Hacker News Reader

Comment by wlesieutre | Hacker News Reader

On the other hand, developing for this is a lot cheaper than the PS3 and 360. Much of its software is going to be ports of Android phone games, so developer adoption isn't the huge hurdle that it's been on other new ecosystems.

The mobile appstores are so saturated that it's impossible to get noticed, at least at the start that will make Ouya attractive to developers even if it has a smaller customer base.

View on HN

But most of the Android games are optimized for mobile and touch. It's like having a 400K sportscar with a 55mph speed limiter. The capability is there, but then there's nothing that really takes advantage of it. What value would developers find in porting their games to the Ouya? Not much, I suppose, unless there's a saturated market. Companies like Rovio and the guys who made Temple Run can afford it, but the small-time devs like Andreas Illiger may not see much of a market with the Ouya.

Don't get me wrong, I would buy one of these anyway, but I just hope to see some developers hop onto it, which seems unlikely at this point.

I think there are quite a lot of those games that have virtual buttons on top, and those can be easily ported to the console. Many of them are RPG's or MMORPG's, which use the same free-2-play model OUYA is interested in, and are actually some of the top grossing games on Android.

The ones that really depend on touch wouldn't work well, but there are plenty (especially shooters and RPGs) that try to duplicate twin-stick controls on to a touchscreen. Those are the games that will make sense to port.

IIRC the controller has a touchpad (not a touchscreen) in the middle, but I have no idea what anyone's going to do with it.

How is the "app store" going to be managed? Curated? I assume it's not just Google Play? Is Amazon involved?

Discovery will play a massive part in the success of games, and therefore of the whole platform.

I believe it's moderated by Ouya, but I don't know how strictly. Amazon isn't involved beyond selling the hardware.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com