This from their Kick Stater page:
" Let’s make the games less expensive to make, and less expensive to buy. With all our technological advancements, shouldn't costs be going down? Gaming could be cheaper!
We're handing the reins over to the developer with only one condition: at least some gameplay has to be free. We borrowed the free-to-play model from games like League of Legends, Team Fortress 2, Triple Town, and many others. Developers can offer a free demo with a full-game upgrade, in-game items or powers, or ask you to subscribe."
Which leaves me with very mixed feelings.
I like the idea of a lower barrier to development. But....
I hate Free to play because (duh duh DUH) it's not freakin free! I don't like adverts and I don't like having to choose between grinding or buying stuff from an in item shop. I'd much rather pay £40 for a complete video game, or better still waiting for a sale. Free to Play can actually have the potential to cost MORE then a retail game over it's life time (ask those parents with Smurf addicted kids). So this revolution isn't for me.
But that second paragraph about devs only having to offer SOME content for free.... like a demo for instance? Hardly a revolutionary concept.
I am genuinely amazed at the level of support this is getting. I really thought it would only appeal to Home Brew devs so good for Ouya. But I would be even more amazed if this turns out to be a product that offers the kind of games I want to play. The reason I like Nintendo games is because of the quality of the experience, which I am happy to pay for.
For me the bottom line is this: I have an Android phone and I NEVER game on it because there is so much dross on Google Play.
I can't see it being more appealing on a big screen. I concede that Android as a platform is going to keep developing and improving but it has a long way to go before it can compete with the content on the App store, let alone what I can play on a current home console.
So yeah, I'm not pledging but good luck to them.