Tech blogs and sites are talking about OUYA. OUYA is not a gaming console for the Kindle Fire or the Droid Razr but rather for the “old school” screen, the television. My research shows that OUYA is composed of a slick cube shaped console and a controller.
OUYA's application programming interface (API) and its documentation, which are accessible via the OUYA website, show that the API clean and lightweight. The system is written on the Google’s Android OS which is written in Java. The OUYA API consists of six Java classes and it looks like the developers will have to develop interfaces on how they want the OUYA console to interface with their games. It’s a smart approach. The responsibility on how a game should interface with the OUYA is on the developers and not on the OUYA staff.
What does this mean for the gaming companies? The companies like ZYNGA and EA will need to have resources who will code the OUYA functionality for all of their games. The companies would also need to host their games. Can we repeat the words, “CLOUD COMPUTING” (again).
What does the OUYA platform mean for customers? This approach is truly disruptive. This opens up the platform for traditional Java developers like me which in turn means more games will be developed.
What does the OUYA platform mean for the business world? Businesses can now buy services where specific games can be built for their business needs. Game based learning is rapidly evolving into the main stream business. For instance the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is currently exploring games to train the next generation of Air Traffic Controllers. With a platform like OUYA, FAA can develop games a lot less cost since Java developers are not that expensive and publish these games to train new Air Traffic Controllers or even get a high school age person interested in managing air traffic.
Even though the possibilities of OUYA are great, I worry about the security threats with a platform like OUYA. OUYA security access controls are based on its open source Android operating system (OS) and stores like Google Play don’t test the games for malicious code. Unless this policy has recently changed, OUYA may not be adopted by large organizations. If OUYA can provide a secure app store, OUYA’s potential is quite high otherwise it’s to be determined (TBD).
In closing I will know that OUYA is successful when Stuart Scott to say “OUYA” rather than “Boo Yah” on ESPN SportsCenter. Here is also a video I found on the OUYA website.
No comments:
Post a Comment