OUYA - News

Project Update #14: The big hardware update (and more)
Posted by OUYA
It's that time again to update you on our progress. We’ve been focused on two things -- making OUYA, and talking with great game developers who are excited about OUYA.

GAMES, GAMES, GAMES:

I've done a lot of globetrotting lately to talk to developers. Since our last update, I bounced from IndieCade in Southern California, to GDC Online in Austin, Texas, then over to London (via video chat) for DroidconUK!

I’ve met a ton of talented developers who are just as excited about OUYA as you and I. In fact, some of you have recognized me (and, at times, my twin sister) on the street!

LET’S TALK HARDWARE:

We’re still going full-steam ahead. We’ve been refining OUYA’s hardware design (cosmetics, mechanicals, electricals, thermals etc.). We’ve spent most of this time in the design phase, as getting it right up front saves us a lot of redesign and iteration later. We’ve had some of the best engineers and designers take a look at every design element and fine tune it. Our CAD models and SLAs (plastic prototypes that provide us with a physical look and feel of the product) are finished, and we moved out of the design phase and into development a couple of weeks ago.

Last week was a huge milestone for us -- we received our first development run of PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) for the console. This is the heart (and we believe the soul) of the OUYA experience. It’s pretty amazing how our engineers have packed in Quad-Core awesomeness into such an unbelievably small package (any guesses on how small the PCB actually is?). All the hard work in refining the design has paid off in spades -- the first boards came to life without any hitches, and we’re now fine tuning software and hardware performance for graphics, wireless, and user experience! W00t.

We are now in what’s referred to in the industry as the EVT (Engineering Verification Testing) phase.

Have a look at our PCB:

[Blockierte Grafik: http://www.ouya.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Coke_ouya.png]

During the EVT phase, we’ll be testing both the console and the controller with our OUYA software. We'll continue to verify our design and push the performance limits of our software. We’ll go through a couple more EVT build phases, as we weed out issues and refine the design for optimal performance and large-scale manufacturing, before we start cranking out OUYAs.

So, awesome news: we’re set to complete this EVT phase on time, and we’re in sync with our December target for developer kits. Since these dev kits are still in pre-production phase, we’ll build a limited quantity. Each one will be a collector’s item -- unique in design, build and appearance. (So, they’ll look different from the consumer-ready units.)

SO LONG, ICE CREAM SANDWICH:

I’m happy to announce OUYA will run on Android Jelly Bean, the newest version of the Android operating system. We’re making the jump from the old version, Ice Cream Sandwich, to ensure that we’re running on the most up-to-date software available. You asked if it could be done, we looked into it, and we made it happen.

SPEAKING OF DEVELOPER KITS:

If you’re a game developer and you want to start making games for OUYA, our OUYA Software Developer Kit (ODK) is coming soon, but in the meantime, there’s a lot you can do to get started. We've posted some information for developers that should help you prepare for the launch of your new game or app on OUYA.

If you missed the Kickstarter drive, but you’re still interested in an early version of the console that you can use as a Dev Kit, you’re in luck. We’re making a few extra. Please visit http://www.ouya.tv in the near future and order one (we'll let you know when it's available). Of course, they won’t carry the same rewards as the Kickstarter Dev Kits, but you will receive a console, two controllers and early access to test your game on OUYA! These units will start shipping in the new year. Note that these kits will not include the final console user interface or any games, they’re purely for game developers who want to test their games on real OUYA hardware.

USERNAMES ON THE HORIZON:

WOW, over 60,700 of you provided us your username by October 12th (the Kickstarter survey deadline). Thank you! Within the next few weeks, we’ll start sending out links so you can login to the upcoming OUYA user portal, review your username, verify your account info, change your shipping info and more.

If you had a username issue (like you didn’t read the rules or you picked the same username as someone else who backed earlier than you), or you didn’t reserve your username within the two-week reservation window, don’t worry. You’ll still get early access to reserve your username before the general OUYA populace.

INTERESTING FACT:

While we’re on the subject of users and backers, I thought it would be cool to give a shout out to our very first Kickstarter backer.

Robert Gaal -- are you in the house!? I just learned that you, and not anyone from my team, friends, or family, were our FIRST BACKER. Rock on! Thanks, Robert.

As always, if you have any questions, comments or props (props are always good), please reach out to us at [email protected], or through Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, G+ or the Kickstarter comments board.

Until next time, take care, keep calm and OUYA on,

Julie

P.S. Happy Halloween. And if you want to dress up as a Ruby on Rails developer this year, and you want a job at OUYA -- we’re still hiring. Hit us up at [email protected].

Project Update #15: Dev Consoles are shipping on time!
Posted by OUYA
Hey OUYAs,

Feast your eyes on this...

[Blockierte Grafik: http://www.ouya.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/handsOUYA1.png]

Our office OUYA – the latest prototype we’ve been putting through the paces every day (and most nights) as we jam toward shipping you our product.

Take a moment to reflect, and then keep reading. We have a lot to fill you in on.

HARDWARE

To the hundreds of developers who backed us through Kickstarter to get their hands on our advance dev consoles: Mark your calendars! On December 28, they leave the factory and should arrive within a couple of days (we’ve heard that Turkey and Russia might take a bit longer). Yes, we are shipping these to you on time, as promised.

The dev consoles are an early version of the OUYA console and controller designed for developers to test their games on OUYA. Our Kickstarter developers are the first to get a crack at ‘em! We’re psyched to have you on board, and we can’t wait to see what pours from your brain!

Of course, when the final consoles ship, EVERY OUYA will be a dev console. We told you that already. What we didn’t tell you was that the advance dev consoles you ordered are pretty special – you’ll know what I mean when you open yours. They’re rare drops.

The dev consoles aren’t cheap for us to make. And we heard from many of you during the Kickstarter campaign that you simply couldn’t afford one. We wish we could just give them away, and we decided for a few of you – we’d do just that! But you have to work for ‘em...check out our Dev Console Giveaway for more details.

SOFTWARE

Our eyes have been glued to our computer screens building out the OUYA Development Kit (ODK) – tools that do everything from making sure the controller can talk to the game to ensuring that game developers will have the proper tools to get paid.

This early version of the ODK is being tested now. When the dev consoles ship to gamemakers, all developers—even those who may not have their hands on a dev console—will be able to access a web portal where they can download the ODK, get help on our forums, and eventually upload games to OUYA.

While jamming on the ODK, we’ve also had a team focused on the user interface. This involves optimizing Android Jelly Bean to play games on a big screen and spending time understanding the best ways gamers can search for and discover new games. It’s still in development, but it looks great, and the advance dev consoles include a sneak peek...

MEET JULESKANE

That’s me – or how you’ll know me on OUYA anyway!

“That’s great for Julie, but what about my username?”

You’ll have your answer soon enough! By December 25, we’ll email each of you a link to activate your account. For those of you who responded to our survey about preferred usernames, you’ll be able to confirm your choice. For the handful of popular names that had conflicts, we broke the tie(s) by honoring whomever backed OUYA first on Kickstarter. And, if any of you didn’t respond—or didn’t get your preferred username—you can choose a name when December 25 rolls around. Happy Holidays!

As we get closer to launch, we’ll be in touch about things like double-checking your shipping address in case you’ve been on the move. But for now, at least one of you can rest easy knowing that you are the only “TurboPianoCat” on OUYA – beating out at least a dozen wannabe TPCs!

Until then!

JulesKane

P.S. Many of you have continued to support us by nominating OUYA for Crunchies Awards in the categories of “Best New Startup” and “Best Hardware Startup” – thank you! If any of the rest of you would like to join in on the action, you can nominate OUYA right now!

We just licked the stamps and waved a fond farewell to 1,200 OUYA Developer Consoles. These are the early versions of OUYA that developers will use to start making games. They’re on their way to developers around the globe – by land, air and sea. OK, only by air -- we want you to get them quick. Devs, expect them on your doorstep within the next few days.

[Blockierte Grafik: http://www.ouya.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/GDGmed1.jpg]

First to accurately guess how many units are in the crate above (and tweet the answer to @playouya with #ouyacrate) wins a Dev Console. No, seriously.

We know some of you just… can’t… wait. You’ve been checking off your calendar along with us. Forget the holidays! There are games to build!

If you’re like us, you’re frustrated that shipping companies haven’t invented teleportation yet. To scratch that OUYA itch, we made you a short unboxing video. Check it out:

http://youtu.be/psCoR4zmIpE
Here’s a list of the Dev Console package contents if you can’t watch the video right now:

Jet-black OUYA Devs package (“Thanks for believing”)
Official Developer Welcome Letter (Frameable!)
One frosted translucent OUYA Dev Console (Surprise! We included a Micro-USB port, for your computer-hooking-up pleasure.)
Two frosted translucent OUYA Dev Controllers (Batteries included!)
HDMI cable
Micro-USB cable
Power adapter
There you have it. The OUYA Dev Console – sleek, solid and…see-through! (We’re, ahem, open.) As we said previously, these kits are very special. They’re a one-off design – “rare drops” for the most discerning and faithful developers whom we’re looking forward to meeting in the coming months.

They’re a work in progress, so we want your feedback. (Yes, we know the D-pad and triggers on the controller still need work -- the final version will be different.) There will also be plenty of bugs...help us find them so we can fix ‘em! Please leave feedback on our forums at devs.ouya.tv.

And a little bonus is that the Dev Console has an early early early (you get that?) version of what our console UI will look like. We’ve been working on it, and we think you’ll love where we’re going with it. For now, here's a screenshot of what it might look like when Kickstarter backers get their consoles in March...

[Blockierte Grafik: http://www.ouya.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/UI-mockSmall.jpg]

So if you haven't already guessed it, we’re opening up the OUYA Dev Portal, where developers can get all the information they need to start making games!

Devs, now’s the time to jump in and give the Dev Portal a whirl! Log in with your #ouyausername, download the OUYA Development Kit (“ODK”), participate in the developer forum where you can give feedback, ask questions, discussify and get ready to test your game on your incoming Dev Console.

And, just to underscore our commitment to creating this platform together with you developers, we're releasing our ODK under a free software license.

We gave away a bunch of Dev Consoles to aspiring developers in our #myouyagame giveaway -- but if you don’t have a Dev Console, we have instructions on how to get started making games for OUYA with off-the-shelf hardware included within the ODK.

We’ll be living together within the Dev Portal from now until launch – answering your questions, applying your feedback, and generally getting to know all of you as developers. We can’t wait to meet you – so come say, “hi.” And make some great games now, kk?

Viva la revolución,

Juleskane and all of us at OUYA