds awesome, and the ability to side load roms is awesome.
I wonder if there is a way to bypass the front end right into mame?

[leapinlew]

I have one.

The controls are solid and the unit feels very well built. The fan is near silent. The games in the app story have a definite indie feel to them. As for emulators, they aren't the greatest front end and perhaps sideloading a different emulator would help. My biggest gripe though is I can't seem to remap the controls and this is a big deal since the nintendo controller is setup backwards (A and B buttons) than I remember.

The bluetooth has a great range and no visible lag.

I recommend it if your intention is to play NES and SNES and at $99 it's a bargain.

[knave]

I have been having a ton of fun with it. It's not perfect but is a good value for what you get.

I've been playing a lot of games so far, more than I usually do. Perhaps it's the novelty or that I'm trying to see what it can do.

I received mine a few weeks ago and have not experienced many issues. The controller feels good, No input lag. I find side-loading to be relatively easy and the launch selection of Ouya games are worth a few looks. I haven't been blown away by anything but there is some fun to be had.

I have connected both a PS3 controller and a wireless Xbox controller (with usb receiver) so I have plenty of controllers to use for the couch multiplayer games.

I agree with Lew. The frontend of the emulators could be a lot better but for the most part the games play great.

I've heard that you can install third party launch applications so a Ouya custom frontend is a real possibility.

If you like playing games old and new, and are a little technically inclined then the Ouya will serve you well for your $99.

My review is in the console forum. If you want to check it out.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,132833.0.html

[Generic Eric]

I have an OUYA as well.  I covered a lot of ground today, its a lot easier when you hook up a mouse and keyboard.  I am still setting up some emulators.  I side loaded the Super Hexagon I got from the humble indie bundle today.  Lots of fun.  You don't know Jack is fun with friends.
.
It is probably not going to happen but it would be nice if the Google Play saw the OUYA.  All in all, I am not sure the "OUYA Market" is going to make it.  If you found Netflix annoying, then you won't like this. 

So, I'm not gonna spend too much picking it apart outside of my own review post.  If you are interested, you should seek one out.

[Cynicaster]

Never played an Ouya before, but I get the distinct impression that it’s mostly the “MOAR BETTAR GRAFFEX!!11!!” kind of modern gamer that is the system’s harshest critic.  Most of us here are just fine playing games with bleeps and bloops and primitive sprites, so we’re not going to slag off the console just because it can’t render 3 bazillion polygons in real time. 

[nipsmg]

I have one as well. 

I sideloaded the Amazon App store (just go to Make -> Browser and go to Amazon.com and download it).  I sideloaded Netflix, Spotify, Pandora and AirDroid (for loading sideloading via your computer / wireless), and downloaded a whole bunch of games from the Ouya store.

I like it for $99.00.   The controllers work well, it's made for gaming, it works with XBOX360 + PS3 controllers, and runs emulators well.

The indie games are fun.  I played No Brakes Valet (which looks like an Atari 7200 game graphics wise) for about 2 hours last night and was addicted.  I'm psyched to see what's new on the store today.

I also downloaded Plex from the Ouya store, and it works like a champ.

I like it.. It's definitely not a replacement for an XBOX360, but it's essentially a Roku replacement that has actual gaming with actual controllers. 

[shponglefan]

Before this thread, I had no idea what "sideloading" meant.  Sheesh, what ever happened to calling it "installing". 

[knave]

You must not have other android devices...lol. I started hearing that term when I first started trying things out on my tablet...

[Bender]

Have had mine a couple of days now
I installed PLEX and it's running 1080p beautifully
It took me a little while to figure out what side-loading was but I got "MAME4droid reloaded" running and all the roms on a usb stick
I Love having a more modern version of MAME (.139) on this thing
The controller is pretty good, not quite up to par with the XBOX 360 one but really not bad at all
What a great little box to put on a second TV or to travel with
All my movies and MAME in the size of a rubic's cube for $99, I'm very pleased!
Now if we can get a customizable front end for this it would just be killer

[Bender]

Before this thread, I had no idea what "sideloading" meant.  Sheesh, what ever happened to calling it "installing". 

Took me a while too
Installing is from the official OUYA store and side-loading is installing anything else in the "make" section with an .apk file

[Haze]

yeah, it's not a term I really like.  To me it's a way the industry have decided to try and make the standard practice of installing your own software sound like something borderline dodgy, creeping in by the side door.

Bit surprised the Ouya is using that terminology....

glad to see it's running semi-recent versions of MAME tho, it's the type of thing I'd quite like to see an official OSD target for in the source, especially if we end up with a more customizable build system covering both MAME and MESS, so you could roll your own with a healthy selection of suitable drivers from both projects.

it's still a little underpowered, but I'm sure we'll see advances in that area with subsequent systems assuming it isn't a complete disaster.

[leapinlew]

yeah, it's not a term I really like.  To me it's a way the industry have decided to try and make the standard practice of installing your own software sound like something borderline dodgy, creeping in by the side door.

Bit surprised the Ouya is using that terminology....

glad to see it's running semi-recent versions of MAME tho, it's the type of thing I'd quite like to see an official OSD target for in the source, especially if we end up with a more customizable build system covering both MAME and MESS, so you could roll your own with a healthy selection of suitable drivers from both projects.

it's still a little underpowered, but I'm sure we'll see advances in that area with subsequent systems assuming it isn't a complete disaster.

I think it's another word for Beta, as in, you can do it if you want but it may have undesirable results. When I sideload something, I expect it may not work perfectly but when I install something I expect a seamless error free experience.

[Haze]

yeah, it's not a term I really like.  To me it's a way the industry have decided to try and make the standard practice of installing your own software sound like something borderline dodgy, creeping in by the side door.

Bit surprised the Ouya is using that terminology....

glad to see it's running semi-recent versions of MAME tho, it's the type of thing I'd quite like to see an official OSD target for in the source, especially if we end up with a more customizable build system covering both MAME and MESS, so you could roll your own with a healthy selection of suitable drivers from both projects.

it's still a little underpowered, but I'm sure we'll see advances in that area with subsequent systems assuming it isn't a complete disaster.

I think it's another word for Beta, as in, you can do it if you want but it may have undesirable results. When I sideload something, I expect it may not work perfectly but when I install something I expect a seamless error free experience.

In effect it's the same thing tho, mentally preparing people to consider 3rd party software unsigned software to be somehow inferior, when in reality a lot of the stuff you can install from official 'app stores' is buggy as crap,untrustworthy and worthless anyway ;-)

I don't like it, and honestly worry that the future will see the ONLY applications you can put on a machine (without hacking / modding it) being ones sold through official stores where somebody else takes a cut and the developers have to pay to put them there.  We're already there with most phones, and it's kinda obvious that's why Microsoft is pushing Win 8 / Metro so hard.  Anyway, that's offtopic for this thread.

As for the system itself, it is good to see more open consoles, but I do find this modern terminology offensive.

[leapinlew]

In effect it's the same thing tho, mentally preparing people to consider 3rd party software unsigned software to be somehow inferior, when in reality a lot of the stuff you can install from official 'app stores' is buggy as crap,untrustworthy and worthless anyway ;-)

Well that's the truth...

[clok]

another one of those products that some love and hate..  I think its a pretty cool idea as I HATE touchpads, give me a solid controller any day. I hate alot of the reviews as it looks like crap when they where all pre-release systems with the DISCLAIMER that things would be changed/fixed and that there where know issues.. the controllers had been bad mouthed from day one, and publicly stated they would be changed and fixed.. and they are.. perfect, not even close. Good enough, working, yes, could they be better, yes. So many want a Xbox controller.. i think they would get sued copying it, not sure but that is how that works, you copy  you get sued.. it cant be one. And you can use ANY blue tooth controller you want..

its fairly clunky interface, no doubt about it.. after the current gens $500 (at launch) systems.. yes. its not as good, does it work, again yes, its about 5% of your time on it, so i don't see it as a huge deal, it will improve with time if the public demands.

its a $99 open system.. its far better then most then $99 do all systems i have purchased (gameSystem 100 in one things) it can load almost anything (for it) without having to buy it.. no not pirating.. im talking the open source part.. its an OPEN system you can do whatever you want with it.. its a raspberry Pi with a controller, powersupply and box.. its ready to go.. and if you want, mod like the PI.. yes it cost more.. but not much when its all factored in..

do i think it will succeed? no, it got to many bad reviews early and people think its the release hardware.. and even with the release hardware its in need of some work.  is it worth $99 i think yes, but not for a casual user.. you already have a phone to do all it ill do for you. With the Xbox and PS3 finding way so hose the streaming abilities.. running XBMC on the Ouya has solved my streaming problems and is such a small package its not taking any room up..

[knave]

is it worth $99 i think yes, but not for a casual user..

Now that my Ouya experience has seasoned a bit, I can tell you that This is the real truth for Ouya.  There are a lot of good arguments for/against this device. I still like it, even though it has faults.  I backed it's kickstarter because I was excited about all the things that might be possible. Its a toy for me to tinker with. Just like the Raspberry Pi. For the difference in price I get some nice additions, higher specs, 8 gigs of storage, a controller etc.

Folks buying this for a turn key gaming system loose out on a lot of the value.

But if you are willing to tinker...even a bit it is really quite fun. I've been playing SNES and Genisis games and a few Ouya store Gems.

I think the reason I go on about this is that I expect folks here at BYOAC to be more excited about it. No it's not a full arcade but so much of it fits in with what we do here.

Anyway, I'll spare you the rant. You all get the Idea. Knave likes his Ouya even though it's not ready for causal use.

[wessagussett]

this thing has my interest......
ive never done anything with MAME before, is there a step by step guide on how to get someone like me (tech dummy) to be able to play the NES games?
I really miss super mario bros and wouldnt mind playing NHL '94 and a few other classics from the genesis.
but no sense on me buying it if its too dificult to get those old games working on it. 

[knave]

Step by step guide to play NES games on an OUYA...

1. Buy OUYA
2. Download EMUya (NES emulator) from the OUYA store.
3. Use a PC to Google for the game(s) you want.
4. put the roms you found in a folder on a flash drive calles Roms...(I actually also use subfolders for the system, so in this case ROMS/NES)
5. Plug in Flash drive into OUYAs USB slot.
6. Launch EMUya and play your games.

I'm sure you get the idea. You can find equivalent software to do this on PC, and most modded consoles.

[wessagussett]

Thanks Knave! 
I might have to get this Ouya now