The Nintendo Wii would like to have a word with you.
The problem I see with an Android based console is that Android games tend to suck. Better games can be developed, true, but that means the existing ecosystem won't be used to boost sales.
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This is wrong. Wii was the worst of the three consoles launched in the 2006-2008 timeframe.
PS3 was the strongest, then XBOX360 and then Wii.
Today Wii has the largest market of the three!!!
WII - 98 million sold
XBOX360 73 million sold
PS3 - 71 million sold
or the totals
1 Nintendo DS (DS) 153.88
2 PlayStation 2 (PS2) 153.68
3 Game Boy (GB) 118.69
4 PlayStation (PS) 104.25
5 Wii (Wii) 98.32
6 Game Boy Advance (GBA) 81.51
7 PlayStation Portable (PSP) 75.55
8 Xbox 360 (X360) 73.02
9 PlayStation 3 (PS3) 71.03
10 Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) 61.91
(All from http://www.vgchartz.com/analysis/platform_totals/ )
It is very hard to judge what makes it. I didn't believe in Wii, but I was wrong.
Well, I very much like the idea of OUYA, if not as the game console then as network attached media player with low power consumption and system open for 3rd party software.
To be honest, I don't think consoles are a good way to play games. You're (probably!) using a computer right now, so why not use it to play games? Computers are universal. They make consoles, tablets and to a lesser extent, smartphones, basically useless.
I personally disagree with you and the article on the cutting edge point. The biggest issue with new consoles is games, if you cannot get developers to target your console, it is bound to fail sooner or later, probably sooner. Cutting edge and custom manufactured hardware will mean much higher development cost and higher unit cost (the three big consoles use custom CPUs and GPUs). The Ouya profits from the fact that it should be fairly easy to get your Android games (and there are some big name titles for Android available, e.g. GTA 3) running on it. And don't forget that the Ouya is the only console that has some support for Freemium pricing models.
All in all, if there's an alternative console that has the chance to succeed, then it's the Ouya.
What the hell is up with that useless editorializing at the end of that news article? Couldn't the author's personal bias have been kept OUT of it altogether?
Lame...