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By Nelson Schneider - 08/10/13 at 02:40 PM CT
Depending on where you look, you might find that the OUYA Indie console is experiencing incredibly light sales that contrast drastically with its overwhelming Kickstarter support, or it’s selling so well that Amazon has sold out of them. Either way, if you’re a new OUYA owner, whether a Kickstarter backer or a retail purchaser, you have probably found the upstart game platform to be… lacking in many areas. After spending a month futzing around with my OUYA, I have gathered a few pieces of sage advice that I want to share with other frustrated OUYA owners in order to make the Indie console experience as non-horrible as possible.
1. Tip the OUYA onto its side.
Having problems getting your OUYA to connect to your wi-fi? Find that the controller lags to the point of unplayability after just a few minutes? What I initially assumed was a firmware issue, then a controller issue, then a battery issue (it seemed that the OUYA controller would stop lagging for 15 minutes on a fresh-out-of-the-box set of AA batteries) turns out to be a casing issue. Yes, the OUYA’s wi-fi and Bluetooth problems are all caused by an incredibly stupid design flaw: The console’s casing is too thick! Whatever engineer designed the case and approved the use of that shiny, silver plastic really screwed the pooch, as that same shiny, silver plastic does a good job of blocking the wireless signals the console relies on to do… pretty much anything. However, the top of the console, the side with the glowing power button, is made of a thinner, black plastic. Therefore, the laughably simple procedure of tipping the console onto its side, so that the top faces the general direction of the controller(s) and/or wireless router, results in drastically improved connectivity, and thus a drastically improved gameplay experience. Plus, it beats drilling holes in the OUYA’s case in order to provide better signal penetration!
2. Sideload EStrongs’ File Explorer and Task Manager.
Unlike Windows, the still-dominant desktop operating system, Android is an alien, Linux-based monstrosity that doesn’t reveal any of its secrets by default. Many of my issues with the OUYA stemmed from my unfamiliarity with Android, and the OUYA interface doesn’t really invite exploration or learning. What the OUYA is missing is a good file system explorer and running-process manager. Fortunately, the folks at EStrongs have us covered with their excellent (and completely free) ES File Explorer and ES Task Manager apps, which can be sideloaded easily onto the OUYA to allow users to take a closer look at Android’s internal structure. ES File Explorer also adds an enhanced download manager that can supplant the unreliable download manager built into the OUYA’s web browser. These apps work almost flawlessly with the OUYA controller and ES File Explorer manages to beat the pants off of FilePwn, the only file explorer available in the OUYA store.
3. Sideload the Amazon App Store.
Having trouble finding games and apps in the OUYA store that float your boat? Since Google took their ball and went home, thus blocking access to the Google Play store from OUYA consoles, it might seem like the OUYA store is your one and only choice. However, Amazon doesn’t have Google’s compunctions with the OUYA, and its Amazon App Store can be freely sideloaded onto the Indie console. It works reasonably well with the OUYA controller and provides access to thousands more apps and games than the OUYA store. Whether or not these apps and games will play nicely with the OUYA controller is up in the air, but at least the option is there, and it’s always better to have more options. Be careful, though, as the Amazon App Store utilizes 1-Click Ordering, which makes it even easier to accidentally buy apps than on the OUYA store.
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