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[mrpeabody]

The GAF hate train is pretty comical. You guys are so beholden to major corporations and $400-$500 systems that you can't see the forest from the trees. Hey, I love those next-gen powerhouses too, but do you really think Sony or MS give a shit about you? Newsflash: they don't, so the blind loyalty I always see in these threads just strikes me as naive and simpleminded. Ouya was an amazing buy at $99, and it's an absolute steal at $59. I love mine. Will it replace your PS4 or Wii U? No, of course not. But if you understand what it does do, there's a lot of value.

It's an underpowered phone with a bad controller that plugs into your tv. It has an awful selection of games and no worthwhile exclusives. Those are facts, and you don't have to be a Sony or MS fanboy to see them.

What are these things that Ouya does do, exactly, that create a "lot of value"? All I'm seeing in this thread is "it's a decent emulation machine once you replace the controller". Well, if you don't have a laptop, ok, I guess.

 

[DrROBschiz]

It's an underpowered phone with a bad controller that plugs into your tv. It has an awful selection of games and no worthwhile exclusives. Those are facts, and you don't have to be a Sony or MS fanboy to see them.

What are these things that Ouya does do, exactly, that create a "lot of value"? All I'm seeing in this thread is "it's a decent emulation machine once you replace the controller". Well, if you don't have a laptop, ok, I guess.

It fits in the same space as a Roku/AppleTV/VitaTV basically

I listed a detailed list of pros and cons but in a nutshell is a half-baked android mini pc whose sole purpose is to provide an small set top experience for the TV with the main focus being media/games

It doesn't really deliver but thanks to being an android box you can actually mitigate many of its flaws by doing a little work.

This all hinges on whether a set top media box is right for you.

 

[zewone]

Not sure what the Android Mini-PCs do (link?) but Ouya is a pretty great emulation box.

Something like this:

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/09/24/android-mini-pc-review/

Basically a small housing holding the components normally found in an Android tablet, but use your TV as the screen.

They can be had for anywhere between $40-$100 depending on specs.

 

[Gestault]

It kills me that even at this price, the "gadget factor" isn't quite there for me. Someone brought one of these into work, and I got about an hour to play around with it. It's still really interesting, but I don't feel like the novelty is enough to overtake the amount of space it'll take up. I'd rather just grab a Google Chromecast or eventually a Retron-5 and mess around with that.

 

[ASTROID2]

Have they fixed the controller lag? I remember watching the giantbomb guys play it an it was like controlling the mars rover.

 

[BPoole]

I typed in "Trailer Trash" for the promo code and it dropped the price to zero US Dollars

 

[level44]

It's an underpowered phone with a bad controller that plugs into your tv. It has an awful selection of games and no worthwhile exclusives. Those are facts, and you don't have to be a Sony or MS fanboy to see them.

What are these things that Ouya does do, exactly, that create a "lot of value"? All I'm seeing in this thread is "it's a decent emulation machine once you replace the controller". Well, if you don't have a laptop, ok, I guess.

1. XBMC
2. Fuck ton of emulators

Those two points alone make it a must buy.

 

[Thursday War]

one of these words fit

 

[thelatestmodel]

it does have a few games worth checking out beyond just using it as a streaming/emulator box.

It really doesn't. Life is too short to be playing mediocre Ouya games when you've got a Vita, Steam and 360 backlog.

 

[yatesl]

I'd pick one up for that price, if they shipped to the UK. Still £99 on Amazon and GAME.

I'd use it purely as an XBMC machine. We have a Sony bluray player that supports DNLA, but the connection is spotty at best (might be down to my router or settings, but I prefer XBMC's library features)

 

[Fox Mulder]

1. XBMC
2. Fuck ton of emulators

Those two points alone make it a must buy.

fuck the haters, I didn't buy this as some revolution of gaming.

it's great for xbmc, emulators, and is a better value than similarly priced devices. I wish it had better games, but oh well.

I'd buy an ouya 2, I got my $99 out of it everyday. I never had any issues with the hardware, and missed all the kickstarter drama shit by buying it from retail.

 

[TemplaerDude]

1. XBMC
2. Fuck ton of emulators

Those two points alone make it a must buy.

There's the "must buy" phrase again.

I think you guys are stretching the definition of "must buy".

 

[Freedom = $1.05]

I want to get a Ouya and Nvidia Shield, but I think I'll wait for Ouya 2. How's the gaming scene on Ouya?? Hope its not as small as the Vita library

This is some expert trolling. Vita's got psp and ps1 games, plus the stuff that's actually built for the machine. The Ouya's library doesn't come close even on its best days. Doesn't seem terrible as an XBMC/Emu machine, though.

 

[level44]

There's the "must buy" phrase again.

I think you guys are stretching the definition of "must buy".

It seems that you don't know what XBMC is. May I suggest googling it.

 

[DrROBschiz]

This is some expert trolling. Vita's got psp and ps1 games, plus the stuff that's actually built for the machine. The Ouya's library doesn't come close even on its best days. Doesn't seem terrible as an XBMC/Emu machine, though.

To be fair Android also has unfettered access to ps1/psp games through emulation lol

 

[AngryMars]

The promo code "calamity" is amusing, but not amusing enough for me to spend 60 dollars on something I would probably only play a few times. The terrible controller doesn't inspire "purchase" either.

They are simply selling stock while they can and before they release the Ouya 2 in 2014. This discount isn't some sort of "gift" from the creators.

 

[ReBurn]

Sorry my bad

I Included the Micro USB port in that

Reposting My List for the Top of the Page

I guess I should do Ouya Pros/Cons

Pros
- Android and most of the benefits
- Great Controller/Emulator selection and Support (use PS3/360 controllers!)
- Lots of media apps (XBMC, PLEX, etc..)
- Easy to disassemble
- Most apps can be sideloaded

Cons
- Ouya Controller and Touchpad
- Walled Garden Ouya Store. No Google Play
- Not hacker/android friendly. Was a nightmare to install Recovery etc..
- Has Overscan issues with certain TVs and doesn't have resolution options.
- *Performance varies due to unoptimized firmware*
- Low built in memory and no SD slot for expansion. Have to use up one of Two USB slots for expanded storage.
- Its 99 bucks so build quality is all over the place. Ensure all your ports work!
- Very Poor WiFi range likely do to use of very cheap parts.

* Firmware tends to be unstable and doesn't take advantage of the fact that it has a dedicated power supply by focusing on having a great heatsink and overclocking the TEGRA3 to maximum potential.*

So as you can see they didn't really deliver on the great potential an android device typically provides. With the right setup and provided you do some extra work you can get your money's worth from the system

I recommend hitting up XDA Developer forums for the limited improvements they provide the system there. http://forum.xda-developers.com/ouya

For what I paid, your "pros" list is worth the price of admission. Being able to sit on my couch and play retro games on the big screen is pretty awesome, and XBMC in the Ouya store is nice. There are also a handful of really fun games, too.

As for the cons, well, I'm not really sure I fully agree with most of them.
- The controller and touchpad aren't as bad as people make them out to be. It isn't the best, but it certainly isn't the worst ice ever used.
- Google Play and Amazon app stores are easily installed. Like within minutes using free utilities. I downloaded the Jedi Outcast bootstrapper directly onto my Ouya from Google Play and it worked like a champ.
- It is actually quite hackable. I don't understand the context. Just root the thing and you can do pretty much whatever you want on it.
- The overscan issues are a pain depending on the TV. There are tweaks available to force resolutions, though.
- The firmware is a lot more stable in recent releases. It actually gets pretty decent support.
- I really haven't needed to use the USB slot for anything other than a USB drive. But a cheap USB hub solves that problem, anyway.

It isn't quite the disruptive influence people hoped it to be, and it can't hang with the big name consoles. But for what it is I feel like I got my money's worth. Depending on your expectations your mileage may vary.

 

[Fox Mulder]

The promo code "calamity" is amusing, but not amusing enough for me to spend 60 dollars on something I would probably only play a few times. The terrible controller doesn't inspire "purchase" either.

They are simply selling stock while they can and before they release the Ouya 2 in 2014. This discount isn't some sort of "gift" from the creators.

I'd like a newer model for some extra power, since it can't run retroarch with the awesome scanline filters turned on.

they need to tone down the obnoxious revolutionary console shit and market it as an android roku device. It's totally worth $99 for what it offers, but I wouldn't buy one just to play mediocre indie games.

 

[fernoca]

Got mine yesterday!
Overall, maybe because of the low expectations...I really like everything. Connected the hardware, updated the firmware, slapped a 32GB mini USB. Everything works smoothly so far. Already have 22 games downloaded and still have 25GB left. Planning on experimenting with sideloading and other aspects through the following days, but so far...so good. Really tiny too.

Was quite surprised at the amount of games too. Granted, is like browsing the Xbox Indies on 360 with tons of...not so great games, but found a few surprises like Oh My Goat, Giana Sisters, Maldita Castilla, Mystery Castle, ittle Dew and a few others.

At the moment it was well worth the $60 along free shipping and the $5 credit too.