Kickstarter Console Project Meets $950K Goal In Eight Hours

@Xtrminatr: lol, interesting way of looking at it ;-)

@Sin4profit said:

I like how you can watch Twitch and dream about all the games you're not going to be able to play on that thing.

@Tarsier said:

'if i wasnt a female id say big balls' . .. . . .. . .. this is a tim and eric skit

is that literally a Tim & Eric skit? cause that was the point where i turned the video off.

Truth is, if they can market the thing as a general media device as well i feel like it may have a chance for survival, outside of that it just looks like the all over again.

no but it seems like it comes straight out of one ... big butch manly woman leading a videogame company making a comment about how shes a female but has big balls . .. i turned it off there as well, it just gave me a really awkward feeling lol

@felakuti4life said:

Oh! The Android platform!

Oh! The Apple users!

Even if this is nothing but an indie machine I'd buy it for $99. Good on them for trying something different. People need to stop hating on new ideas. Let's see where this goes.

Hey developers, you should totally support a platform where one of the sales pitches is essentially pro-piracy.

$100 box that should be able to run the following apps that already exist:

• Netflix
• Hulu+
• HBO Go
• Emulators
• OnLive
• Twitch.TV (Giant Bomb streaming)

Yeah. I can see a use for this without a single game announcement. I already have a HTPC so I'm not interested yet, but in a world where there's a market for Roku boxes and the like I can definitely see what people might want to do with these.

who knew that fargo would predict the name of a future console.

Wow. I seriously can't believe that the people who supported this don't realize the computer they used to donate is already much more powerful than a phone and could be easily hooked up to your television. This is such a scam it isn't even funny.

I don't know if someone has said it but if that controller is what it's actually going to look like color blind people are going to be bumming.

This thing is full of bad ideas, mixed with bad specs. I am sorry but I just don't see this being anything other than a console for mobile games.

The neagtivity in this thread is abominable. We have great games that can easily run on a "smart phone" powered piece, the only thing missing is native controller support. This will allow for games like LIMBO, Super Meat Boy, and tons of other indie titles that would be great with a controller.

I can't wait to see what this entails, and just so I got my point across, you're an idiot for thinking it's a bad idea. Don't want one? Then shut the fuck up and move along.

All these people focusing on the fact that it's using Android as its OS, you're just being ridiculous. It running on Android is about as relevant as the Xbox running on Windows (read: not relevant at all).

Anyway, if you don't know anything about the Phantom game console, you need to read up on it before you get too excited about this thing. They sunk $67 million of investor money into that thing for zero result. I predict a similar scenario here.

@ck1nd said:

The neagtivity in this thread is abominable. We have great games that can easily run on a "smart phone" powered piece, the only thing missing is native controller support. This will allow for games like LIMBO, Super Meat Boy, and tons of other indie titles that would be great with a controller.

I can't wait to see what this entails, and just so I got my point across, you're an idiot for thinking it's a bad idea. Don't want one? Then shut the fuck up and move along.

This.

@ck1nd said:

The neagtivity in this thread is abominable. We have great games that can easily run on a "smart phone" powered piece, the only thing missing is native controller support. This will allow for games like LIMBO, Super Meat Boy, and tons of other indie titles that would be great with a controller.

I can't wait to see what this entails, and just so I got my point across, you're an idiot for thinking it's a bad idea. Don't want one? Then shut the fuck up and move along.

This.

as a consumer, i don't understand why anyone would be against the existence of this new console. who knows, if this thing is reasonably successful, then perhaps it could put a little pressure on the big three to step their shit up. competition in any market is always good for the consumer. I'm aware ouya might not be after the same type of audience of gamers as ps/ms/nintendo, but the success of it could possibly inspire innovation, and great change in future consoles to come.

@BoogieWithStu: PC.

They could just publish their game on PC with Steam Greenlight.

Here done.

@ck1nd, all of those games you mentioned are already on PC, which you clearly have if you are posting right now, which has controller support.

Wait...I can watch SC2? Ok, I'm back on.

I am pro options.

I thought ya'll were not doing anymore kickstarter stories?

Not seeing the appeal here. Most of the "big" games for android etc find a way onto the console anyway and the rest of them is just shovelware for the most part. What works as a game on a phone does not work as a full on console title on my tv. I do not want to sit on the couch and invest an hour and a half playing some tap based beat em up just like I don't want to sit on a 15 minute subway ride trying to play ME3.

It is a platform that is not aimed at home tv use, it doesn't have the hardware for "big games" and frankly... I don't see there being much real interest in it.

In the end take into account that I am sitting at my tv as I type this on my PC with access to far better games than this with just as many controller options as this thing will have. I even have an app store technically ;p.

I wander if Zynga contributed to the kick starter?

As a person who has approximately 12 devices in my house that can attach to my TV, I still am on board and plunked down the money out of interest, if nothing else. The amount of people buying the device almost guarantees that even if the service never takes off, a Tegra 3-powered device that is cheap with TV and controller support? Yeah, the hackers are gonna have a field day.

Take a look at how well-supported the HP Touchpad is by hackers. I expect a similar fate, whether or not this thing actually makes any headway.

The audience is people who want to throw cash at SOMETHING new in the games field. I threw down the full $120 for the console (and shipping) just because I wanted to feel like I was buying a shiny new game box. I'm going to go ahead and assume I wasn't the only one who did so.

Also another assumption is that it's people who like indie shit. Should be good to see what insane nonsense people come up with for the device anyways.

Why do a lot of people hate android?

I don't really like Java or Android. But this could be cool. At least they're out there trying something.

Neat. I don't really need one but this thing could do well in developing markets as a low cost alternative, would also make a good alternative to a streaming appliance.

Because they haven't used it, I would assume. @TheVeteran13

@Drakoji: I prefer to do my gaming on a console. It may not make any sense to some of you guys and that's fine. None of my friends understand it, either. There is a certain feeling being on a console for me. There is a sort of comfort. It may sound crazy, but it's very real to me. Not everybody feels that way, but a lot of us do. This is Phil Fish's reason for not releasing FEZ on PC. If you don't feel it you probably never will. Just don't knock us for spending our worked-for expendable income on something we think is neat. They have my $99. If everyone thinks it's a waste then fine. We all waste money in different ways. I'm putting my $99 down for this fuzzy-comfort-box while simultaneously not paying for coffee ever.

Edit: Not that I'm accusing you, @Drakoji of saying any of that. Just saying in general.

@Sooty: Even though you can get a "similar" experience already, this exists because:

1) Ease of use: Instead of needing an android phone, PS3 controller, and knowing how to make that all connect to each other, you have one device that lets you play these games with a controller that is sure to work with no hassle.

2)Price: At $99, that's a hell of a lot cheaper than buying an android phone, a controller, and whatever else you might need.

3)Additional Options: It never hurts to have a new device. If this makes the bigger guys reconsider how they do business, both in pricing and in how they treat developers, that is a win for everybody. Why does it hurt you that someone is trying something new?

Weird that they cut off the D-pad in all their shots.

I actually have no interest in this machine and I don't see it as ever being viable, $1.2 million in a day be damned. It is still a bit crazy to see it shoot up this fast though. I checked on it this morning and it was at a paltry $200k.

Can we be sure it's not some kind of scam? Remember the aptly named Phantom?

Is there a photo of what the console looks like? From the photos above I was thinking it was some mobile platform in the shape of a controller.

@MikeFightNight said:

I am pro options.

Agreed. I don't understand why anyone's default position would be anything other than wait and see. It is like people saw Android and immediately flew into a blind rage of FUCKING PHONE GAMES!

It's no longer a question of if but when. Also if. But mostly when.

This looks like something that will one day be intensely interesting to a community of hobbyists and homebrew enthusiasts.

Lets be real here: kickstarter is there to allow consumers to pony up cash to get things that may be personally desirable, but are not commercially desirable. If this was a good business idea and destined for success, they'd get VC funding or something traditional and legitimate. Not to say that it's impossible for them or any kickstarters to be commercially successful, it's just not very likely.

For everybody bitching about this, it costs less than two Steel Batallions.

@TheVeteran13: Multiple software versions spread across multiple pieces of hardware, leading to developers having to attempt to create software that works somewhat well for every possible combination of hardware and every OS, which leads to nothing working very well on any combination. The plus side is that consumers have a lot of freedom in choosing exactly what kind of machine they want, but the downside is that the user experience suffers because there aren't any real standards. It's the reason why the iOS Minecraft app works the way people want it to, and the Android app is either fine, crashes intermittently, or completely broken depending on what kind of phone you have.

I feel like some people didn't watch the video, because i feel the need to restate major parts of it. I don't think this will be a competitor for the next bunch of consoles, but it is an opportunity for some really cool home-made projects, some that will be published in the market, and some that will be published in forums, all on something cheaper than a nice phone. I may not be financially capable of being an early adopter, but I hope it lasts long enough for me to save up.

Guys I'm going to blow your minds. Game Dev Story...on your hd tv.....with a controller.

Xbox live has "Indie Games." Consoles are not closed to indie developers. I don't respect liars. I will probably not buy this.

HOLD UP FOLKS. The point is not to play Angry Birds in 1080p. Notice how that's not part of the pitch? The images show Android games, yes, because that's all that's available. The point of this box is to open up the console world to indie developers, to be the homebrew console. I'm sure that, in their heads, they picture this thing being as accessible for developers as a PC. It's a cool idea, and I'd love to see it work out.

@joku2002 said:

Guys I'm going to blow your minds. Game Dev Story...on your hd tv.....with a controller.

Sounds awful. That's the kind of game you play while you're watching TV, not on your TV.

When patrick writes an article its something he's been working on for days maybe weeks. When Alex writes an article its some story that I already read on another site, and I bet so did he. Lets use these moments to appreciate the finer written articles.

@Korolev said:

Can we be sure it's not some kind of scam? Remember the aptly named Phantom?

Do you remember the people who were making the Phantom? They had an office with nothing in it, and said the craziest shit unprovoked.

Interesting to see the reactions to this project. As a developer it's exciting. I can see why many are skeptical. It seems like a lot of people didn't read the description, and assume it's aiming to run just simple mobile-type games.

Even if this ends up a glorified emulator box this is worth the price. Definitely will be keeping an eye on this one.

@BoG said:

HOLD UP FOLKS. The point is not to play Angry Birds in 1080p. Notice how that's not part of the pitch? The images show Android games, yes, because that's all that's available. The point of this box is to open up the console world to indie developers, to be the homebrew console. I'm sure that, in their heads, they picture this thing being as accessible for developers as a PC. It's a cool idea, and I'd love to see it work out.

Fuggin' thiiiiis

You know for a country that crams freedom down everyone's throats, it's amazing how much hate you have towards one of the few open platforms. ^-^