Category: Consoles

Ouya … the little console that was

According to popular website phoronix Ouya Software has been acquired by Razer, news that is actually confirmed on their website http://www.razerzone.com/press/detail/press-releases/razer-acquires-ouya-software-assets . This is good news for the people working for Ouya  their game developers , and Ouya as a company , if this is good news for the users I am still to find out as a proud Ouya owner.

To quote Razer’s website

“In the near future, Razer will be providing existing OUYA users with a clear path of migration to the more advanced Forge TV micro-console and Serval controller bundle. Razer’s intention is to allow OUYA users to bring their games, controllers, and accounts to the Cortex TV platform on the Forge micro-console, advancing the experience of Android gaming on TV that they have previously enjoyed. Additionally, Razer is planning deep product discounts for incoming OUYA users to purchase Razer hardware, and a spate of freebies, giveaways, and promotions to enjoy on their new Forge consoles.  – See more at: http://www.razerzone.com/press/detail/press-releases/razer-acquires-ouya-software-assets#sthash.BQND5Iwu.dpuf”

I am not sure at this point what this means and I anxiously wait to hear from them 🙂

 

Ouya – Geek gaming for the masses

For a while now I wanted to blog about Ouya , the android based games console that is in my opinion one of the best Android related projects on the internet .

So first of all I would like to clarify that this console is in no position to compete with the traditional names (X-box,wii,Playstation, etc )  as the target audience is difference and so far the number of Famous Titles is very small (if there are any even) this is more aimed at “Retro” players or people that play android games.

One of the best apps available  is actually XBMC , so it can be used as a low power , high value Media Center. The reason why I say “high value” is that for the price this little baby goes a long way … it costs 99$ (or euros or pounds or whatever) .

To be honest I would be willing to pay that just for the Media Center features, not even mentioning the gaming part .

The hardware itself is very nice, the small box is actually very powerful and quiet , it has a fan but you almost never hear it.

The control is quite ergonomic and responsive and the batteries last quite some time, one of the features I would like to see included in the future is a cradle that you can put your remote in to charge the batteries . As for the software itself , ouya features a customized version of Android, and it looks amazing

ouya1

One of the best things about this little console is that all games must have a “Free to play” version, of course you can unlock the full game but if you just want to try it there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to download the game and play it.

The ecosystem still has a long way to go , and for example at this moment I would like to buy an extra controller for my Ouya and in the online store the only option there is , is to buy a refurbished controller, which is … not ideal.

As for the tech specs go the SOC inside is quite good but it could use an update to a more beefy platform.  I think that as long as they can grow their ecosystem people will gladly pay for this sort of thing but we need to have the games to go with it. I wish there would be more “Famous” names available for this console so it could actually grow and gain market .

So I would say it’s an awesome buy but at this point it only applies if you are a casual gamer and/or need a Media Center.

At the time I am writing this article there are around 1112 games available in  https://www.ouya.tv/games/ .

This one is my favorite so far

https://www.ouya.tv/game/Sine-Mora/

Happy Gaming yall !!!!!