Google developing Android console

[Xorbot]

WSJ: Google developing Android console; eyes on Apple, Ouya

 

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/06/27/wsj-google-developing-android-console-eyes-on-apple-ouya/

 

My take on this is the following.  I am an indie developer.  I've worked in the industry for about 7 years before I went indie for the past 3.  I hate working for big game companies.  I love making my own (and my team's) games, despite the massive pay-cut I've taken.  I can easily earn a 6 figure salary with my 10 years experience especially because it involves *both* console, and mobile game development.

 

Let's get this out of the way: I am a hardcore PC gamer with a kick-ass rig, but I am loving the concept of Ouya.  No, I am not seeing it as a replacement for my rig where I play Metro Last Light at 2560x1440 at 60 FPS via 2x GTX 680.  The reason I like Android as an emerging platform for consoles is purely for the self-publishing angle.  As long as I can self-publish games, I can survive on as little as $1K per month, which is insanely easy revenue target to maintain as an indie developer.

 

I would very much to see Google + Android and Apple + iOS actually emerge from the next gen console wars as victorious.  I would very much like to see Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo fade away (although I would actually like to see Nintendo wake-up and realize they must move to software-only development like Sega did).  Indeed, iPhone or iPad is no console (yet).  I foresee these mobile devices actually becoming more powerful in later renditions by the time the next gen console wars are up.  Therefore I mention this only as a possibility in that the term "console wars" refers to Google and Apple.

 

So long as these 2 companies keep self-publishing open, I welcome to the fray.  Yes, start out small with Ouya, but please iterate.  I know the replies are going to be loaded with "ouya sucks", but I like the idea and potential of Ouya more.

[beebskadoo]

This could DRASTICALLY improve the optimization of games in android. No more iOS ports yay! 

[catbutts]

WSJ: Google developing Android console; eyes on Apple, Ouya

I would very much to see Google + Android and Apple + iOS actually emerge from the next gen console wars as victorious.  I would very much like to see Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo fade away (although I would actually like to see Nintendo wake-up and realize they must move to software-only development like Sega did).  Indeed, iPhone or iPad is no console (yet).  I foresee these mobile devices actually becoming more powerful in later renditions by the time the next gen console wars are up. 

Mobile/touchscreen gaming is not the future I want to see. I've played games ranging from block puzzles to Angry Birds to Bloons to some Call of Duty ripoffs and other first-person shooter/adventure games.

I see these games as time wasters or things to do while lying in bed waiting for sleep to come. With the short battery life of tablets and smartphones, these games have no reason to keep your attention for more than 15 minutes unless you're plugged into a wall charger or computer nearby.

 

I don't know too much about the Ouya so I can't talk trash on it, but don't you have more power and freedom producing indie games on PC/Mac/Linux/whatever? Especially with Steam Greenlight and Kickstarter campaigns, why limit yourself to Android?

[LAwLz]

I really hope it is true and that it gets high end hardware (Tegra 4 or Sanpdragon 600 or 800) for a reasonable price (as in, about 100 dollars or so). It's a day 1 buy if it fits those two criteria for me.

[Xorbot]

Mobile/touchscreen gaming is not the future I want to see. I've played games ranging from block puzzles to Angry Birds to Bloons to some Call of Duty ripoffs and other first-person shooter/adventure games.

I see these games as time wasters or things to do while lying in bed waiting for sleep to come. With the short battery life of tablets and smartphones, these games have no reason to keep your attention for more than 15 minutes unless you're plugged into a wall charger or computer nearby.

 

I don't know too much about the Ouya so I can't talk trash on it, but don't you have more power and freedom producing indie games on PC/Mac/Linux/whatever? Especially with Steam Greenlight and Kickstarter campaigns, why limit yourself to Android?

 

Our tech does indeed support PC/Linux/Mac.  But the sheer number of devices out there that are iOS and Android (4.0 and up) combined are staggering.  I am not saying that I would like the following strategy, but accidental purchases of games in the App Store and Google Play can end up in the 1000's alone, lol.

 

Not everyone can get onto Steam.  That is the next best thing in terms of potential sales (in volume) to the App Store and Google Play.  I would love it if we could self-publish onto Steam.  Right now, you have to get approved directly by Steam themselves or get enough votes through Steam Greenlight.  You can't just self-publish your game and let the gamers decide/vote with their dollars.  When people say that Steam is a boon for indies, I always say in my mind "they are, but with an asterisk".

 

There are other gaming sites/stores to appear on, however, if counting PC.  I like the self-publishing aspect solely because you don't have a person in the middle between you and your customers that A) tell you that your idea is wrong or bad, and B) take a slice of the revenue for no valuable reason.  Paying a small fee to have your title listed in their digital stores, however, is a fair deal.  At that point, if your game sucks, then at least it was the gamers themselves that voted with their dollars.  This is my whole argument about self-publishing.

[catbutts]

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear "mobile gaming" is Angry Birds. Other than that, I think of parents playing online poker or virtual slots or some barebone Facebook apps. I have done some (very minimal) research and found the Ouya to handle emulators well? It's the only thing that stands out in headlines besides all the "mobile games" I already mentioned. I also see a few of top-down 2D adventure games.

How do you expect these platforms to "emerge from the next gen console wars as victorious"?

 

Edit:

 

 I like the self-publishing aspect solely because you don't have a person in the middle between you and your customers that A) tell you that your idea is wrong or bad, and B) take a slice of the revenue for no valuable reason.  Paying a small fee to have your title listed in their digital stores, however, is a fair deal.

The idea of having full creative control over your own work is great. But unfortunately, you will have trouble convincing several people like me to spend $99 or more on a new platform to play your one game. :(

[Chevaishr]

i would love this ... but just please slap on some insane gpu like the powervr Series 6 (Rogue) 

[Xorbot]

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear "mobile gaming" is Angry Birds. Other than that, I think of parents playing online poker or virtual slots or some barebone Facebook apps. I have done some (very minimal) research and found the Ouya to handle emulators well? It's the only thing that stands out in headlines besides all the "mobile games" I already mentioned. I also see a few of top-down 2D adventure games.

How do you expect these platforms to "emerge from the next gen console wars as victorious"?

 

Edit:

 

The idea of having full creative control over your own work is great. But unfortunately, you will have trouble convincing several people like me to spend $99 or more on a new platform to play your one game. :(

 

That is ok. :)

 

The number of people with iOS devices and Android devices combined completely obliterate the number of hardcore PC users, which includes even myself.  I also wouldn't expect anyone to buy a new console, even if $99, just to play a single game either. :)

[qwertywarrior]

whats your take on the PS4

they love indie developers no ?

[Xorbot]

How do you expect these platforms to "emerge from the next gen console wars as victorious"?

 

 

Ouya as it stands right now will certainly not topple Xbox One and PS4.  However, you should really see the processing power of the first viable gaming iPhone (3G) in terms of being able to play games, and you should compare it to iPhone 5.  This happened in a span of about 5 years.  And go 5 years before iPhone 3G and you will be playing Snake on your phone.  If the trend continues, then before the end of the next-gen console generation (which would likely last 8-10 years), and you will easily have "Ouya 5" or "nVidia Shield 3" or whatever being on par, if not better than Xbox One or PS4 in terms of processing power for games.

 

However, extrapolating the trends has a lot of unknowns.  We won't know for sure if the constant doubling, or even tripling, in processing power each year will continue in mobile devices.  One thing that has always been true, though: cell phones since flip-phone days in 2003 have come an insanely long way.  Playing an Android-based game console with a gamepad or keyboard+mouse is not a far-off thing in the future.

 

I hear you when you say "I hear mobile gaming/Android, I think Angry Birds".  Full-blown 3D graphics that you'd see on the Xbox 360 with OpenGL ES 3.0 shaders is just around the corner, let alone what you'd see on the Xbox one many years down the road while the Xbox One is still active.  Just OpenGL ES 3.0 alone, if powered sufficiently by a decent GPU, should be enough to make you consider Android or iOS as a viable gaming platform that goes past "only Angry Birds".

[Xorbot]

whats your take on the PS4

they love indie developers no ?

 

The appearance is that they love indie developers.  I understood this from reading live tweets and chat during the E3 2013 press conference.  Just keep in mind that all of the indies on stage were hand-picked by Sony.  I am not claiming I am the best indie game developer in the world, but please understand that there are several hundreds of good indie games out there, and it's just the few top percent of that amount that appears in the PS Store online.

[qwertywarrior]

The appearance is that they love indie developers.  I understood this from reading live tweets and chat during the E3 2013 press conference.  Just keep in mind that all of the indies on stage were hand-picked by Sony.  I am not claiming I am the best indie game developer in the world, but please understand that there are several hundreds of good indie games out there, and it's just the few top percent of that amount that appears in the PS Store online.

here is a quote i got

it suggests anyone could released an indie  game on the PS4

Games that could not be made before are now viable, and award winning PC titles can now come to a console (and they don’t have to put up with the struggles of Steam Greenlight). That means a vast library of titles – many of which are amazing (while others are terrible) – available on PS4 at a low cost, or even free with PS+. That’s an incredible incentive to go online, and a massive feather in Sony’s cap.

 

[Xorbot]

here is a quote i got

it suggests anyone could released an indie  game on the PS4

 

I really hope it's true! :)

 

I am more about the freedom and letting gamer's decide.  The last thing I want is some guy between the developer and the customer to decide not only what the developer is allowed to create, but also what the gamer must play.

[heineygoat]

What if Google bought a butt load of Titan racks and used their console for cloud gaming? You could have AAA titles and awesome performance on hardware thats just as cheap as an Ouya.

[RDilux]

you know i got only one reason to buy ouya and that is for dolphin gamecube emulator

i wanna see how good it wil run when devs optimize the emulator

[R4STABAN]

Sounds great

 

More rubbish android games, now on your TV!

[rashdanml]

What if Google bought a butt load of Titan racks and used their console for cloud gaming? You could have AAA titles and awesome performance on hardware thats just as cheap as an Ouya.

Great in theory, impractical in practice. Internet connections will need to be both fast and have unlimited usage. The latter is a problem in large parts of the world. Streamed gaming is great, but it needs time to truly kick off. PS4's Gaikai streaming will also be limited initially to test the waters.