theweirdn8 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 PLEASE NOTE THIS TOPIC IS MEANT FOR FEEDBACK IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONSOLE. WE'RE STILL A LONG WAY FROM A PUBLIC RELEASE Note: We took enough surveys, time to get random gamer and Linux user feedback. What really is this "new console?" The PawByte nextGen Console is made via Linux(Currently testing ArchLinux version), does it's Program Store different than the others and heavily loves Open Source, ANYTHING. PawByte "Flyght" Console Controller Prototype (click to view in 3D) For those interested in more pre-KickStarter events and news you can sign up for our newsletter. The History of PawByte and our Console We've been here for quite some time here at PawByte and we will like you to go through our 'interactive' timeline of past, current and future events. FAQS Q:How long has this Console been in development? A: We have been working on the console and hashing out things since early February 2012. Q: Aren't there enough new consoles out there and sprouting up? Why not join them? A: We are happy to see that many other people are thinking as we are, but the current nextGen projects do not fit our interests or plan for the gaming and entertaiment industry. Q: How can I keep in the loop about everything happening? A: Join our NewsLetter Q: How long has your newsletter been active? A: We signed up for MailChimp on July 4, 2012 and sent our first e-mail out on July 12, 2012 Q: Cool I will like to develop a game/program for this new Linux based console. How can I? A: Great! Please e-mail us at staff@pawbyte.com and we will let you know how you can get your game/program on our system. Prototype Stats Architecture: x86 Ram: 8GB HardDrive: 64GB GPU: GT 520 Output: HDMI 2 USB Ports OS. Custom Version of Arch Linux Planned Stats for system 4-8GB RAM Hopefully 1TB HardDriveDue to Online Game Store, Downloadable Game Media and save files. [*]-DVD Drive(for game discs and DVDs of course) [*]We don't think we can outdo Sony in terms of price and quality for blueray right now... [*]GPU/CPU undetermined yet [*]Flash storage amount undetermined as well. [*]HDMI and AV Output up to 1080p(unless something better comes out on other nextGen consoles) [*]4-6 USB Ports [*]WiFi and Ethernet [*]Wireless support may be through Bluetooth or another method one of our engineers is proposing [*]OS: Custom Version of Arch Linux [*]-$Price undetermined -Of course there are more specs, but we though those will be the most important ones to list here -All of these specs are subject to change, but that is what we've been working towards. For pricing we are considering between $150-$250. Known Press Coverage Thus far Dingoo Scene -March 06, 2013 - Article Obscure Handhelds -March 05, 2013 - Article Open Consoles News - March 01, 2013 - Article Not Enough Shaders - October 25, 2012 - Interview/Article Indie Graph -January 10, 2013 - Article - August 8, 2012- Interview/Article I will update this post more, but until then go to http://nextgen.pawbyte.com for more information about this new console and how you may be part of it. We welcome all kinds of feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James123 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Who is the target consumer? The estimated price of $150-250 puts it in current-gen console price range (PS3/360), which makes it seem too expensive for just playing lightweight casual games yet the graphics card (assuming it's going to be inline with the GT 520 in your prototype) makes it too low-spec to play high-end games. Is this primarily meant to be used as a computer with some light gaming, or as an actual game console? Either way, good luck, sorry if I sound negative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theweirdn8 Posted March 24, 2013 Author Share Posted March 24, 2013 Hello James, Glorious username, I'm tempted to see if your password is password123. :D Now to your question at hand. The current specs are what we have done so far, we are trying to ensure the price tag isn't too high, so if you want to play Crysis4 our 1st generation system will not be the best place for that. This is a console, geared more towards innovation by developers themselves than graphics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiCKX Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 The 1st question is "why?". (SteamBox, Piston, OUYA and possible Apple TV that handles gaming already taking a plunge) 2nd, why a furry/childish approach? Some would say you're the reason why gaming stagnates, contrary to your words of "innovation". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 so it's the same as at least 2 other "cheap" low end crowd sourced consoles being made with no target audience then ? in which case, why ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theweirdn8 Posted March 24, 2013 Author Share Posted March 24, 2013 Thank you guys for your concerns. 1)Those systems are doing great. But they are different from what we're trying to offer. We do not want people to simply port random games over to our system, but create bring great games to the living room. Current consoles are too expensive to develop for and we also see the hardware for the other new systems you mentioned as not in line with our vision of what a current/next gen console should be.We may be wrong, we're all humans. We do not want to retire the disc drive this generation, nor make it difficult for developers to change their pricing options for their game, throw bundles, etc. 2)I hope the word "Paw" isn't seen as fury. PawByte is actually named after my old dog whose name was Paw. Also, the word "innovaton" is indeed a cliche word and I shouldn't had just threw it out there. The plan for our system was to crowd-fund it all along, we're on our way to that part though. Also, the targeted audience is gamers and we want to extend the amount of girl gamers in the process. Words like 'cheap' and 'low end' can be used sparringly. I believe it will be wise to not charge someone more than current-gen consoles for a entirely new manufacturer of systems. Gamers are not all made of cash and thus we want to keep the price as relatively low as possible and make most via software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindovermaster Moderator Posted March 25, 2013 Moderator Share Posted March 25, 2013 Current consoles are too expensive to develop for and we also see the hardware for the other new systems you mentioned as not in line with our vision of what a current/next gen console should be. Why should your system be any easier to code? The Sony Playstation, used Linux as well. I believe it will be wise to not charge someone more than current-gen consoles for a entirely new manufacturer of systems. So, yours will be low cost, but cost the same than the big boys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theweirdn8 Posted March 25, 2013 Author Share Posted March 25, 2013 From what I've read and seen by developers is that the cost and process of getting a game onto the 'big boys' is too much. Also, the plan is not to sell via the same price, but be cheaper than the 'big boys'. As it stands the newest console from the Big 3 costs $300 at minimum, the maximum cost for our system is $50 less than that with the lowest cost being half of the cost. This system is not for everyone, but has room in the market for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLegendOfMart Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 From what I've read and seen by developers is that the cost and process of getting a game onto the 'big boys' is too much. That's about to change with PS4, it allows any developer to self publish their game on the system bypassing a lot of the "red tape" in the submission process thats on the current consoles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Montage Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 We do not want people to simply port random games over to our system Sorry, but if you don't want ports of established titles, then you are killing off a massive percent of your games. but create bring great games to the living room No developer in their right mind is going to develop towards a VERY small user-base - not if they have any commercial awareness. Current consoles are too expensive to develop for There are a wealth of indie titles and developers who would argue against this point. I hope the word "Paw" isn't seen as fury. PawByte is actually named after my old dog whose name was Paw. Very cute and personal. Will be seen as childish. Also, the word "innovaton" is indeed a cliche word and I shouldn't had just threw it out there. Especially as I see nothing new or worthy of note in your website's presentation of the ideas for this console. A low-powered system for indie developers. Have you seen how many exist on Kickstarter? the targeted audience is gamers and we want to extend the amount of girl gamers in the process As a general rule, girl-gamers have demonstrated less financial commitment to the purchase of games. This is not a wealthy audience. I believe it will be wise to not charge someone more than current-gen consoles for a entirely new manufacturer of systems. You don't say. Especially a system with very little going for it right now. Gamers are not all made of cash and thus we want to keep the price as relatively low as possible and make most via software. And so you will need big-name titles from leading developers to shift any kind of numbers to make this model worthwhile. Also, the plan is not to sell via the same price, but be cheaper than the 'big boys'. As it stands the newest console from the Big 3 costs $300 at minimum, the maximum cost for our system is $50 less than that with the lowest cost being half of the cost. For what you are offering, you need to come in WAY under those figures. This system is not for everyone, but has room in the market for it. As demonstrated by...? Sorry, not being negative, but there's dozens of crowd-sourced low-end consoles available. You've not said what makes yours different and yet what makes it worth $50 less than a PS3... What big-name titles and developers have you got lined up? What games and developers have committed to supporting your system? Without these, please just stop - because the audience you are looking at simply have the ability to run games on their home-built HTPC. Really, I'm just encouraging you to take a financial look at the market, involve someone with a bit of business acumen if you aren't confident. Mindovermaster 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theweirdn8 Posted March 26, 2013 Author Share Posted March 26, 2013 Thank you for your feedback it is being taken into consideration in our actions. Also, if someone is already set on using a HTPC well that is fine too. Our plan is not to convert PC Gamers to consoles, but to bring to market a new console focused on indie, open source and good exclusive content. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TruckWEB Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 You're not doing anything new or innovative. Current console or next gen console are going to fullfill the need of hardcore gamers. Then you have the Wii U for everything else and on the low cost, you have OUYA and GameStick that are open to indie dev, ports and can be used as HTPC. - Where those the PawByte fits in? - Who is your target customer? - How did you do your financial planification? - Did you do any kind of marketing research in order to come to the conclusion that a new console is needed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl L. Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Why Arch Linux? I realize that Arch is an excellent base that receives updates more quickly than any other distribution, but it is not designed to be used by the average consumer. Since you will be using a "Custom Version of Arch Linux" I assume that you will be testing all updates on your hardware before they are pushed to your customer base, but you will probably still run into problems with pacman. It was not designed with silent upgrades or installation triggers in mind; it was designed to provide a bare-bones package manager for users who are expected to read the manual, wiki, or release notes to properly configure the packages. While I'm sure that Arch can be beat into a an easy-to-use distribution, I don't know why you would want to considering the alternatives. Testing alone is likely to take a considerable amount of time considering the frequency of Arch updates, not to mention the aforementioned deployment issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Montage Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 but to bring to market a new console focused on indie, open source and good exclusive content Again then, please tell me any developers who have signed up to produce this content. I'm REALLY not trying to be negative, but I see absolutely no evidence of market research beyond "we want to"... Karl L. 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Montage Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/189271/Sony_kills_concept_approval_makes_moves_to_get_indies_onto_PS4.php?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GamasutraNews+%28Gamasutra+News%29 And here's where your indie devs are going to flock. To a system with a proven infrastructure, micropayment solution, large user-base... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theweirdn8 Posted April 1, 2013 Author Share Posted April 1, 2013 Guys, Thanks for the feedback. We understand your concerns. We will update you more as progress is made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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