

Open-source Ouya gaming platform killing it on Kickstarter - msie
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57469935-1/open-source-ouya-gaming-platform-killing-it-on-kickstarter/?tag=mncol;topStories

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mindcrime
Oh, this is _way_ cool. Not so much because I care about a gaming platform
per-se, but because it shows that people care about hackable / open hardware,
and that crowdfunding is a viable way to fund development of such hardware.

Given the sentiments expressed in articles like "The Coming War on General
Purpose Computing"[1] - and the debate over UEFI / Secure Boot - it's _very_
encouraging to see this kind of thing happening.

The availability of things like Raspberry Pi[2] is also encouraging on the
same front.

Here's to the continued development of general purpose computing hardware and
open/hackable systems that anyone is free to use as they see fit!

[1]: <http://boingboing.net/2012/01/10/lockdown.html>

[2]: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberry_Pi>

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aeurielesn
That was US$150,000 for Kickstarter in an evening, right? I just looked it up
and it seems to be a 5% share.

Frankly, I thought it was less than that. Big figures are really favorable for
them then.

~~~
osxwm
Kickstarter as a whole broke it's all time pledges yesterday taking in
$3,174,820 [1]. At 5%, and if all pledges pay, Kickstarter took in $158,741.
Not all pledges follow through on payment.

[1] <http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/ouyas-big-day>

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nemo1618
Gotta say, I wasn't expecting this result after the opinions expressed in the
comments of the original Ouya HN post. Maybe HN just likes to grumble about
everything.

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makmanalp
Related kickstarter blog post here:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4229926>

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wavephorm

      we are working on our stretch goals, what we can do if we raise more money.
    

How about instead of moving the goal posts out further, just focus on
delivering what was presented in the Kickstarter video.

~~~
mnicole
This is something that bothers me about Kickstarters that raise more than they
wanted; they think that it means they'll have the funding to continue to
ideate and act on it. Considering the string of blog posts about money
disappearing from these projects after all of the payments and fees regarding
the service, wages, health insurance and R&D itself are said and done, it's
concerning.

~~~
nooneelse
I've friends doing prep-work on a Kickstarter project, and they are thinking
along the lines of any stretch goals being more in the direction of concrete
business expansion steps. Such as funding specific trade-show entries and ad
buys. To me, I think that seeing that on a Kickstarter page would sound more
reassuring. Like the inventors are thinking realistically about the future.
But I might be bit biased, so I (and I'm sure they) would welcome thoughts
from someone else that is dubious of the usual stretch goals.

~~~
mnicole
Yeah, I think Penny Arcade has the right idea by letting people know that
after the initial goal is met, there are hidden and pre-discovered goals that
they are sure they can attain with that extra funding. That foresight is
important, so long as they have the experience to know it is plausible.

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cooldeal
Looks like they're doing a 70/30 deal on the games, but if the device is not
locked to the App store, the games can simply bypass them and save the 30%.

They call it open, so I am guessing that they're not going to lock it down,
but that can affect their revenue.

~~~
wmf
Many Android phones allow sideloading, yet virtually all apps are in the
store(s) because they need the exposure.

