{"id":1109,"date":"2012-07-30T16:56:06","date_gmt":"2012-07-30T20:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mirthwerx.com\/?p=1109"},"modified":"2012-07-30T16:56:06","modified_gmt":"2012-07-30T20:56:06","slug":"our-thoughts-about-ouya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mirthwerx.com\/index.php\/blog\/2012\/07\/30\/our-thoughts-about-ouya\/","title":{"rendered":"Our thoughts about “Ouya”!?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“Ouya<\/em>” the newly announced\u00a0Android base console machine, it is design to run mobile games on your TV with proper gaming controller. \u00a0Does this has what it takes to compete with big boys like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo?<\/p>\n

Below is what we think:<\/p>\n

Positives:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The console makers decide what they will and will not release onto their platform.\u00a0 I do not know if they filter based on religious content, but if they do, then it can be very frustrating not to get your title up after all that investment.\u00a0 And the development licenses are not cheap, they cost a ton.\u00a0 So an open system that is more developer friendly is a great opportunity<\/p>\n

The reason it will fail:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I believe the Ouya is a great concept, but is a red herring.\u00a0 Any developer who thinks this will usher in a new era of indy console games will be sorely disappointed.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The key to consoles has always been \u201canchoring exclusive titles\u201d.\u00a0 The console makers know this, which is why they buy studios and force them to make their title exclusively for their system.\u00a0 Microsoft wanted to get into the console market with the first XBox, so they bought Bungie makers of Halo.\u00a0 Halo was originally going to come out for Windows\/Mac, but Microsoft made it exclusive to Xbox.\u00a0 What happened?\u00a0 Xbox sold millions of units because gamers wanted to play Halo, and the only way you could was with an Xbox.\u00a0 The Uncharted trilogy for the Playstation 3 is another example.\u00a0 Sony bought Naughty Dog, so if you want to play Uncharted, you have to buy Playstation 3.\u00a0 Want to play Mario or Zelda?\u00a0 You have to have a Wii.\u00a0 And like a lemming, I do!\u00a0 I own a Wii, Xbox360 and PS3 so I can play all these great games.\u00a0 No AAA title will come out exclusively for the Ouya.\u00a0 The economics don\u2019t justify it.\u00a0 If the big 3 console makers cannot sell a console without exclusive AAA titles, a start up has no chance.\u00a0 The Atari Jaguar and 3DO proved this point several years ago.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In making a game, which we do here at Mirthwerx, we have to decide on a target platform from the outset.\u00a0 We make this decision not so much on how easy it is to develop, but on the size of the target market.\u00a0 Programming difficulties can always be overcome, but market size is totally outside of the developers hands.\u00a0 Therefore the largest potential for return on investment comes from the largest possible market.\u00a0 With only a few hundred thousand Ouya consoles to be available it does not make sense to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even a million, making a title for the Ouya only.\u00a0 OK, so then developers will create Ouya versions of games that already exist in other markets (mobile, Windows, or other consoles) or will exist in other markets (like it comes out on Ouya first, then Xbox Live a month later).\u00a0 The problem here is if the game is available on multiple platforms, then the value of the Ouya has just dropped significantly.\u00a0 If I can play Angry Birds 3 on the Ouya OR the iPhone, why wouldn\u2019t I just play it on iPhone?\u00a0 My point is if the titles are available in multiple platforms, the consumer has no compelling reason to buy the Ouya console.\u00a0 And if the consumer doesn\u2019t buy the console, then the developer doesn\u2019t have a large enough audience to justify the effort to bring titles to it.\u00a0 This is a chicken and egg problem that has always existed with consoles, and exclusive AAA titles is the only fix I know of to solve it.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As an indy game developer, I have one goal.\u00a0 It supersedes my desire to make great art, it trumps my desire to bring Christian message to gamers, and it is this: to continue to exist and make games.\u00a0 If I don\u2019t make enough money on whatever title(s) I invest in, I go out of business and I have to go get a real job.\u00a0J\u00a0 Indys live very close to the feast\/famine threshold.\u00a0 So outside of the Ouya, are there viable outlets for indy developers?\u00a0 The answer is YES!\u00a0 I currently have the following options available to me for my next title:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. iOS mobile\/tablet<\/li>\n
  2. Android \u00a0mobile\/tablet<\/li>\n
  3. Windows\/Mac (through steam, or direct sales)<\/li>\n
  4. Flash based with web advertising<\/li>\n
  5. Xbox Live<\/li>\n
  6. PSN Mini<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I can currently sell, potentially, millions of units through these channels.\u00a0 While I am always open to new opportunities, I do not NEED another channel.\u00a0 With the exception of Flash, five years ago these channels did not exist or were unproven for indy.<\/p>\n

    It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.\u00a0\ud83d\ude42 \u00a0Based on everything I know, the Ouya will not be going anywhere.\u00a0 If I am proven wrong, I\u2019ll be the first person to say I totally missed it. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    “Ouya” the newly announced\u00a0Android base console machine, it is design to run mobile games on your TV with proper gaming controller. \u00a0Does this has what it takes to compete with big boys like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo? 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