Does Ouya Matter

Ouya has finally been released. Ouya was a huge sucess on Kickstarter. It had a lot of people excited about the idea of an Android gaming console. So how is Ouya and does it matter in today's gaming market?

For starters Ouya is not a powerhouse. Ouya is designed with Indie developers in mind. This means that you wont see a lot of big budget titles releasing. However Sega has a few Sonic titles and Square Enix has Final Fantasy 3 on Ouya. So there are some exceptions, but overall it will have smaller unknown games. For the record I love Shadowgun on Ouya (just like I did on Xperia Play).

Not that there's anything wrong with that. I actually like a lot of indie games. As smart phones have proven there is a huge market for these games. So time will tell of people want to play these games on the big screen.

Okay so Ouya wont blow your mind with graphics but it is a really well built(and good looking system). The OS is also smooth and attractive. Every Ouya game is "free to try" so there's no upfront money to get playing. Overall the Ouya is a good, cheap console ($99).

Does the Ouya matter? I thought the Ouya concept was great when I first heard about it. However since then both Sony and Nintendo have been making huge efforts to get Indie games on their platforms. In theory the games releasing on Ouya will also be on Wii U, PS3, PS4, and PS Vita. Plus the fact most of these games are on IOS and other Android devices.

Ouya really is a cool device. At $99 it has huge potential to make waves in the gaming industry. I just wonder if it's a little to late. Either way if you can afford to buy one you might as well, it's fun.

PS4 and next Xbox Struggles

Both the PS4 and the nw Xbox will be out by the years end. I believe that both of these new systems could suffer from "slow sales" just as the Wii U. Before the Wii U was launched everyone was very excited. Gamestop was saying that the Wii U had "huge interest" and pre orders were through the roof. Now that its been out 6 months it seems as if no one is in a hurry to buy one.

Most people that I talk to don't seem all that interested in buying a new console. The average gamer is perfectly happy with what they already own. Plus a lot of people have gone to PC gaming. Gaming on a PC is a better investment than buying a console. Let's not forget that IOS and Android phones and tablets are everywhere. Android gaming gaming is on the rise with both Ouya and the Gamestick releasing in the next 2 months.

When you consider all of this its no wonder that Wii U is struggling. So it's not  far fetched to think the PS4 and next Xbox will also struggle.

Amazing SpiderMan 3DS Part 2

I finally saw 3 (yes 3) screen shots from the upcoming Amazing Spiderman on Nintendo's 3DS. How were they...extremely ugly! If you can find this months issue of Nintendo Power magazine the pics are printed. It is possible that the screen shots are a low-res picture. Still if this is whats coming I'm very disappointed.

The worst part is that Amazing Spiderman on 360/PS3 looks to be one of the best games of the summer. On 3DS and Wii it looks to be a quick cash in. Beenox gives a reason why it's so different from it's big brother versions. Here's a portion of the interview.

S: What is the Nintendo 3DS version of The Amazing Spider-Man like? Retailer descriptions say that only the HD versions are open-world. Will the 3DS version be close to the console versions at all?

DB: The Amazing Spider-Man for the Wii and for the 3DS is actually based of the same code base and game assets which means that they share the same game play.

We’ve optimized the experience on the Wii and 3DS to take advantage of their unique platform differences and motion controls, which means that players will have a different experience with the game on those platforms.

While the Wii and 3DS versions won’t have Spidey “roaming” between story missions, there are still plenty of collectibles, unlockables, and in-game challenges awaiting the wall-crawler, on top of large areas to sling through and intense combat with numerous enemy types. The Wii takes combat and web-slinging to new levels of immersion thanks to its motion controls, and the 3DS version will also have several unique mini-games that use its touch-screen.

If held side-by-side, all of the “level based” missions are very similar to what will ship on the Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms, just optimized to fit the Nintendo platforms’ unique capabilities.

What's so funny about this is that Gameloft just showed it's new trailer for their Amazing Spiderman game on IOS/ Android. Guess what...it's fully open world and looks amazing. Check out the trailer below.

http://youtu.be/hAma5rlQj80

So obviously they could have made a full 3D world for Spiderman to roam around. Beenox just decided not to. Spiderman on 3DS and Wii could still be a fun game...but the odds are stacked against it. Plus why spend $30 on the 3DS version (or $50 for Wii) of Spiderman when you could pay $7 for your phone or tablet.