Legacy use of current purchased games? - Ouya General

Curious will we be able to use the market and use current apps (that would work with the interface)? I already have all the Gameloft games and others and have no desire to have to repurchase those, the GTA games, Cave shooters, purchased emulators, etc.
If it is exclusive content specific, I will just stick with the Excite 7.7 and its media dock that provides similar function already. Would like the OUYA for another room, but not if buying my same games again.

It's supposed to have support for the Play Store which mean you can login your Google account and download all your purchased games.
This is not the same as the Ouya store which is separate as far as I know.
Sent from XDA app

This would be a good thing to have, much like owning a PS3 and a 360, which system do you buy the new game for cause otherwise you are paying twice for the same game. Even though the games though the play store are not that expensive paying for the same thing twice sucks.

They have actually specifically announced that the Ouya will not support Play Store games.
http://www.ouya.tv/faq/#12
There is a (good, IMO) chance that developers will be able to bring Play Store support to rooted Ouyas. However, the CEO stated previously that rooted Ouyas will not have access to the Ouya store. This was back in July though, so their stance could have changed since then.
That said, you would only really be able to play games that currently support a Bluetooth controller.

The thing on the rooted devices, to some degree, is counter to what they said in making the device open. Heck, they said people will be alloed to root without voiding the warranty. Yet, you can't access the store if you do. I understand the concern especially in regards to piracy. Personally, I don't think being rooted really makes it that much significant to get and use pirated games.
As to games you have already purchased, you can probably just side load them. Use something like ApkExtractor on your android with the game to get the game. You're just not going to have any of your saved games. If the root thing doesn't hold true, then you can probably use Titanium Backup to get it on your device.
With all that said, as raptir implies, not many games in the Google Play support gamepads. And the touch input on the Ouya controller is probably going to be limited, which may make trying to play something like Angry Birds very difficult.

Damn really, they advertise with the device being completely open but then block the Ouya store if you root it?
A deal breaker imo.
Then again, i wonder how the Ouya store will handle temporary unroots like you can with SuperSU.
Temp unroot ->use the store to install something -> root again.

Frag1le said:
... i wonder how the Ouya store will handle temporary unroots like you can with SuperSU.
Temp unroot ->use the store to install something -> root again.
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Click to collapse
I didn't think about SuperSU or Voodoo RootKeeper. If it's true about the root thing, then the above and prior would be excellent ideas.
Like many here, some must have apps require root, so it's a bit of a harsh reality to realize Ouya is being root unfriendly, per se.

raptir said:
They have actually specifically announced that the Ouya will not support Play Store games.
http://www.ouya.tv/faq/#12
There is a (good, IMO) chance that developers will be able to bring Play Store support to rooted Ouyas. However, the CEO stated previously that rooted Ouyas will not have access to the Ouya store. This was back in July though, so their stance could have changed since then.
That said, you would only really be able to play games that currently support a Bluetooth controller.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait. So they are basically saying root and you dont have access to games or dont root and dont have access to custom roms and such. They are just going to drive people to piracy. I want root as well as games. The main thing I want to run on this is emulators and XBMC but if there are some good games out there I would spend a few bucks to buy them but not if I have to unroot this thing so I can buy them. I want the ability to over clock this. It has a heat sync and should run smooth at higher clock speeds and you have to have root to do this. I was thinking very seriously about getting one of these for my mother and for my grandmother as a Hulu, Netflix, digital movie device but If this is the case forget about it.

If you can not use Play, this makes more sense for their model, but seems they will lose as many customers as they gain with this approach. I think most people will naturally assume you can use the Play Store, since this is an Android device. It could end up most of the people that buy this will be the rooting crowd, but that will not support an economy of scale model, or an app model for revenue. Most people do not root their devices, so a very contrained install base- especially if even the rooters are locked out of a store.
The returns of this product could be high. You could point out the Kindle and Nook, but even those devices are hurting with constrained markets- especially the Nook which is expected to end after this year. Different devices also.
I really think there are a lot more people like me that will not want to buy their games again than there are that would. So the device is $100, but new controllers are $50 and you need to buy games that only work this one Android device.... Speaking of contollers, have they set those up as well so only their controller works? Why would they NOT do that, based on the app store premise, else people would pay $20 and $30 for already proven controllers.
I still wish the Ouya success, but seems they could have some consumer perception hurdles to get past. Since my desire is zero to buy apps just for one Android device, this will end my negative points, else become a troll or something. :cyclops: Not buying this or any other Android device that forces to an exclusive device and rebuy stuff. Well, I say that now, but could see this as a MAME cabinet down the road in a Tegra 4 version Assuming MAMEReloaded is an install option....

raptir said:
They have actually specifically announced that the Ouya will not support Play Store games.
http://www.ouya.tv/faq/#12
There is a (good, IMO) chance that developers will be able to bring Play Store support to rooted Ouyas. However, the CEO stated previously that rooted Ouyas will not have access to the Ouya store. This was back in July though, so their stance could have changed since then.
That said, you would only really be able to play games that currently support a Bluetooth controller.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't seen this quote from her, but more than likely they are failing to make the distinction between rooting and an unlocked bootloader. Remember in Android these are two very different things, even if one is usually required to enable the other.
It would be quite easy to detect and block devices with an unlocked bootloader, not so easy to detect and block rooting.
---------- Post added at 03:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:36 PM ----------
rushless said:
If you can not use Play, this makes more sense for their model, but seems they will lose as many customers as they gain with this approach. I think most people will naturally assume you can use the Play Store, since this is an Android device. It could end up most of the people that buy this will be the rooting crowd, but that will not support an economy of scale model, or an app model for revenue. Most people do not root their devices, so a very contrained install base- especially if even the rooters are locked out of a store.
I still wish the Ouya success, but seems they could have some consumer perception hurdles to get past. Since my desire is zero to buy apps just for one Android device, this will end my negative points, else become a troll or something. :cyclops: Not buying this or any other Android device that forces to an exclusive device and rebuy stuff. Well, I say that now, but could see this as a MAME cabinet down the road in a Tegra 4 version Assuming MAMEReloaded is an install option....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would you need a Tegra4 to play MAME? My PC from 12 years ago played these arcade games just fine, as did the Linux-based GP2x handheld from 5 years ago.
And no, most of the buyers will not be 'the rooting crowd'. You clearly far overestimate the number of people who read XDA, or do this sort of thing to their phones and tablets. For every person who preordered and hyped this console, there are 5000 parents with too much money to burn, who don't know anything about video games but will buy this $99 console for their children because it's shiny, new and cheaper than any Sony or Microsoft product. And they won't care about the Play Store either, because as long as the games on the Ouya Store are $5-10 and they can restrict purchasing authorization, that's all they want.
I don't like it either, but I'm at least realistic about it. The Ouya makes pretensions of being a "hacker console", but that's all they are. When you scratch the surface, it's still a commercial venture and they really haven't put anything more than a thin veneer of hackability into it. 1x USB port, rooting restrictions, no access to the Play Store.. these are all small things individually but overall they limit your possibilities and ease-of-use. This isn't a Raspberry Pi - it's a GAME CONSOLE. It's designed to sell and make money.

Tegra 3 is slow for a LOT of MAME games that are fast with the A6 (both Android and iOS use same compile of 139.1 ). Since the Tegra 4 is faster with cpu than the A6, the T4 should be a lot better for MAME than Tegra 3.
Games like Dead or Alive and Soul Calibur are examples. They are choppy messes on the Tegra 3.
BTW, even the Tegra 3 is faster than a 12 year old PC with MAME.

amrando said:
I haven't seen this quote from her, but more than likely they are failing to make the distinction between rooting and an unlocked bootloader. Remember in Android these are two very different things, even if one is usually required to enable the other.
It would be quite easy to detect and block devices with an unlocked bootloader, not so easy to detect and block rooting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have that backwards. It is incredibly easy to detect a rooted device and I have run into a handful of applications that do so (and pop up with "Rooted devices are not supported"). Google was previously blocking rooted devices from accessing Play Videos. It's actually very difficult to detect an unlocked bootloader from within the booted system and I do not know of any applications that do so.
The key here is that they've said the Ouya will have a "switch" that will allow you to easily root the device. If that's the case they could very easily tell if you're rooted since they're the ones allowing you to do so. Even something like OTA Rootkeeper that allows for a temp unroot would be ineffective. Since the Ouya is going to have official root support, it's very likely that no one will be looking for an exploit to root it outside of the official method.
Unfortunately the quote about rooted devices not having access to the Ouya store was on a web radio interview a long time ago, so it's not easy to just link to an article. Again, they could have changed their stance since then. If this reddit threat is to be believed, then they are at least aware of the desire for rooted Ouya store access and are hopefully going to change their minds.

rushless said:
Games like Dead or Alive and Soul Calibur are examples
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These are hardly 'MAME' games, these are modern arcade or console ports with a source nearly equivalent to the emulating platform. MAME generally refers to 1980s-1990s arcade boards typically running in the single-digit Mhz, not modern Sega arcade platforms running dual and quad-core Intel-based custom PCs or an XBox360.

Not correct with MAME. The games mentioned have been around in MAME for at least five years and play smooth on the most basic of low endd laptops for the past four. Those games play close to smooth on the iPad 4, so should play smoother with chips like the Snapdragon 600 and Tegra 4.
Though a lot less than the A6 chipset, there are still hundreds of later year games that play perfectly on the Tegra 3.
MAME has no specificity to early year rom sets, though those are some of the more fun ones
Added:
BTW, the CEO of Ouya clearly stated that they will make a lot of their money via their own market, so that answers the Play market issue. They do NOT want people using other markets as a result. They also mentioned the Kickstart money was taken up with early unit purchases, so very imprtant to start revenue through controllers and app purchases.
Still, the potential of this being a mini MAME cabinet is too good to not consider. Perhaps they have eaked more power for the CPUs since no battery life concerns. With PC's you always have the usual Windows issues, but with Android there is a LOT less issues in that regard. True plug & play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmH_DpYMmDo

The gameplay did not look smooth compared to my Excite 7.7, TF 300 or GS3. That said, none are as smooth as the iPad 4.
Another point is that one game is over 1.5GB in size, so 25% of total storage space gone with one game.

I'm an early backer waiting for mine but I'm very sad to see all this. We absolutely must find an unofficial root method that allows Ouya games while srill allowing root and market access. If I have to choose I'll dump the Ouya market for standard android. Please devs help!
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

Stock images after root?
I read somewhere, which I forgot since I been trying to find something on if root is possible, that the stock system images for OUYA will not be available. Does that mean if we root and put a custom rom, the only way back would be with a self made image?

rushless said:
The gameplay did not look smooth compared to my Excite 7.7, TF 300 or GS3. That said, none are as smooth as the iPad 4.
Another point is that one game is over 1.5GB in size, so 25% of total storage space gone with one game.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
External hard drives and flash drives are natively supported I believe.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

To awnser the initial question, yes you can use them, there wont be a play store (untill somebody on xda makes a not sucky user interface ofc) but you can 'sideload' any apk you desire.
Having said that you sadly cannot download APK's directly from google play anymore, but theres several chrome and firefox plugins that will help you with that, also any apk you may have from an Android Humble Bundle (bonus points for buying humble bundles!) should work fine.
Once you have your apk, theres several ways to transfer it, easyest is to plug the ouya into your computer using the provided usb link, then placing your APK files in the found usb device, and then reaching said APKS trough the MAKE menu in the OUYA to install.

Related

Ouya vs google play store

I was following ouya development but I have to say its a surprise for me that I will not be allowed to play already bought games.
For me ouya was a nice looking google tv with pads, probably it will end up that way since devs will hack the living **** out of it Anyway the freemium/microtransaction model might be in conflict with the whole sourcy openness.
Who prefer cm based ouya rather than stock ouya market thingy?
I'm not to worried about it. The Kindle Fire have a closed system, but was able to get Play Store sideloaded. The Ouya is most likely going to get CM ported to it.
Sent from XDA app
yeah but the whole issue is to tweak pads controls so it will be useful on touch controlled apps. not sure if it will worm
It has sideloading, you just install Play like any other app. It's probably the 2nd or 3rd thing I plan on doing when I eventually get mine in
noted for future reference on my Note 2
This is going to be a great device to tinker with :victory:
Would just sideloading the play store .apk work?
From what I remember, the OUYA will only be running on Android - it won't have the Google apps framework. If that's the case, I think the Play Store by itself won't work unless gapps are installed as well. I'm sure that won't be hard to overcome (simply flash gapps.zip from recovery or something) but it's worth thinking about.
And on that note, if it's possible and/or necessary to flash gapps, do you think that will open up (easy) access to all Google apps on the OUYA? I'd love to see some kind of in-game chat through Babel or something. (Of course, that could be what's coming with the android games code found in the MyGlass app...)
GAPPS is just Google apps you can't download.
It may be possible to load the Play stare. Just depends all what it required to it to work. I don't know if there is something that has to be installed within the framework or not.
The bigger problem I see is that Google Play may not have listing for the Ouya and thus not a lot of apps will show up or be downloadable within Google Play if it did install.
lovekeiiy said:
GAPPS is just Google apps you can't download.
It may be possible to load the Play stare. Just depends all what it required to it to work. I don't know if there is something that has to be installed within the framework or not.
The bigger problem I see is that Google Play may not have listing for the Ouya and thus not a lot of apps will show up or be downloadable within Google Play if it did install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the other problem is that the controller may not play well with most of the apps on the market.
madmofo145 said:
I think the other problem is that the controller may not play well with most of the apps on the market.
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Click to collapse
that may be an issue for anything not delivered through the Ouya Store. I think if you want an idea what may happen, if you have another android device, rooted, and have Sixaxais App installed and Playstation3 synced, try running the app with it turned on.
.
Just get an mk908 Android mini pc, run all of the emulators, XBMC, Play Store, and Bluetooth PS3 controller. Oh, an air mouse also.
I have to say I am very underwhelmed and disappointed by my OUYA. Besides the fact that I had to look online to see how to even install the batteries in the controller because there was ZERO instructions in what's laughably called a manual, I had completely forgotten about the touch pad and spent a while trying to figure out why I couldn't play Saturday Morning RPG on it. I was really hoping to better the experience by either grabbing apps from GPS or worse case sideload them, but after reading the comments here and elsewhere I think I'm best off just using my phone and tablet for Google gaming and sell this so I can put the $ towards an Xbox One....now THAT is a "smart device" if I've EVER seen one!! :good:
sternrulez said:
I have to say I am very underwhelmed and disappointed by my OUYA. Besides the fact that I had to look online to see how to even install the batteries in the controller because there was ZERO instructions in what's laughably called a manual, I had completely forgotten about the touch pad and spent a while trying to figure out why I couldn't play Saturday Morning RPG on it. I was really hoping to better the experience by either grabbing apps from GPS or worse case sideload them, but after reading the comments here and elsewhere I think I'm best off just using my phone and tablet for Google gaming and sell this so I can put the $ towards an Xbox One....now THAT is a "smart device" if I've EVER seen one!! :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd suggest you're the only person on earth who thought that the Xbox one looked like a smart device, it's been the laughing stock of the internet.
Ouya has it's own store, having the google play store would bankrupt the company being they would make no money and google would make it all...
I'm sorry you had so much trouble, but I can't say anyone else had issues figuring out these basics, what you have is not a retail product, you got an early version that is not ready for prime time on a software/manual level, so it's rather silly to expect a retail quality manual when it does not ship for another month to retail... we are beta testers, and I thought the fact that we were paying to BUILD it clued everyone in on that.
misfit410 said:
I'd suggest you're the only person on earth who thought that the Xbox one looked like a smart device, it's been the laughing stock of the internet.
Ouya has it's own store, having the google play store would bankrupt the company being they would make no money and google would make it all...
I'm sorry you had so much trouble, but I can't say anyone else had issues figuring out these basics, what you have is not a retail product, you got an early version that is not ready for prime time on a software/manual level, so it's rather silly to expect a retail quality manual when it does not ship for another month to retail... we are beta testers, and I thought the fact that we were paying to BUILD it clued everyone in on that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ha yeah, i hope he was being sarcastic. Xbox One is a joke....to gamers anyway
it looks good on the surface until you get to the details they didnt share at the conference
a few thoughts
- when i'm gaming, i'm gaming. i'm not switching to TV or Movies or IE every few minutes.
- not always online....but it has to check every 24 hrs (according to one report). what if u have no internetz or are in the military or my bro in law who cant get internet at his house (without paying thousands to have lines run)?
- pay a fee on top of the price you paid for a used game (need to hear gamefly & gamestops reaction)
- kinect always has to be connected. (also what if someone comes in the room & says "turn that XBOX OFF" there goes your progress.
- the exclusives are probably kinect titles for kids
- non-removable HDD (should be just in case of failure)
- indie developers cant self publish
- for our fellow earthlings, a lot of this wont work outside of US
- it's GINORMOUS!
- the XBOX ONE is so forward-thinking, it's not even backwards compatible with gamers.
anyway, finally got my distribution center email for my OUYA today.
reading up on all this stuff while bored at work.
I've shown a lot of people the Ouya, most of them actually wanted one after seeing all of the things it would do. I've had a few who just don't get it and I understand it's not for everyone, but what does kill me are the ones who are like "ok so it plays movies at 1080P and XBMC is nice and all, but why would I pay $99 for something to watch movies and play a few phone games".. .the facepalm comes in when I find out they say this while owning an AppleTV.
misfit410 said:
I've shown a lot of people the Ouya, most of them actually wanted one after seeing all of the things it would do. I've had a few who just don't get it and I understand it's not for everyone, but what does kill me are the ones who are like "ok so it plays movies at 1080P and XBMC is nice and all, but why would I pay $99 for something to watch movies and play a few phone games".. .the facepalm comes in when I find out they say this while owning an AppleTV.
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Click to collapse
hah, thats hilarious.
i actually asked for a refund last friday, but heard nothing until the distribution center email today. ha. oh well.
we'll see if i actually have any time to mess with it.
I'm of the tinkering type so it was a no brainer for me, but I found I'm enjoying it even more than I thought I would, there are so many games out there I don't even want to throw down $2 for because they just don't look good... but here everything can be played for free, so I find myself trying every single game out there, I've gotten so many gaming time for nothing... and i found I loved some of these games I would have otherwise passed over.
misfit410 said:
I'm of the tinkering type so it was a no brainer for me, but I found I'm enjoying it even more than I thought I would, there are so many games out there I don't even want to throw down $2 for because they just don't look good... but here everything can be played for free, so I find myself trying every single game out there, I've gotten so many gaming time for nothing... and i found I loved some of these games I would have otherwise passed over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cool.
so what all have you tinkered with so far, just trying games or some other more complicated things.
basically i want to know where to start when i get mine. should i try some games or sideload some other stuff on it, etc
Sideloaded Emulators, Web Browsers, Onlive, etc..
put the Amazon app store on so I could load up Opera Mobile, Dolphin and Maxthon browser, as well as file explorer..
you can sideload apps without any external tools if you just use the built in browser to download then go to the settings menu, storage, downloads and you can launch an APK from there.
the one thing to know is that all sideloaded apps go to the developers MAKE section.. but most stuff I've loaded runs well, still hoping to get my hands on a generation 2 googletv netflix apk.
misfit410 said:
Sideloaded Emulators, Web Browsers, Onlive, etc..
put the Amazon app store on so I could load up Opera Mobile, Dolphin and Maxthon browser, as well as file explorer..
you can sideload apps without any external tools if you just use the built in browser to download then go to the settings menu, storage, downloads and you can launch an APK from there.
the one thing to know is that all sideloaded apps go to the developers MAKE section.. but most stuff I've loaded runs well, still hoping to get my hands on a generation 2 googletv netflix apk.
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Click to collapse
sweet, thanks yo.
i'll be reading up on everything on these forums for the next 2 weeks.
thanks for the head start
misfit410 said:
I'd suggest you're the only person on earth who thought that the Xbox one looked like a smart device, it's been the laughing stock of the internet.
Ouya has it's own store, having the google play store would bankrupt the company being they would make no money and google would make it all...
I'm sorry you had so much trouble, but I can't say anyone else had issues figuring out these basics, what you have is not a retail product, you got an early version that is not ready for prime time on a software/manual level, so it's rather silly to expect a retail quality manual when it does not ship for another month to retail... we are beta testers, and I thought the fact that we were paying to BUILD it clued everyone in on that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree 100% in that the op will be indicative of most general consumers that buy this at retail stores. That said, common sense suggests the retail units will have clear and concise guides as soon as you open the box. None the less, most retail buyers are going to balk at a proprietary market.
Their model depends on it, but most consumers will not care about that and will expect a simple, easy to start experience.
The bubble of this forum is not the best sample of tech knowledge level for mass market game systems. Lower the bar. If Ouya assumes otherwise, they may see good sales followed by a lot more returns than expected.

Paid apps on OUYA from Google Market

I'll start by saying this isn't a post asking how to get paid apps from your phone onto OUYA illegally or how to download them DRM free.
Those of us who have our OUYA's have become aware of how easy it is to install apps, but has anyone tried to take an app from OUYA and put it onto another Android device? Is this something that can be done?
I ask this because of my one (and only) concern with OUYA is developers porting over games/apps that are already on the Google Market. An example of this that we can already see is Final Fantasy III. It's the same game (same code) with just a few tweaks to work better with the controller, but it's $15 on both the OUYA store and Google Play.
IMO, if someone has bought it on Google Play, they should be able to get it on the OUYA, but that's not currently something that can happen. It shouldn't be a legal issue, since both are Android.
Or am I looking at this wrong and should forget about OUYA being Android (and linked to Google Play) and think of it more like the difference between downloading a game on Playstation 3 and xbox 360? And just be happy that we CAN install non-paid apps not "supported" by OUYA?
I am all for supporting the OUYA and even Google Play, which is why I'm not just going out to bootleg the game, but if we can transfer paid apps/games from one phone to the other, from tablets to phones, am I thinking wrong in feeling we should be able to transfer them to the OUYA as well?
JLCollier2005 said:
I'll start by saying this isn't a post asking how to get paid apps from your phone onto OUYA illegally or how to download them DRM free.
Those of us who have our OUYA's have become aware of how easy it is to install apps, but has anyone tried to take an app from OUYA and put it onto another Android device? Is this something that can be done?
I ask this because of my one (and only) concern with OUYA is developers porting over games/apps that are already on the Google Market. An example of this that we can already see is Final Fantasy III. It's the same game (same code) with just a few tweaks to work better with the controller, but it's $15 on both the OUYA store and Google Play.
IMO, if someone has bought it on Google Play, they should be able to get it on the OUYA, but that's not currently something that can happen. It shouldn't be a legal issue, since both are Android.
Or am I looking at this wrong and should forget about OUYA being Android (and linked to Google Play) and think of it more like the difference between downloading a game on Playstation 3 and xbox 360? And just be happy that we CAN install non-paid apps not "supported" by OUYA?
I am all for supporting the OUYA and even Google Play, which is why I'm not just going out to bootleg the game, but if we can transfer paid apps/games from one phone to the other, from tablets to phones, am I thinking wrong in feeling we should be able to transfer them to the OUYA as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been workign on this issue myself. I've yet to figure out a way to do it. I once had a Framework package that let me get to the Google Account login screen but would never actualyl connect to Google.
dibblebill said:
I have been workign on this issue myself. I've yet to figure out a way to do it. I once had a Framework package that let me get to the Google Account login screen but would never actualyl connect to Google.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*hint*
/mnt/asec/<name of app>/pkg.apk
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
JLCollier2005 said:
IMO, if someone has bought it on Google Play, they should be able to get it on the OUYA, but that's not currently something that can happen. It shouldn't be a legal issue, since both are Android.
Or am I looking at this wrong and should forget about OUYA being Android (and linked to Google Play) and think of it more like the difference between downloading a game on Playstation 3 and xbox 360? And just be happy that we CAN install non-paid apps not "supported" by OUYA?
I am all for supporting the OUYA and even Google Play, which is why I'm not just going out to bootleg the game, but if we can transfer paid apps/games from one phone to the other, from tablets to phones, am I thinking wrong in feeling we should be able to transfer them to the OUYA as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can transfer them by using the post above me's method (basically, use root access to rip the APK), but sometimes you'll hit copy-protection snags. I really am just responding to weigh into the first comment of this selected quote.
It is actually a legal issue, and a pretty nasty one at that. Both devices being Android is wholly irrelevant, because it's not the operating system that matters, but the rules and EULA of each platform. It's easy to mix the two with Android, since almost no one runs "bare" Android-- most of us run the Google-flavored platform, complete with the Play Store and its own set of rules. When you buy apps from the Play Store, you basically agree to only run them on certified hardware and not to make unauthorized copies. I suspect there's similar terms in OUYA's store agreement (else you'd never get large studios to sign on).
Such being the case, any transferring of paid APKs (or even non-paid ones) is probably illegal. As to whether or not it's ever enforced (or indeed, enforceable)? Totally different question, and it's probably no on both counts.
I agree with overall with Rirere. This probably boils down to that we actually don't own the apps, but have licenses to use them. And most likely the license is tied to the hardware or device serial number. But Google build in easy transfer so we don't have to rebuy the licenses when each new device.
This is actually more on a old issue, but on a newer devices. The PC market has been dealing with softtheft since the 80s. You rarely ever buy the software. It's just license to use it.
The potential issue is DRM. The FCC clearly states using anything to break DRM encryption is illegal. This is why making copies or ripping DVD or blue ray movies, such as those at your favorite retailers, is illegal.
My guess, even if it is trackable, I don't think a developer is going to care as long as you actually purchases the game somewhere and you're just using it on your device. Not giving it to friends or others. Their issue is more that a game will be very popular, but half the people who have it, bit torrented it, which does not put food on their table.
I know on my Galaxy Note 2 for Sprint, GTAVC isn't available through Google Play. I bought on my Android tablet. Made an APK and put it on the GN2 and runs well. I wrote Rockstar what I did, so hopefully they can fix the issue. They have it in writing I did something illegal. Did not get a cease order or law suit threat. Got a thanks.
If you're that concerned, just use open source applications. There's a license but it's more about distribution channels and the environment it's used in. So you can side load all your want on the Ouya (with a very rare exception(.
Thanks for the replies.
My concern wasn't what would happen if I did get them to work/strip the DRM (It's easy enough to find the apps with their DRM stripped anyway), it was just more of a frustration at developers charging what would be double for the same app essentially, but after I posted this, I came to the realization that, as Rirere said, both being android was irrelevant. Just because they are programmed for the same base doesn't mean they should work on all pieces of technology with that base. OUYA is not a Google product in anyway and so therefore the licence I bought with my purchase has nothing to do with the licence I can purchase through OUYA.
It's a really interesting topic and goes back to something I first thought of when eBooks first came out. Is it wrong to download a copy of an ebook to a book that you purchased? It comes down to the fact that yes, they are two different licences, even if they contain the same information.
Anyway, thanks again, very interesting stuff!
it's a topic that gets more complicated as technology moves forward.
lovekeiiy said:
it's a topic that gets more complicated as technology moves forward.
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Absolutely. Because often times what technology gives us the ability to do, and what the law says we can do are at odds.
In cases where things aren't/can't be enforced, it comes down to common sense.
Developers see a way to use their skills to make something that they (and hopefully others) value. If you value what they have made and want to encourage creation of similar products, you tell them by supporting their efforts (i.e. buying the "license", donating, etc). It benefits them (food on the table) and you (you didn't have to spend the time to learn the language and write the app but still share in the benefits).
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
This is my biggest problem with Ouya. They are using their relatively cheap hardware to try to lock us into their ecosystem. Which is definitely not in our best interests. Any game that can play on the Ouya can play on out phones and tablets. I appreciate what they are doing, but I don't think anyone should be buying software from their store. I want an Ouya, but not until the actual play store gets on it. Now, I'm fine if they do like Amazon and make their app store available on all devices. But right now, I think we should be looking into micro consoles like the Mad Catz M.O.J.O. which will be all around better than the Ouya and not try any proprietary nonsense. But I am sure it will cost more.
mybook4 said:
Absolutely. Because often times what technology gives us the ability to do, and what the law says we can do are at odds.
In cases where things aren't/can't be enforced, it comes down to common sense. ...
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True, some laws end up stinking because they're being applied to thing that weren't even imagined when the law was created. Some stuff just falls into a weird spot where it's illegal, but, probably not mean to applied to certain aspects of life. Like DRM on discs. It's meant to keep people from pirating the material. Yet, I don't think movie studios really expect us to buy a copy for every device we want to view the content on. Although, they would love it if we did. The just don't people consuming the content without paying in some form.
Nate Rules said:
This is my biggest problem with Ouya. They are using their relatively cheap hardware to try to lock us into their ecosystem. Which is definitely not in our best interests. ...
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What do you call the Google Play store? The only difference is just the scope of the ecosystem. Personally, I don't have an issue with their store. The hypothesis is if an app is on it, it's going to run on the Ouya; maybe not all apps after a few iterations on the console and hardware is upgraded, but most will work. Unlike Google play where it's fairly choatic mess. A recent example is GTAVC. It's support to work on Galaxy Note 2, but Googple Play won't let people with the Sprint get it.
I just assumed the Ouya store would have been more like Amazon one. Yet, what they did makes sense. They did not design the hardware for touch inputs really. They have a basically a trackpad on it. But it's really meant to use a gamepad. How many apps are designed to use one. How many within just games. Just look at what we're seeing with sideloaded apps. Granted Google Play can be filtered. But then, Ouya developers will have to designed for more than one display resolution resolution, or they have to filter the games as well.
Plus, how is Ouya to make money? Hardware only? We see companies that do this and how many they have to make, ie Madcatz. Or would you prefer they just have higher prices for any or all applications that can be used on Ouya to cover Ouya's and Google's fee.
They didn't do anything wrong to any of us who purchased the Ouya. They're trying to make some money. They saw a place where people had a want (play their Android games on the TV) and a need (low entry point for game developers). It's niche market as is.
It's not a great analogy, but you'll get the idea. It's almost like complaining to Microsoft that we can't play form the Xbox that have versions for the PC on the PC with no extra cost. Same game right? Yet, it's a different platform. The Xbox is basically a PC just with more curtailed hardware. The Ouya is basically the same situation. It's just using the Android as the OS and framework.
So maybe the better question to ask, what exactly did you expect, not want, when choose to back it on Kickstater (I'm assuming you did this). I propose you made a bad assumption and seem to have issue with it, rather than adjust and see what happens. If you really don't like it, sell it. Just not going to get $100 for it. But I'm sure someone on XDA, http://www.ouyaforums.com/, http://ouyaforum.com/forum.php, http://forums.ouya.tv/, or many others ouya based sites a Google search to bring up. It'll give you some many towards the Madcatz one.
lovekeiiy said:
What do you call the Google Play store? The only difference is just the scope of the ecosystem. Personally, I don't have an issue with their store. The hypothesis is if an app is on it, it's going to run on the Ouya; maybe not all apps after a few iterations on the console and hardware is upgraded, but most will work. Unlike Google play where it's fairly choatic mess. A recent example is GTAVC. It's support to work on Galaxy Note 2, but Googple Play won't let people with the Sprint get it.
I just assumed the Ouya store would have been more like Amazon one. Yet, what they did makes sense. They did not design the hardware for touch inputs really. They have a basically a trackpad on it. But it's really meant to use a gamepad. How many apps are designed to use one. How many within just games. Just look at what we're seeing with sideloaded apps. Granted Google Play can be filtered. But then, Ouya developers will have to designed for more than one display resolution resolution, or they have to filter the games as well.
Plus, how is Ouya to make money? Hardware only? We see companies that do this and how many they have to make, ie Madcatz. Or would you prefer they just have higher prices for any or all applications that can be used on Ouya to cover Ouya's and Google's fee.
They didn't do anything wrong to any of us who purchased the Ouya. They're trying to make some money. They saw a place where people had a want (play their Android games on the TV) and a need (low entry point for game developers). It's niche market as is.
It's not a great analogy, but you'll get the idea. It's almost like complaining to Microsoft that we can't play form the Xbox that have versions for the PC on the PC with no extra cost. Same game right? Yet, it's a different platform. The Xbox is basically a PC just with more curtailed hardware. The Ouya is basically the same situation. It's just using the Android as the OS and framework.
So maybe the better question to ask, what exactly did you expect, not want, when choose to back it on Kickstater (I'm assuming you did this). I propose you made a bad assumption and seem to have issue with it, rather than adjust and see what happens. If you really don't like it, sell it. Just not going to get $100 for it. But I'm sure someone on XDA, http://www.ouyaforums.com/, http://ouyaforum.com/forum.php, http://forums.ouya.tv/, or many others ouya based sites a Google search to bring up. It'll give you some many towards the Madcatz one.
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I actually haven't got one, I am thinking about getting one. I'm just weighing my options. I also own a Moga pro, so I can play with any device. It even has a clip to hook my Note 2 on and play it like a portable game system. I see no reason for the split of ecosystems. It is in our best interest to support companies that are looking out for us. I support Android because you don't see a lot of limitations just to make Google more money. I understand what Ouya is doing. I just don't think we should support the limitations. Think of what the iphone would be if people didn't just buy it no matter what.
Nate Rules said:
I actually haven't got one, I am thinking about getting one. I'm just weighing my options. I also own a Moga pro, so I can play with any device. It even has a clip to hook my Note 2 on and play it like a portable game system. I see no reason for the split of ecosystems. It is in our best interest to support companies that are looking out for us. I support Android because you don't see a lot of limitations just to make Google more money. I understand what Ouya is doing. I just don't think we should support the limitations. Think of what the iphone would be if people didn't just buy it no matter what.
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While my OP did pose the question of is it right for OUYA to have their own store and not Google Play (basically) and expect people to buy on both, I have realized that the OUYA and my Galaxy S3 are not the same, they are not made by the same people nor do they run the same software. Are they both built on top of Android? Yes, but one is a Google-based phone and the other is not, hence the reason there would be no Google Play.
The OUYA is, at it's core, a video game system that can/will run some apps. There is no reason they SHOULD include the Google Play store, and I think if they had it would have caused more problems than it satisfied. Do I think that developers should cut a deal to those who already bought their games on their phone/tablet? Sure! But I also wish I could get a discount on my PC for games I bought on the 360!
Also the people at OUYA have outright said that they are open to letting people do whatever they want with the thing, put custom roms, recovery, sideload apps, etc., which is way more than any other console (or phone/tablet for that matter) has ever done!
To further the analogy of a PC and 360, they both run off of Windows, just as the OUYA and S3 run off of Android. The difference, and why we are so spoiled, is because Android is open source, so we feel some sort of "right", even though we really shouldn't. If I could sideload a game bought onto Steam onto your Xbox 360 with no problems would I do it? most likely, but I would never expect that and I think that's what a lot of people expected with the OUYA, a fully Google integrated Android video game console, and that's just not what it is.
And that's not a bad thing.
JLCollier2005 said:
While my OP did pose the question of is it right for OUYA to have their own store and not Google Play (basically) and expect people to buy on both, I have realized that the OUYA and my Galaxy S3 are not the same, they are not made by the same people nor do they run the same software. Are they both built on top of Android? Yes, but one is a Google-based phone and the other is not, hence the reason there would be no Google Play.
The OUYA is, at it's core, a video game system that can/will run some apps. There is no reason they SHOULD include the Google Play store, and I think if they had it would have caused more problems than it satisfied. Do I think that developers should cut a deal to those who already bought their games on their phone/tablet? Sure! But I also wish I could get a discount on my PC for games I bought on the 360!
Also the people at OUYA have outright said that they are open to letting people do whatever they want with the thing, put custom roms, recovery, sideload apps, etc., which is way more than any other console (or phone/tablet for that matter) has ever done!
To further the analogy of a PC and 360, they both run off of Windows, just as the OUYA and S3 run off of Android. The difference, and why we are so spoiled, is because Android is open source, so we feel some sort of "right", even though we really shouldn't. If I could sideload a game bought onto Steam onto your Xbox 360 with no problems would I do it? most likely, but I would never expect that and I think that's what a lot of people expected with the OUYA, a fully Google integrated Android video game console, and that's just not what it is.
And that's not a bad thing.
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Well, I see where you are coming from. Ouya certainly doesn't have to let us do anything. But there are companies out there that will. I wish we never gave Microsoft so much control over our stuff. I don't view that as a good thing. Also, if Samsung tried to block the Play Store from your S3, would that be ok. Heck No. Everyone would be outraged. It's Android that will make this whole catagory awesome. But it isn't just the console, it's the whole ecosystem. http://www.mogaanywhere.com/about-moga/moga-pro-controller/
This is the Moga Pro. This plus your phone can do anything the Ouya can do. They have their own marketplace. But all it does is show you which games that have been optimized for the moga. It then links you to the Play store. No need to re-buy anything.
I was all set to get an Ouya until I was reading on here that Ouya will try to stop any custom roms. Now I am bummed. I hope that you are right and they let us do what ever we want to it.
Nate Rules;42739819... I also own a Moga pro said:
And this may be where the issue lies with so many. Smartphones and the Ouya were not designed to meet the same needs. Yes, they made both run on Android and share hardware. End of the day, the Ouya was designed to be an Android based game system. Not just a general Android device that can be hooked up to the TV, ie a WiFi tablet with no screen.
You also touched the conflict I've had with the Ouya ever since it was announced on Kickstarter. The redundancy to other devices, specifically Android based smartphones and tablets. Serious, I can do everything on the Ouya with either my Galaxy Note 2 or Infinity Pad tablet. I just don't want to leave permanently attached to the TV. I also hoped that supporting it, it would show there is a market for an alternative gaming system, and maybe get developers attention, which hopefully can bring some good games to Android devices, versus just stuff like Angry Birds or ported classic games like GTA (which are still fun to play).
Nonetheless, Ouya store makes sense for both the consumers and as a business model. Whether it'll be successful, that I won't venture to guess. But it falls along the line I've seen in regards to OnLive. A lot people I know had issue with the face that there was no physical disc. They didn't like that they couldn't control having the game. Not exactly the same, I see that fact that people not having access to games on Google Play being following the same logic. The common theme, I'm not buying any games I can't use on all my Android devices.
That said, I'm not saying people shouldn't have that opinion. It's perfectly valid. Yet, to apply that thinking to any device build on the Android OS I believe is being obtuse.
On a side note, I didn't realize the MOGA could fit the GN2. I went with GameKlip and Clingo Neklit combo and use PS3 controller and Sixaxis Controller for my mobile gaming. I like it. I thought the MOGA could only be used with games that had MOGA code, so you couldn't use it with other games such as emulators. That was my issue with it.
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Yeah, the Moga Pro easily fits the Note 2 but it only goes about a centimeter more so I am hoping the Note 3 will fit in it. But it also has 2 modes. It does it's Moga optimized thing which is pretty awesome. And it has the regular bluetooth controller mode. So it works with all games and emulators that can do that.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/20/nvidia-shield-300-june-27/#comments
Just saw this on Engadget. This is the nVidia Shield and in the video it states that their store will show you what games work and then link you to the Play Store just like the Moga.
I may still get the Ouya in hopes that it will get hacked good. But it pains me to support such a company. I do appreciate that they are trying to advance mobile gaming.
But once the real Android consoles come out, they will have all of the games that the Ouya has and the Ouya will be forgotten. The Ouya 2 will be a failure and there will be a lot of people wondering why they bought games that are of no use to them now. This is the rout Ouya is taking, they just want to make a bundle off of the early adopters.
Nate Rules said:
... I do appreciate that they are trying to advance mobile gaming. ... they just want to make a bundle off of the early adopters.
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Thanks for sharing your experience on the MOGA. Very interesting. I don't think I would have gotten it, but they didn't explain that well on their site when I checked it out. I already had the Sixaxias app and extra PS3 controllers by that time.
Actually, Ouya isn't trying to advance mobile gaming. What they're really trying setup is more a platform for the small or independent game developers because many other platforms are entry costs are significantly more. It's because Android is open source, tools are developed, and other items related are also open source. Seriously, the Ouya we all get is a developer console. All you do is just register with Ouya as a developer and it opens up the developers menus--make, and builds. The rest is more just installing Android and Ouya developer kits.
I would say for the general consumer, most aren't going to feel jaded because they're not going to access to Google Play. It's a $100 gaming box that uses Android OS. Since it's so new, most games aren't that special. If anything, I've been disappointed about the controller with it's quality control. The console itself is fine. I'm not holding the lack of quality games against them. It's too new in release and concept. But maybe if they can get the numbers, we'll game developers making more full fledged games, like those on major gaming consoles. Consumers have shown that if it's a fun game, graphics are not a critical via the Wii.
As for the money grab, I'm not buying it. The real money is in the market and the 30% fee they'll get off the sales. Same concept with iTunes, Google Play. I don't know what the fee is, but it's what consoles do with their online markets and royalty fee to put a game on a disc for the console.
The MOGA is a cool concept, but honestly it's not something that is not in the same realm as OUYA. If I wanted a portable gaming system with full controls I'd carry around a DS. The MOGA adds a good amount of bulk and I would not carry it around all the time. In the end, the MOGA would be a waste of money (for me, it's a good concept for some I'm sure) even at $40. I'd rather spend the extra money and get something I can play on my TV. Like the post above me said, I have controllers laying around that I can use with my phone if I really wanted to play on that screen. The point of gaming on my phone is to do it when I least expect it (i.e. stuck in a line or waiting for someone) and the MOGA is just inconvenient
I may not have felt this way while I was in school, where I could stick it in my backpack and leave it there. I know there are probably a lot of people who would jump on getting the MOGA for $40 so I'm not putting it down, just saying they're two different things. One is essentially a bluetooth controller and the other is a home console.
Android is by far the cheapest platform to create hardware around right now, not to mention it's pretty stable. OUYA might be the first fully backed Android console, but it won't be the last and I can guarantee any developer who wants to make an impact in this new sub-genre of consoles will NOT include the google play market. If they did, there console would turn into nothing more than an old phone with an HDMI out port, a dead end when it comes to profit. Either that or they'd end up charging 500+ for it, which I don't think would sell.
Mad Catz M.O.J.O.
Nate Rules said:
This is my biggest problem with Ouya. They are using their relatively cheap hardware to try to lock us into their ecosystem. Which is definitely not in our best interests. Any game that can play on the Ouya can play on out phones and tablets. I appreciate what they are doing, but I don't think anyone should be buying software from their store. I want an Ouya, but not until the actual play store gets on it. Now, I'm fine if they do like Amazon and make their app store available on all devices. But right now, I think we should be looking into micro consoles like the Mad Catz M.O.J.O. which will be all around better than the Ouya and not try any proprietary nonsense. But I am sure it will cost more.
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Hello Nate, this is Jose from Mad Catz, we are very excited about our upcoming M.O.J.O. launch and let all of you check how this new device will be. We worked to achieve the best Android Micro-console solution so far, and I think we achieved it.
Fresh updates will come shortly, by now you can check our new video which reflects our entertainment solution on Youtube: MadCatzCompany.
Enjoy!
J
Nate Rules said:
I was all set to get an Ouya until I was reading on here that Ouya will try to stop any custom roms. Now I am bummed. I hope that you are right and they let us do what ever we want to it.
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That's FUD. Ouya doesn't do a thing to stop custom ROMs. The bootloader is unlocked. I also keep hearing that the recovery mode is crippled, but that's wrong too. You just need a USB keyboard to boot into recovery and to navigate the menus. There's a lot of people jumping to the worst possible conclusions anytime something doesn't work exactly the way they thought it would. Just this week, when people were having trouble installing The Cave, a couple of guys decided Double Fine and Ouya had conspired to implement some form of DRM scheme to block rooted consoles. Turns out it was just a firmware bug that affects large games. The fix was released today.
That said, until the StockPlus ROM finishes their version of Abominable Snowman (or someone else comes out with something) you're better off using rooted stock with Xposed mods for now.
Regarding MOJO and Shield vs Ouya, what they aim to do is somewhat different, and I think a lot of people are looking at Ouya backwards. MOJO and Shield specifically aim to bring Android gaming to hardware that's made for gaming, and I think that's a valid market. If that's what you want, go get those. Ouya aims to make what is a hobbyist and indie console first and foremost, which just happens to use Android as a means to that end. Ouya is Ouya before it is Android, just like Android is Android before it is Linux. The system ROM and OS for most '80s hobby computers was built around BASIC, but we don't think of them primarily as machines for running BASIC. We think of them as a Sinclair, or a Commodore 64, or an MSX machine.

Convince Me To Buy An OUYA

Hey everyone!
I've been on the edge about the OUYA for a while now and am thinking that this thing could either really take off or be a pretty big bust. At $99 I feel like this could be a great media streaming device with some basic games on the side. I'm currently deciding between this and the ROKU 3.
If the OUYA eventually gets some FPS games like MC4 where you can use online gampelay and get direct support from Netflix and other streaming services this could be a great product for me. My thing is, do I really wanna pay $99 for this thing only to find that it eventually gets no dev support?
Also, I understand you can sideload apps and do all that stuff, but this is an entertainment and gaming device. I have a rooted GS4 and N7, so if I wanna sideload apps and flash a bunch of custom roms I'll use one of them. When I turn on my OUYA I want a flawless experience without having to do anything to it.
So convince me why I should buy the OUYA.
Because its cool. What else are you going to spend a hundred bucks on?
Why should we convince you? It doesn't affect us whether or not you get one
Because you will be ahead if the revolution. You'll be cool before it was cool.
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2
Nxxx said:
Hey everyone!
I've been on the edge about the OUYA for a while now and am thinking that this thing could either really take off or be a pretty big bust. At $99 I feel like this could be a great media streaming device with some basic games on the side. I'm currently deciding between this and the ROKU 3.
If the OUYA eventually gets some FPS games like MC4 where you can use online gampelay and get direct support from Netflix and other streaming services this could be a great product for me. My thing is, do I really wanna pay $99 for this thing only to find that it eventually gets no dev support?
Also, I understand you can sideload apps and do all that stuff, but this is an entertainment and gaming device. I have a rooted GS4 and N7, so if I wanna sideload apps and flash a bunch of custom roms I'll use one of them. When I turn on my OUYA I want a flawless experience without having to do anything to it.
So convince me why I should buy the OUYA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got my Ouya last week. I was excited at first, but I literally played with it for 10 minutes and it is a POS. It has since been listed on craigslist and is sitting in a corner of my room. And guess what, not one person on craigslist has contacted me about it. The firmware is buddy, the games look terrible, there is no Netflix support as of yet. Not ready for primetime.
For a media streaming device, its not really there yet. You would be better served with the Roku.
Remember though, the device hasn't even been released for the general public yet. It's only been out of most of the Kickstater for a few weeks (some are still waiting). I finally started tinking with mine yesterday. It's definitely in a more or less, beta stage.
Basically, what you said is basically what people are doing. Getting APKs from their other Android devices, side loading, and seeing what works. Some try tweaking the APKs to get to work better. Related, but not on point, there are no, or very few custom roms for the device thus far. It's not a device for the flashaholic.
As you implied, there is a bit of redundancy of having it and another Android, such as Galaxy S4 or Nexus7. This is device that you can leave hooked up to the TV, whereas the others, not really since you'll want to take them on the go; I don't believe the N7 can be hooked up the TV.
I say it something to get if you like tinkering with an Android device, And can live with it that it may not work exactly like you hope. For me, I like the Ouya device. Yet, it has all the things I like, and hate, about the Android platform. End of the day, it is still an Android device.
Although, the Roku 3 will serve your media stream needs, at least most of them, you're not going to get MC4.
acetkbez said:
I got my Ouya last week. I was excited at first, but I literally played with it for 10 minutes and it is a POS. It has since been listed on craigslist and is sitting in a corner of my room. And guess what, not one person on craigslist has contacted me about it. The firmware is buddy, the games look terrible, there is no Netflix support as of yet. Not ready for primetime.
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Click to collapse
You do know that you were correct in saying it's not ready for primetime yet, right? I mean they've even said that, maybe not in those words but still. If you've only messed with it for 10 minutes, then you have missed 99% of what it can do.
to OP: If you are looking for a super Android based media machine, this might not be for you. Why? Because it's a brand new concept, the first of it's kind. Will it have the capability to match or even surpass the Roku's of the world? I believe so, but not without some tinkering. There is a LOT it has to offer and at $99, it's a good deal.
The thing comes out of the box ready for apps to be downloaded both from the web and from the OUYA market. I think the term sideloading intimidates people, but the truth is getting an app on this thing is as easy as opening the built in browser, googling the app you want, and clicking download. This gets even easier when you install AirDroid and you can do it all from your laptop!
So what I'm trying to say is out of the box without tinkering you still have access to almost all non-drm Android apps. NOt all of them look right, but so far many work good.
As for the buggy stuff, as someone else mentioned, this is more of a beta phase than anything else, I suspect we'll see a large update in the next week before official release.
So if you want a rather powerful little device to play some good games (including the fact it has (or will have) all the emulators for Atari to PS1 on the OUYA market), with the potential to blow away what a ROKU can do, your $99 could not be better spent, but if you want something that is a sure thing for media only, get the ROKU.
Thanks for all the above everyone. I think I'm going to wait a little bit and see how things go. It sounds like a real cool device, but it really has its own little niche.
I'm not bashing on it or anything, but right now it doesn't seem to be really good at anything from what I've heard from you all.
It doesn't have great games and isn't a product for gamers. Doesn't have the media streaming services.
Until OUYA gets a deal with Netflix or a solid FPS comes out, I'm going to sit back and wait. I really want this product to succeed because it seems like it could be really functional and portable.
If I missed anything or you would like to correct me on anything please do. I'm open to all thoughts and opinions.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
Netflix's app just need tweaking for the controller input. Some have had better luck with it. I know I can bounce around with Sixasis controller enabled on my Galaxy Note 2 better than I was getting on the Ouya. Kind of odd. This is going to true for all media streaming apps. Some just may work better from the get go, so the updating/tweaking may be very minimal.
There are some good games. Chrono Blade looked nice and played well. I only played a few minutes. I briefly checked out Monster Boxing. Reminded me of Punch Out!. Its typical of situation of when a console launches. Couple gems, lots a mediocre, and even more crap.
Some of of what you ask is subjective. We don't know what kind of games you think are good. We don't know unbuggy something can be and still be a good experience for you. Don't know how much you like, want, or need to tinker. We're just trying to give a more objective facts based on experience and reading so you can decide a little more informed.
And thing is true, it's definitely a niche product. And most likely, any Android "game" console is going to be niche
acetkbez said:
I got my Ouya last week. I was excited at first, but I literally played with it for 10 minutes and it is a POS. It has since been listed on craigslist and is sitting in a corner of my room. And guess what, not one person on craigslist has contacted me about it. The firmware is buddy, the games look terrible, there is no Netflix support as of yet. Not ready for primetime.
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Click to collapse
Did you try to get more for it than what you paid? Theres some one where I'm at trying to sell one for more than it cost them. Plus not knowing how to tell if he has the good controllers or the bad ones makes me nervous about buying his. Also you knew what you were signing up for right?
JLCollier2005 said:
Because it's a brand new concept, the first of it's kind. Will it have the capability to match or even surpass the Roku's of the world? I believe so, but not without some tinkering. There is a LOT it has to offer and at $99, it's a good deal.
So if you want a rather powerful little device to play some good games (including the fact it has (or will have) all the emulators for Atari to PS1 on the OUYA market), with the potential to blow away what a ROKU can do, your $99 could not be better spent, but if you want something that is a sure thing for media only, get the ROKU.
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Click to collapse
I wouldn't say this is the first of its kind. There are many China Android boxes out there that run pure Android. These Chinese boxes already do Netflix. However, none of the China Android boxes in the market right now have Tegra3. They're all dual core processors with some Mali400 graphics component. The difference in graphics ability is big enough between Tegra3 and the Mali chips on the China Android boxes to convince me to pick Ouya over the currently available choices. The China Android boxes can just play HD, but there's not a lot of headroom, and they cost about the same as the Ouya. The Ouya is a better value. You get a controller (now fixed) and a high profile American company over a non-responsive Chinese manufacturer.
If we don't get any developer support for a pure Android ROM, that means the Ouya could do 2 solid things:
1) local media player (XBMC). Local meaning media files from your network, not Netflix media.
2) small games and game emulator
That is enough to satisfy me for a $100 device. That's because I'm not a Netflix user. The Roku, for about the same price, wouldn't add any more capability. The China Android boxes might have a slight lead because they run pure Android. Realistically, the China manufacturers will eventually be making Tegra3 level Android boxes running pure Android. Probably by the end of this year. And these boxes would rival the Ouya in terms of functionality.
I haven't been keeping up with the development work. What are the chances that we'll see a pure Android ROM for the Ouya? I know that's a subjective question.
Asadullah said:
Plus not knowing how to tell if he has the good controllers or the bad ones makes me nervous about buying his.
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Click to collapse
A bit off topic but can you tell me what made the bad controllers bad? I have heard people say there were problems, but not what the problems were.
coachclass said:
I wouldn't say this is the first of its kind. There are many China Android boxes out there that run pure Android. These Chinese boxes already do Netflix. However, none of the China Android boxes in the market right now have Tegra3. They're all dual core processors with some Mali400 graphics component. The difference in graphics ability is big enough between Tegra3 and the Mali chips on the China Android boxes to convince me to pick Ouya over the currently available choices. The China Android boxes can just play HD, but there's not a lot of headroom, and they cost about the same as the Ouya. The Ouya is a better value. You get a controller (now fixed) and a high profile American company over a non-responsive Chinese manufacturer.
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Click to collapse
While the China boxes might be out there, it's not something I'd go through again...I've bought plenty of things from China that never worked or worked right. I will say you are right about there being other options, though, but I meant more official.
coachclass said:
If we don't get any developer support for a pure Android ROM, that means the Ouya could do 2 solid things:
1) local media player (XBMC). Local meaning media files from your network, not Netflix media.
2) small games and game emulator
That is enough to satisfy me for a $100 device. That's because I'm not a Netflix user.
I haven't been keeping up with the development work. What are the chances that we'll see a pure Android ROM for the Ouya? I know that's a subjective question.
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Click to collapse
XBMC already "kinda" supports OUYA. I say it that way because it's a known fact that you can get it up and running the same way you have to on your phone/tablet and that the people at OUYA are talking to the people at XBMC, so I think it's likely we'll see that in the market as soon as a stable release is found. I believe the same goes for Netflix. I am a netflix user and would love to see HD netflix on this thing, which shouldn't be hard, but it's not my main concern right now. WIthout the Google Architecture, them managing DRM on the thing shouldn't be too hard.
As for games, I'm not sure if "small games" is the correct term. Sure, they won't be Playstation 3/Xbox 360 quality, but I think people will be surprised at how much devs can push this thing! The ball is a good example of pretty good graphics, better than I originally thought possible, and it can only get better. While I didn't buy it with the thought of it being used as an Emulator, that's one of the main things I've done with it. Most recently I got PPSSPP to work on it and actually played a game.
As for development work, I know people are already working on builds, some already running in alpha, so I do believe we'll see some stable pure android ROM's sooner than later, although personally I wouldn't be using one. I like the structure that OUYA has laid over it and plan on keeping it that way, even if I am in the minority with that idea.
JLCollier2005 said:
A bit off topic but can you tell me what made the bad controllers bad? I have heard people say there were problems, but not what the problems were.
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Buttons sticking and not reacting as quickly as they should. Ouya did offer to replace any ones that was messed up like that and fixed the problem but some people didn't know that.
Asadullah said:
Buttons sticking and not reacting as quickly as they should. Ouya did offer to replace any ones that was messed up like that and fixed the problem but some people didn't know that.
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Ah okay. I should make sure I didn't get any messed up ones, I haven't tried my second controller. Thanks!
I regret buying the OUYA. There's not enough to it. Not enough games. The idea was great, and with the millions upon millions of kickstarter funds I sure expected more.
Wish I got the ROKU HD instead.
Muckrak3r said:
I regret buying the OUYA. There's not enough to it. Not enough games. The idea was great, and with the millions upon millions of kickstarter funds I sure expected more.
Wish I got the ROKU HD instead.
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Click to collapse
Not enough games? Can you tell me the last console that released with 154 (and counting since it's not officially released) games/apps? It's unprecedented. I don't know what you (or many others like you) expected, maybe you expected it to be more like a phone or tablet (and if that's the case, I can understand where you're coming from, I thought the same thing until I really thought about it).
The OUYA is doing things no other console has ever done, but people are not seeing it. The simple fact is that OUYA didn't (and shouldn't) put all the money into it day one, they need to think of the longevity of their product and their company.
Could they have done more? Sure! One thing is they should have thought about first party games. With the amount of money they made, they could have had a select few working on some top notch games for release. Being a brand new company, they struggled in getting support, however some big names have signed on to test the waters. With some good support, I wouldn't be surprised to see console quality games ported to the OUYA. Not as good graphics, of course, but that was never expected.
JLCollier2005 said:
Not enough games? Can you tell me the last console that released with 154 (and counting since it's not officially released) games/apps? It's unprecedented.
The OUYA is doing things no other console has ever done, but people are not seeing it.
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I don't really think the Ouya is doing something that no other console has ever done. There has been several Android set-top boxes out before Ouya. They run pure Android. Ouya is just bringing a game store to the Android set-top box idea. I wouldn't say it's revolutionary. I think some of the games that are out are just existing games from the Android play store anyways.
And I'm saying this as a pre-order customer for Ouya.
I have a Roku 3 and it is amazing. I am a cord cutter and got my sisters Time Warner and HBO Go login. I have Hulu Plus and Netflix. I also use Blockbuster and Amazon on Demand. The roku3 is butter man. Two leagues of their own. The Roku has magnificent streaming capabilities and never drops video. It balances bandwidth but never drops. It has a wealth of video watching. Games on the Roku3 are fun but an afterthought/gimmicky.
Ouya is a game console primarily and should be considered as such. My android devices can do Netflix and stuff but typically drop and have to rebuffer often. Some video services like Hulu Plus don't even work on Ouya yet.
I want an Ouya and recommend getting both but I would buy the Roku3 over the Ouya first IMO.
It just all depends on your priorities. We can play games on our cellphones but the family can't watch TV on one. If you have an alternative TV service like cable and streaming is not a priority then pick up a Ouya and see if it will suffice in place of both. I know my wife wouldn't use a game controller to control the TV.
Like previously stated, the Ouya is merely a new interface right now. Once it gains its foothold I think unique games will start to spruce up and it will take off.
I'm buying one just for multiplayer controller support, something no other android device can successfully do from my experience. My MK808 and N7 all see multiple controllers as the same player1 controller. I'd like to be able to play some old school Mortal Kombat and Mario Kart with my son and buddies.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Muckrak3r said:
I regret buying the OUYA. There's not enough to it. Not enough games. The idea was great, and with the millions upon millions of kickstarter funds I sure expected more.
Wish I got the ROKU HD instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll trade you my first gen Roku XDS and MK808 with external Antenna mod and a RC11 AirMouse.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Muckrak3r said:
I regret buying the OUYA. There's not enough to it. Not enough games. The idea was great, and with the millions upon millions of kickstarter funds I sure expected more.
Wish I got the ROKU HD instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This kind of response astounds me, but I'll just address one tiny point. The money given to OUYA. I hope everyone realizes that even including the venture capital $$, OUYA funding barely matches the advertising budgets for the big two, right. I mean, the Xbox 360 took five (?) years to become profitable. The idea that a device running Android, funded by kickstarter, and planned and developed in a year for release to retail, and then immediately viewed as a bad value in comparison to the big two is just mind-boggling.
It's not perfect, but it's great for its intended use.
/end rant
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 4 Beta
I agree. I just launched. Right now it is piggy backing off of the Android market but that is just the icing on the cake. With Mobile games becoming more and more advanced, it is nice to have the ability to play both. But that isn't what the Ouya is about. The Ouya is about CREATING a platform for people to build games out of their basement and get them public. Not all great minds work for a big company. Look how Minecraft took off. Minecraft NEVER would have been able to build directly for a console.
There are tons of fun games to play right out of the box for free. No other console does this. Aside from emulators, the Ouya is about an idea, spawned from the little people who just want to make and play games. Buying an Ouya doesn't just buy you an Ouya, but supports the idea that games don't have to cost $60. Perhaps if MS/Sony/Apple/Nintendo wouldn't charge so damn much just for stupid licensing and fees, we might live in a totally radical world right now.
If you can't appreciate the Ouya, then you can't look past your nose to see the big picture. It just isn't a purchase but an investment into a totally new way of creating and playing games. I, for one, cannot wait to see how the Ouya blossums and develops over the next year. If you are looking for instant gratification then the Ouya might fail you today. I think it is a worth while purchase just to have a dedicated emulator machine that plays on the big screen.

Ouya Nightmare

So i got my brand new ouya today at 9am, i quickly went home plugged it in and the first thing that happened was an error, the console wasn’t displaying on my TV, after i shut it off, it quickly started OUYA, and so did the setup, after a few minutes updating the software, the console started successfully and i stated to dig around, i didn’t give the store one glance, and started installing other apps, the first thing i wanted was Google play, failed, then a good launcher, fail even sharing something through blue-tooth, fail, it surprised me the slap this company gave Google, really it doesn’t have anything Google at all, no account, search, nothing, i was appalled, if i were Google i would be calling some people, i understand the whole gaming console but come on, its 2013 and if your device doesn’t do everything but serve as a skateboard, it isnt worth your money, and for $106.00 bucks with taxes is understandable but why limit the ability to make the console your own, after all i bought it, i would like to see a good tablet interface, with the option of an ouya store not a launcher, heck even keep the same Google play and have the compatible applications run in the damn device, why are you shutting the creator from its creation, you’re only a surgeon making changes to something so wonderful, making it cripple, this is the advice of a gamer, a tech freak and a consumer.
this is for you Julie Uhrma, and your team make it right
Sounds more like an Ouya Meh rather than Nightmare.
Seems absurd, but once the good people in the dev section get CM10.1 on it, it'll be more useful.
treborbula1 said:
So i got my brand new ouya today at 9am, i quickly went home plugged it in and the first thing that happened was an error, the console wasn’t displaying on my TV, after i shut it off, it quickly started OUYA, and so did the setup, after a few minutes updating the software, the console started successfully and i stated to dig around, i didn’t give the store one glance, and started installing other apps, the first thing i wanted was Google play, failed, then a good launcher, fail even sharing something through blue-tooth, fail, it surprised me the slap this company gave Google, really it doesn’t have anything Google at all, no account, search, nothing, i was appalled, if i were Google i would be calling some people, i understand the whole gaming console but come on, its 2013 and if your device doesn’t do everything but serve as a skateboard, it isnt worth your money, and for $106.00 bucks with taxes is understandable but why limit the ability to make the console your own, after all i bought it, i would like to see a good tablet interface, with the option of an ouya store not a launcher, heck even keep the same Google play and have the compatible applications run in the damn device, why are you shutting the creator from its creation, you’re only a surgeon making changes to something so wonderful, making it cripple, this is the advice of a gamer, a tech freak and a consumer.
this is for you Julie Uhrma, and your team make it right
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you didn't research the console at all. I'm with you, but in a different way. I pre-ordered knowing it was a closed garden, but they told me I had the keys to the gate, "open and hackable". It's not any more open and/or hackable than a kindle fire. There isn't even a way to boot into recovery. I just ordered it to install CM10 and use it for media, but that doesn't look promising. I just called Chase and canceled my purchase. Was supposed to get it in April and I still haven't heard a word from them. For now, I'm done with Ouya and I'll enjoy my PS4. Perhaps they can change my mind with the Ouya 2, but for now I'm just praying Google will launch a TV box coupled with a controller.
treborbula1 said:
So i got my brand new ouya today at 9am, i quickly went home plugged it in and the first thing that happened was an error, the console wasn’t displaying on my TV, after i shut it off, it quickly started OUYA, and so did the setup, after a few minutes updating the software, the console started successfully and i stated to dig around, i didn’t give the store one glance, and started installing other apps, the first thing i wanted was Google play, failed, then a good launcher, fail even sharing something through blue-tooth, fail, it surprised me the slap this company gave Google, really it doesn’t have anything Google at all, no account, search, nothing, i was appalled, if i were Google i would be calling some people,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would google care? You do realize the OUYA has NOTHING to do with google, right? It is based on Android, but so is a lot of other things that you probably don't even realize. You wanted a Google TV but you got a video game console, your fault not OUYA or Androids. This is not a google product, it is not a tablet or phone sponsored by google, and all the google parts are not there. Now if they were using google infrastructure and google didn't know about it THEN google might have something to say, like on many of the cheaper non-official tablets, but this has NOTHING to do with Google. It's BASED on android. Android and Google are not the same!
i understand the whole gaming console but come on, its 2013 and if your device doesn’t do everything but serve as a skateboard, it isnt worth your money, and for $106.00 bucks with taxes is understandable but why limit the ability to make the console your own, after all i bought it, i would like to see a good tablet interface, with the option of an ouya store not a launcher, heck even keep the same Google play and have the compatible applications run in the damn device, why are you shutting the creator from its creation, you’re only a surgeon making changes to something so wonderful, making it cripple, this is the advice of a gamer, a tech freak and a consumer.
this is for you Julie Uhrma, and your team make it right
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What part of the OUYA doesn't do everything? You can sideload many many MANY apps, you can browse the internet, you can download games, you can watch videos, play music, stream content, and more. It actually has more (even if different) features than an Xbox 360 or PS3! Do you expect your Xbox One or Playstation 3 to sign into Google and have your whole Android content on it? That's the same thing as expecting that with the OUYA.
A tablet interface would work HORRIBLY with the OUYA, so I'm not even going to touch on why you would want that.
And again, by saying that they're shutting the creator from its creation, you obviously don't understand what Android is. I'll just leave it at that.
i did not create this post so that pessimistic people would bash me, but so that optimistic people would join and build something better, really a tablet interface would suck... how so?t would be the things they mention same thing as an aosp roms only on the ouya, or did you forget about a kindle fire with and android makeover, so please dont tell me itll be stupid, or preposterous to fathom the thought of something being what has been stripped off, i even saw a rom adding some things ouya removed, so im not the only one, yes i knew it was an android console but what was hidden from us, and i say hidden because one of the the things they mentions on the site, videos, etc... is hack-ability, and once you add apps to the system it starts to freeze, it gets weird noises, the graphics are not in the resolution its supposed to be, the consoles resolution is 1920x1080 but it has the ratio of a cell phone, im not asking anyone to agree with me, if you dont like the idea dont give your opinion just look away, if you do i welcome you to join and comment:good:
From what I understand in order to have Google Play on a device, Google requires that it be the primary (possibly only) marketplace on the device. Considering that Ouya's plan to make their money off of their market, putting Play on there as the primary would pretty much kill any chance of them being a profitable (or not closed) company. That aside, very few of the apps on the Play store are ioptimized for controllers and they have , for now, no method by which t sort and find those apps. Fow now if you really want something from the play store either install it on another device and copy it over to the Ouya or download the apk from another source. Chances are someone will create a GAPPs package for the ouya eventually anyway.
I've had mine for a while and it's not too difficult to get apps you want but no where on the box do they advertise Google Apps or Google Play store, you didn't do any research on the product. If you noticed anything from the website, they have games specifically made for Ouya, Google Play doesn't support this kind of filtering, at least not to a great extent. Secondly, most apps from Google Play, will NOT work. They weren't made for the console, it lacks the google framework(big reason why you can't get google play, its not stable enough) and most apps are touch interface, not controller/keyboard input. Plus all the major uses of the ouya (emulators, video playback and streaming) can already be done without google play. The streaming is the only one thats a bit of a hassle atm due to touch interface menus.
I think Google requires licensing fees to include their apps. Hence why Custom roms require a separate install of GAPPS. This is a CLOSED system specifically so that developers HAVE to make their games work for the OUYA and not just release some tablet app with half-ass support and functionality. This is understandable and in the best interest of all parties.
As far as the console (closed-garden/keys), you can side load apps all you want. So while some apps may not have official support, you can still install and run them.
But the OUYA does NOT have GAPPS installed thus no Google Account or Google Apps as of right now. If you were looking for a Tablet Inferface, you should have picked up one of the many Android TV Sticks such as the MK808 or better. These have a straight Android tablet interface with Google Play. But they lack any manufacturer support and don't come with any controllers. If you can get a controller to work, you will be limited to 1 (in my experience). They are fun but are cheap chinese build quality. I can't speak for the OUYA but it appears they put some good effort into the OUYA and coupled with a pretty neat controller, I think the Price is really a good buy. Android TV sticks have more of a traditional android environment that you may be looking after.
Really?
JLCollier2005 said:
Why would google care? You do realize the OUYA has NOTHING to do with google, right? It is based on Android, but so is a lot of other things that you probably don't even realize. You wanted a Google TV but you got a video game console, your fault not OUYA or Androids. This is not a google product, it is not a tablet or phone sponsored by google, and all the google parts are not there. Now if they were using google infrastructure and google didn't know about it THEN google might have something to say, like on many of the cheaper non-official tablets, but this has NOTHING to do with Google. It's BASED on android. Android and Google are not the same!
What part of the OUYA doesn't do everything? You can sideload many many MANY apps, you can browse the internet, you can download games, you can watch videos, play music, stream content, and more. It actually has more (even if different) features than an Xbox 360 or PS3! Do you expect your Xbox One or Playstation 3 to sign into Google and have your whole Android content on it? That's the same thing as expecting that with the OUYA.
A tablet interface would work HORRIBLY with the OUYA, so I'm not even going to touch on why you would want that.
And again, by saying that they're shutting the creator from its creation, you obviously don't understand what Android is. I'll just leave it at that.
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Why are you defending the Ouya. It seriously doesn't do a lot. Yes you can sideload many apps but not a lot. any that need a verification with google play can't be sideloaded. Heck google play hasn't even been properly sideloaded. Honestly i'm not happy with the ouya i bought. Unless idk how, there isnt even a way to do a full reset on this thing. SU isnt even correct. it sucks.
OreBoySwaggin said:
SU isnt even correct. it sucks.
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How is 'su' not even correct? It works exactly like it does in google's AOSP eng and user-debug builds. Its the same one that is on all the android emulator images. If you dont like it, it works perfectly fine to grant the shell user root and you can change it to any of the su apps you want. But don't confuse them. The su that is on ouya is the most googly-official su there is.
OreBoySwaggin said:
Why are you defending the Ouya. It seriously doesn't do a lot. Yes you can sideload many apps but not a lot. any that need a verification with google play can't be sideloaded. Heck google play hasn't even been properly sideloaded. Honestly i'm not happy with the ouya i bought. Unless idk how, there isnt even a way to do a full reset on this thing. SU isnt even correct. it sucks.
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Click to collapse
WHy am I defending OUYA? Well, I was a EARLY backer on Kickstarter, have followed it closely since then, and even with everything they have said it has gone above and beyond the expectations I had for it. It does more than I expected already, has more games on it than I expected it to have at release, and in general works better than I expected.
I knew it wasn't going to have the PLAY store, which makes sense but that's for another topic, and every single app I've sideloaded has worked so far except for the ones that have internet DRM. ANd that makes sense because I didn't buy the app for the OUYA, I bought it for my Google related products.
A better question is why are there so many bashing it? Although the number bashing the console itself (not shipping or support) are getting to be far and few (and seem to be the minority), it makes me question what did you expect? The ONLY thing they did not deliver on was how hackable it was, and even then it seems like it's just a matter of time before they plan on unlocking it even further.
Simply put I spent $170 on this thing and am very happy with my purchase. I have had it for about a month and have used it every single day. I have an Xbox 360 and a PS3 sitting next to it that have not been touched since I got my OUYA. I have a PC full of steam games that has also not been touched.
If you don't like the console, then sell it, there are plenty of people who want one.
Why then
gianptune said:
How is 'su' not even correct? It works exactly like it does in google's AOSP eng and user-debug builds. Its the same one that is on all the android emulator images. If you dont like it, it works perfectly fine to grant the shell user root and you can change it to any of the su apps you want. But don't confuse them. The su that is on ouya is the most googly-official su there is.
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Click to collapse
If the su is "correct" on the ouya, then how come su has to be pushed and replaced when properly rooting it?
Because your 'properly' rooting is it not how root works on AOSP. You are thinking of superuser and superSU, which are 3rd party apps that must be installed in the play store, right? How can you even begin to think that something you must install manually from the store, and that even has premium/paid versions is the 'proper' way.
The AOSP 'su', the one that comes on Ouya, exists to grant the shell user root access. It has no concept of java, dalvik, the VM, or any apps that draw anything on the screen.
Bought and Ouya yesterday. Downloaded some crap off their crappy market. Played some games. Games were alright -- kinda glitchy. The screen was stretched beyond the bounds of my TV -- everything was cut off. Sideloaded some apps. Apps were junk -- really glitchy. XBMC kinda worked, but setting up network shares was a nightmare. Everything else sucks. This system blows. My Super Nintendo was better. Returning this garbage before I go crazy. They should be paying me to test their beta software.
jpsiemer said:
Bought and Ouya yesterday. Downloaded some crap off their crappy market. Played some games. Games were alright -- kinda glitchy.
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Click to collapse
172 games available at launch is amazing. You're right some are crappy and some are glitchy, but some are excellent. The big plus is you get to try them before you purchase the game.
jpsiemer said:
The screen was stretched beyond the bounds of my TV -- everything was cut off.
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Click to collapse
I am fortunate that this ailment doesn't affect me. There is a setting that in theory should fix this for those folks affected, but I've heard it may not function yet. In the 2 weeks I've had my Ouya there have been about 4 major firmware updates and with each update things improved.
jpsiemer said:
Sideloaded some apps. Apps were junk -- really glitchy. XBMC kinda worked, but setting up network shares was a nightmare.
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Click to collapse
Sideloading apps are hit and miss. I use Plex (from the Ouya store) instead of XBMC. It was a snap to setup and works great. The Amazon store was my first sideloaded app and I used it to install Dropbox, Netflix and HuluPlus and they all work as expected. I sideloaded the Veetle app and it works great as does the Twitch app (from the Ouya store). The emulators in the store work as expected too.
I'm sure there are many apps that are junk and very glitchy, but the ones I just mentioned are not among those apps.
jpsiemer said:
Everything else sucks. This system blows. My Super Nintendo was better. Returning this garbage before I go crazy. They should be paying me to test their beta software.
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Click to collapse
Since I don't experience the overscan problem you experience I can't agree with this statement. My Ouya runs Super Nintendo games great and much much more.
However , if this is your experience/opinion then you are right to return it.
Thanks for sharing.
The Ouya seems a nice enthusiast device, but not ready for mass consumers that just want Wii style plug and play. At the price point, you will see a lot of the Wii demographic, so probably a lot of subsequent complaints.
Ya that's right, it's not a plug and play console and even not as easy as a closed system like IOS...but if it's able to run games correctly because it's a game console, it's everything we ask from for this price! Free games and low ownership cost make the difference, but if people want a high end game console, with HD and 3D gaming go with Sony and Microsoft, they will enjoy getting your money
jpsiemer said:
Bought and Ouya yesterday. Downloaded some crap off their crappy market. Played some games. Games were alright -- kinda glitchy. The screen was stretched beyond the bounds of my TV -- everything was cut off. Sideloaded some apps. Apps were junk -- really glitchy. XBMC kinda worked, but setting up network shares was a nightmare. Everything else sucks. This system blows. My Super Nintendo was better. Returning this garbage before I go crazy. They should be paying me to test their beta software.
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You installed the wrong xbmc, they are in the beta stage with h/w accel version, you can sideload it, libstage alpha 4 xbmc.
Secondly the emulators are great, snes9x from Robert, along with his releases of nes, genesis. Mupen64 works good on most Roms but android has had problem with n64 emulation.
Sent from my HTC Sensation using Tapatalk 2
Paulenski said:
You installed the wrong xbmc, they are in the beta stage with h/w accel version, you can sideload it, libstage alpha 4 xbmc.
Secondly the emulators are great, snes9x from Robert, along with his releases of nes, genesis. Mupen64 works good on most Roms but android has had problem with n64 emulation.
Sent from my HTC Sensation using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
I installed the right XBMC. That's the version I'm using. Like I said, it works, just glitchy, just as everything else is on this console. Console emulation isn't really an amazing feat considering the hardware on this thing. My Xbox1 did everything this did and more, and it wasn't glitchy.
Sorry, but this "console" blows. I'd rather have an Android HDMI dongle from some unknown Chinese company.
jpsiemer said:
I installed the right XBMC. That's the version I'm using. Like I said, it works, just glitchy, just as everything else is on this console. Console emulation isn't really an amazing feat considering the hardware on this thing. My Xbox1 did everything this did and more, and it wasn't glitchy.
Sorry, but this "console" blows. I'd rather have an Android HDMI dongle from some unknown Chinese company.
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Great! Pack it back up, return it, spend your money elsewhere, and get off the forums. Your opinion has been heard and noted.

Has anyone else emailed Amazon about root?

I don't think they notice the full potential their device has because people aren't speaking up about it. I think if enough people here email them, asking for them to open the device up for us, they'll see the benefits of us having root access.
I just wrote those one to them.
I sincerely hope this message is read with an open mind by those in charge of the Amazon Fire TV device. Please, PLEASE make sure this gets to the right people who can make a change.
First off, I'm a die hard fan of Amazon, especially ever since I first got my Prime account. I've had issues with orders in the past, as well as products and the Amazon team has always, ALWAYS had my back, which is why I generally do all my shopping strictly with Amazon, even if I can find it cheaper elsewhere, because I know if issue arise, Amazon has my back.
To the point!
The Amazon Fire TV is probably one of the most nifty devices for steaming that has ever come out. It dominates the Roku which I was a huge fan of. The hardware in this little thing is just downright impressive for what it is, especially with it running Android. The possibilities were endless!
So the issue? I'm speaking for hundreds of people, who all should speak up but don't have the time or will to do so.
The biggest benefit of the Fire TV is the fact stated above, it runs Android. We can do so much amazing things with an operating system as open as Android. The problem we have though, as a large community who love to tinker, such as those of us who are part of the XDA community, is you're not allowing us the full potential of the hardware.
The main reason I bought the device wasn't just because it was Amazon backed, and it ran Android, but because it had root access. With that I was able to run my emulators and play NES games and so forth from the comfort of my couch without having to lug out a computer and have the inconvenience of needing a keyboard and mouse to start it all up.
I had the convenience to put a web browser on it so I could run a wireless keyboard to it if I needed to search for something quickly online instead of going into the other room to turn my computer on or find my tablet.
The device ships with a very limited built in storage which is not very good for installing apps. Just installing Bard's Tale eats up almost the entire storage. With root access we could run external pen drives to allow extra storage.
I want you to really think about the potential your device has. You will lose NOTHING by allowing us to root. You will lose NOTHING by allowing us access to the bootloader for custom roming.
Look at Android phones right now, those that are unlocked, like the Nexus devices are among the most popular because of what we're able to do with it. People buy them SOLEY because they know they can Rom it, customize it and so forth.
People see right now that we can't get root access working again and we're losing a lot of options we once had and it's turning people off.
If people see that Amazon took it's community into mind and let us have our root access....people will respect that and buy more of your devices! It's a Win - Win!
I mean really think about it, what are you going to lose? Some people possibly bricking the device? That's their problem, not yours. Warranty is void when tinkering, plain and simple.
Right now, without root access, we're not much better off than owners of the Roku. No enthusiasts bought the Roku because all it is, is a steaming device. Us tech junkies such as myself, bought the Fire TV soley because it allowed more freedom to do more with my device.
So please, I speak for many, open up the flood gates for the community and give us an unlocked bootloader, or at least just make root access easier to acquire!
Sincerely,
An Amazon Junkie
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Spykez0129 said:
I don't think they notice the full potential their device has because people aren't speaking up about it. I think if enough people here email them, asking for them to open the device up for us, they'll see the benefits of us having root access.
I just wrote those one to them.
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Click to collapse
Amazon is notorious for locking down their devices extremely hard. I doubt the Fire TV will be any different. And then you have the fact that the content providers don't really want it. Piracy and all that nonsense they like to say.
The added bonus for a rooted Fire TV is Play Store access complete with a fully functional compatibility filter.
Since I actually (re-)gained access to the Play Store,I was able to use my existing acount from my GS7 to install a paid app on my Fire TV that I once had on the GS7 without needing to buy it again.
I want an unlocked bootloader so I can get the multitasking GUI of a modern Linux Distro.
Maybe if the ARM Linux build of Dolphin with OpenGL 2.0 is found,anyone could use Freedreno to actually get it running on a Fire TV!
Id be more or less happy without root if they'd bake in A) Sideloaded apps showing on the menu and B) External storage
Its cool to be able to do other stuff but these are the deal breaks for me. The internal storage on this thing is so ridiculously small, I have no idea how it made it through Q&A. Id have paid the extra $10 for more memory if they offered it.
retroben said:
The added bonus for a rooted Fire TV is Play Store access complete with a fully functional compatibility filter.
Since I actually (re-)gained access to the Play Store,I was able to use my existing acount from my GS7 to install a paid app on my Fire TV that I once had on the GS7 without needing to buy it again.
I want an unlocked bootloader so I can get the multitasking GUI of a modern Linux Distro.
Maybe if the ARM Linux build of Dolphin with OpenGL 2.0 is found,anyone could use Freedreno to actually get it running on a Fire TV!
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Click to collapse
Why on earth would Amazon support the Play Store when they have their own app store? The idea is to generate revenue, not funnel it elsewhere.
rbox said:
Amazon is notorious for locking down their devices extremely hard. I doubt the Fire TV will be any different. And then you have the fact that the content providers don't really want it. Piracy and all that nonsense they like to say.
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Click to collapse
Ya I get that but there were phone companies that said the same thing, then when people took a stand to go to phones that were unlocked, the manufacturers saw the potential. If enough people bug Amazon about it, it has the potential to make them see the benefit.
Amazon hasn't gotten as big as it is by making poor business choices (Fire phone notwithstanding). We tend to forget that the vast majority of people who buy a fireTV don't have a clue what rooting is, much less its benefits. The bottom line for Amazon is that they will make a helluva larger profit keeping their customers within their own ecosystem than any increase in FTV sales that might occur by appealing to those would prefer a box they can root.

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