Ouya: Seriously Misunderstood?

If you recall my previous post, I discussed the importance of digital distribution and new media in general in terms of bringing back artistic expression - primarily the non-commercialized kind - and opening the door for content creators. Now, I'm not sure if you noticed, but that post was surprisingly scarce on the topic of video games. That must have been surprising. Fortunately, I have every intention of addressing that subject in this post, but it may not be what you would expect.

So, a quick recap is in order. We know that Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo hold all of the power in the console gaming war, to a point where no other company has really even bothered to try breaking down the barriers that this monolithic trifecta has erected in the console manufacturing industry. Why? Well, it's all about money, folks! Let's assume I'm an independent developer, who has just created a really cool game, but I don't really have the financial backing to publish it. So I choose digital distribution, but I would really love to have access to the console gaming market, as my game interfaces better with a controller than with a mouse and keyboard (let's just ignore the existence of PC joysticks, for the moment). But Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo don't like the price tag I want to put on it, and once they've told me what it's worth - not near as much as a big budget AAA game from 2K Games, I would wager - they tell me how much I must give them for each digital copy sold. While anything beyond that is speculation, something tells me it's not a pretty number, due to the amount of disgruntled Indie developers digitally distributing their games through console markets.

Enter the heroic underdog, Ouya. If you haven't heard of it, Ouya is a new company that managed to net over $8.5 million in Kickstarter funding for its self-titled prototype game console. Now, this console has been met with mixed responses thus far, including critics who do not believe there is a market for the Indie-developed games that Ouya claims it will feature. Personally, I love innovation, and this is exactly what I was referring to when I spoke about putting power back into the hands of the content creators; in this situation, the content-creators are the "little guys," the ones who have been bullied into following a tried-and-true method of game design that, while fun and engaging, is bringing true innovation to a stand-still for the sake of hitting the jackpot with each subsequent release. Our creative talent is being snuffed out as we struggle to have the next Call of Duty title ready to launch by the holidays.

Ouya is giving Indie developers the opportunity to bite back by injecting their games into the homes of consumers on a relatively affordable console. Call me an optimist, but I believe the open-source software will help Ouya achieve success in the long run, as well. The best part is, Ouya is attempting to penetrate the console gaming market around the same time that the "Big Three" of video games will be releasing their next generation of consoles. Bold, Ouya. I like boldness, too.

So what do you think? Will this innovative piece of technology pack a punch, or will it fizzle in the face of the indoctrinated masses who just want to play the next Modern Warfare?

How Digital Distribution Can Bring Back Artistic Expression

We’re finally nearing the end of a digital revolution that has been going on for over a decade. I’m sure everyone remembers Napster. Not the one that charges people for music, but the one that created a business model based upon copyright infringement and started handing music over freely. Maybe, if you’re young enough, you don’t. In a nutshell, it was the great divide between content providers and content consumers. People had been used to purchasing compact discs for so long, and, seemingly overnight, they had the entire world’s worth of music at their fingertips. If you give someone something for free, it becomes very difficult for him or her to go back to paying for it. If you want to know more about it, you can check out this Wired article from back in the day.

Still, the music industry made it work. Knock out the peer sharing networks and develop digital distribution platforms (iTunes, Amazon, etc.) for consumers to purchase, at a nominal fee, single songs they actually want off of their favorite artists’ albums instead of dropping $20 for an entire album of garbage so they can have access to one or two songs. This method transferred over to the film industry well enough, though it needed to be tweaked a little bit. Subscription based services such as Netflix and digital distribution platforms such as Zune are working hard at accomplishing the physical-to-digital transition.

But what is happening with video games? Console developers still hold a lot of the power in the game industry, because they developed solid methods for combating piracy. Sure, you can still play pirated games on consoles. You have to modify them to do so, first. Then you can kiss your Xbox Live membership goodbye, because that gamer tag gets banned as soon as you log on. Some people are willing to accept that for the ability to play illegally acquired games, but most have just bitten the bullet and continued to purchase their games, either through retail outlets or through digital distribution platforms like Steam, PlayStation Store, and the Xbox Live Marketplace, so that they can feel the thrill of “pwning” some guy in a different country that they’ll probably never encounter again. But this is “old news.”

Let’s examine what is happening from the standpoint of the content creators, for a moment. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard someone complain about the commercialization of expression through art. With music, the record labels had all of the power and were able to determine whether or not a song should be distributed simply based on whether or not it would sell to the masses. Is that fair? Something that may speak to me on a spiritual or emotional level may mean absolutely nothing to the world majority. Does that mean I should be robbed of that experience simply because that work of art is not a moneymaker?

For decades, the balance of power has been extremely one-sided, and the content creators (authors, musicians, film directors, game developers) have been at the mercy of the people with the resources to distribute that content  (publishers). To be fair, those publishers take a risk every time they decide to invest in content. But, since we’re on the topic of “fair,” it’s also worth mentioning that it never used to be so difficult for content creators to share that content with the world until they were faced with competition that intentionally and maliciously pushed them out of the loop. It’s about time that the content creators stood up for what they believe in instead of bowing down to publishers, right? In the words of the great Howard Beale, “We’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take this anymore!”

I believe this is the real golden opportunity represented by the digital revolution. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll see that it has already been happening. I’m not talking about Bieber becoming a YouTube sensation and being picked up for a recording contract. I’m also not referring to Zynga and their free-to-play social games that aren’t much fun at all without the seriously overpriced micro transactions. I’m talking about bridging the gap between the consumer and content creator. Content creators don’t have to pay outrageous fees anymore, because digital distribution has virtually no overhead. They can produce their own material now, with affordable software and hardware that, while not perfect, gets the job done. Just kick a commission over to the distributor, and the power is back in the hands of the artist, the director, and the game developer.