Ouya: Open Source Android Console

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console

I'm sure by now most of you have at least heard rumblings on the internet about this new console. The creators of the Ouya are aiming to create a console, running on Android 4.0 that will be open source. Anyone can develop games for this new box, and every game will have a free version available to play.

As of this writing, the Kickstarter Project for the Ouya is sitting at $4,415,839 with 26 days left until the project funding closes. This is way beyond their initial $950,000 goal, and the backers seem to keep coming. That's a lot of support for the system already.

If you back the Ouya with $99, you'll get a console and a controller, and every console also functions as a SDK for the Ouya system. After you become a supporter, there's a survey you can take that lets the people behind the Ouya know what games you'd like to see on the system. I've recommended Dungeons of Dredmor in both surveys that have come up.

I'd really love to hear what GLG think about this new system, and if there's any chance of seeing Dredmor on the Ouya.

 

If only I had the money... This thing is a dream come true. Open sourced console gaming?!?! Am I hallucinating? Usually I would be seeing horrible multi-headed fire breathing spiders crawling all over myself... But my hallucination is pleasant.

This is pure awesome.

*Edit* Here. Read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouya

 

Yeah, it sounds like a dream come true. They even make it easy to open the hardware with just a screwdriver. Now if only that 1 USB 2.0 port could have a hub for more devices and would allow me to use flash drives for more storage space (since it doesn't have any type of card slot) then that would be really great.

 

Since they've gone so far over their initial goal, there's been some talk of adding an SD card slot, and also an ethernet port.

 

A single USB port will handle many devices simultaneously. I use my keyboard, trackball, microphone, headset, and my Xbox 360 Trackball controller all through the same port on my PC via a standard powered USB hub that cost me $10 USD. Sometimes I have actually used each and every one of those at the same time.

I expect this system will work exactly as well in that regard.

*Edit* BTW, they are also discussing adding USB3 ports.

 

Cool on the possible additions.

As far as normal USB 2.0 ports work, yeah they can support hubs. But this is an android device and I have no idea if the drivers will support hubs or not. I'm hoping that it does.

 

Well, by definition, open specifications allows any devices desired to be made. One of the goals of the project is to have no stupid brand locking monopoly on the peripherals. They even specify in the kickstarter that you can make your own. All of this would be worthless if you had an unreasonable cap on the number of ports you can use. I would guess you can have no less than a keyboard, mouse/trackball, headphones, microphone, and controller all attached at once via USB without noticeable issues. IIf they add USB3 devices too they would absolutely require an additional port. (USB 1/2 and 3 do not always co-exist reliably on the same ports.)

USB 3 will really only be useful for storage devices like SSDs. There is little point in that much bandwidth for anything else. USB1 and 2 will really only be useful for input and output devices. In reality, USB 1 will be better than USB 2 for most of this. (This can quickly get sickeningly long and boring for people who hate technical details, so please ignore the next paragraph.)

USB 1 uses low latency and low bandwidth at fixed pulses. This is invaluable for all manner of input devices like keyboards and mice/trackballs and controllers. And absolutely essential for audio devices like headsets. Why? Because USB 2 may have those annoying popping sounds dozens of times a second. USB 1 sends data every millisecond. This varies in USB 2 and 3. Most USB audio devices reconstruct the digital signal for decoding in the DAC every millisecond like clockwork. Any missed or delayed data is skipped. This introduces a pop sound every last time it happens.

If you doubt any part of this, please read for yourself on Wikipedia and read up on USB audio hardware. This is a common problem and I actually have a lot of knowledge on the subject. (I use a Corsair HS1 USB Headset for all my audio needs.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB

*Edit* Yes, some parts of that are slightly incorrect. But it is easier to simplify than to type a ten page essay on trivial details.

 

Yeah, I know about USB ports and devices but I was saying that I wasn't sure what devices the drivers for Android could do. It's a relatively new OS and I hadn't heard about any devices being supported by Android on the USB bus. That's the part I'm not sure of. Supposedly standards are supported but in reality, I haven't heard of anything with USB on Android OS.

 

Surely this will be a top priority. I cannot fathom a modern PC or Console without properly working USB for all the other stuff people will want to do with them.

Even if all the systems have only one singular USB port, the fact is that it looks like they are going to sell out of the 80K units they have agreed to produce on the first run in a matter of days. And since each will have the SDK for developing applications, not to mention the fact that you will not void your warranty by opening it up to test your own hardware, they will fix this one way or another.

Even when you look at the early days of Linux when there was zero hardware support for a device, if enough users had it, it would have a working driver in a short while. This will be the same.

 

I'm very skeptical about the OUYA. I started with "cautiously optimistic" but fell pretty rapidly from there.

$100 for a console, shipped? And the controllers cost $30? As their numbers stand right now, every dollar they have raised will go to providing those consoles - so they haven't actually raised any money for anything.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16875176317
"Expansion 3.5mm jack, microUSB, TV-out (via MHL A/V link)"

This has Android and USB. I just did a very quick search. So clearly there is support already.

*Edit* Here is another. I could keep linking these in if you need more evidence.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834209002
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230172

 

I think they are looking at this from a very different prospective than what we expect. They specify they will skim 30% of the profits off sales of games and applications made for these systems. Even if they just barely brake even they will make millions every year for a decade. Or more.

Because of that, they can easily use this to secure a loan for millions to get started if it is needed. And because of the volume of sales, they can secure a much better price for the hardware. (The more copies of a chip or chipset you need, the less each respectively costs.)

I too was very skeptical. I still am. But I would *Love* this to work out. The current highwaymen of consoles are raping gamers every moment of every day. Defective hardware is sold for insane prices to people who have no choice but to either buy the console and the accessories, or learn to use a PC. Too many choose to pay and not learn.

This is a cheap way around this issue. The end user will benefit from having a system that is not the equivalent of a cheap netbook with a mediocre GPU embedded for ten times the price it should be. The software publishers can actually *BE* the software makers, unlike console gaming of the past. And modern consoles are years behind the times. (With the exception of only one modern console system, but it costs more than a cheap gaming PC with all the trimmings.)

*Edited a few times for clarity.*

 

Seems like an interesting idea but I'm not entirely convinced that it's not just a regular computer with stunted specs that runs a Google brand UI. Consoles generally run rather differently than computers, IIRC.

Also I was under the impression that it's really easy to make something both USB 2.0 and 1.0 compatible.

As for their pricing system, that's actually a fair idea. Selling at just above cost is the kind of gamble Nintendo built their company on: it's a pretty high risk and if you lose you're out of the business forever, but it looks really good to consumers and if successful will give you a huge chunk of the market.

Don't forget, Microsoft and Sony regularly sell below cost due to having other markets they can fall back on.

 

Notice how I say "USB 1/2"? By definition, USB 2.0 is backward compatible with 1.1 and 1.0. But that does not mean devices are. My Corsair HS1 Headset specifies it requires a USB 2.0 port, yet it uses only USB 1.1 isochronous transfer mode. If I were to plug a USB flash drive in and copy data to or from the device on the same port, I would probably lose access to my keyboard, trackball, and it may even break audio streams. Or it would simply fail to work.

 

It doesn't matter if it's running PC hardware. Consoles do that too.
The thing is that they are planning to have a very open SDK which allows deep access, afaik. That is awesome for optimization.
The most important thing though: The hardware is the same across all Ouyas. That's why consoles can reach the level of graphics they can, while a PC with the same specs is much worse. You can properly optimize for that hardware because you don't have to think of 100 different GPUs, 100 different CPUs etc...

 

The first two links mention only Micro USB which as far as I have ever seen has only been to hook a device to a computer or to charge it. I have never seen a device that uses Micro USB for it's connection needs to access a device. A quick google search didn't show much either, I saw a link about connecting a USB flash drive to a Blackberry but you had to do some hacking with that and it isn't Android. So as far as I can tell, the micro USB ports on those devices are for computer connections and power connections.

The third link doesn't even mention USB anywhere that I could see on the details tab.

Most likely since it is open it will be given device drivers soon after launch by the public. I was just wondering if it was an official part of the Android OS or were they going to add their own drivers and if so would they work with flash drives and hubs and such. Just curious as I said I have never seen an Android OS device that allows me to connect USB devices to it and use them without any fuss.

 

Micro-USB is the same as normal. It is just a different pin configuration and size. It carries the same data. My own USB hub uses Micro to connect to a standard USB port on my PC. It provides eight standard ports.

Each link does list USB. The one that does not list it in the details page lists it on the overview page.

I have never seen an Android device at all.

Quoted from the third link's Overview page:
"Optional Keyboard Docking Station and 16 Hours of Battery Life The Transformer sets itself apart from other tablets on the market by featuring an optional docking station. This provides access to a full QWERTY keyboard along with unique Android Function keys, turning the tablet Transformer into a full-fledged notebook. A touchpad, 3.5mm audio jack, two USB ports as well as a built-in SD Card reader for easy file sharing and storage expandability makes the Transformer a versatile media hub. The docking station also extends the Transformer’s 9.5 hours of battery life up to 16 hours, so users can use it all day for work and play."

 

My opinion is that what really "makes" a console is the quality standards enforced on the games by the hardware owner. If OUYA is open, that means no quality standards. At all.

I'm actually really interested to see that, because it's a good test of my hypothesis. But My guess is that it will be a bit of a mess.