A quick about for this On the Bus thing: Quite simply, I have stuff on my mind, want to write more often, and the evening bus ride offers time for that. It will be a random release schedule.
Right now (or maybe it's over by now) there's an Ouya AMA over at reddit - which I don't make time to use. I've nothing against reddit, it's just not something I've adopted, or really plan to. I'm indifferent. However, there's been a lot going through my mind on the Ouya, especially since it was launched on March 27, but only 50% of early backers have had their consoles shipped. I'm in the other half - still waiting and trying to be patient.
The key word there is trying. I'm a dev. I understand that stuff happens, and we developers walk a razor-edged life between what we can do in time, what the players expect, and what we dream. I understand the idea behind shipping basic consoles first because it's the most efficient path to getting consoles out. I understand the other side of this as well. I myself called the idea lame from a personal perspective. I was elated when they switched that up. I'm still bummed that I don't have the console yet.
I also am a little relieved though. The longer my Ouya takes to ship, the better it will be, it seems. There was feedback about sticking buttons and analog sticks, which was apparently caused by excess glue in the manufacturing process. It has been fixed. There were issues with the controller battery panels popping off during shipping. Fixed. The longer my Ouya takes, the better it will be.
What about those that already got their sticky controllers, though? What if the Ouya I get has some critical flaw yet unseen? I have to buy the release version of the console, despite pledging the full price of the console because I believed in it? Is that fair? I know Kickstarter specifically states that pledging is just that - giving money with the promise of some reward that may never come - but it irks me that those of us who helped start the revolution (for that is truly what Ouya was promising) are the worst off. We will find the flaws with the system so it can be tweaked before the full release because that is the real reward we earned from backing it. We pledged for the console, the revolution, but we were rewarded with the opportunity to beta test the system.
It just doesn't seem right.
So as much as I want my Ouya, to play with it (both in player and developer terms), and really see how the controller feels, how the system behaves so I can better design for it, I'm also hoping I get one of the last betas rolled off the production line. I want the finished product, but I want it a month ago - when I was more excited than fearful.
Viva la revolution.
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