With firmware update 1.0.561 , OUYA requires me now to accept their Discover Marketplace Terms of Use . The update came midnight and I only wanted to turn off the console, but it forced me to install it (there was no cancel button). So I sat through the process and, after restart, I was greeted with a text window showing the marketplace terms of use (30 pages on my full HD TV). Despite the late time I read through all of it, and was disappointed:
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OUYA may remotely delete applications and games on your OUYA console:
Sometimes we may discover that one of the Games and Apps on the Marketplace violates our agreement with our developers or other legal agreements, laws, regulations or policies. You agree that under those circumstances we have the right to remotely remove those Games and Apps from your device at our sole discretion.
They list "policies" here: OUYA-internal policies they may change suddenly because they decide that the emulator app you're using hinders selling of "real" games.
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You may not use their APIs anymore:
That’s why you agree that you won’t do any of the following things, otherwise we might have to suspend or terminate your Account.
[...]
Access, tamper with, or use non-public areas of the Marketplace, OUYA’s API’s, or the technical delivery systems of OUYA’s providers;
So say goodbye to legal third-party sites that list available OUYA games in a better way than ouya.tv/games.
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Friendly hacks like my image store are not legally possible anymore, since the store HTTP APIs are not documented:
That’s why you agree that you won’t do any of the following things, otherwise we might have to suspend or terminate your Account.
[...]
Attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer any of the software used to provide the Marketplace or Games and Apps;
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Taking technical measures against remote deleting of applications it also not allowed:
Avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, impair, descramble or otherwise circumvent any technological measure implemented by OUYA or any of OUYA’s providers or any other third party (including another user) to protect the Marketplace or Games and Apps;
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OUYA can shut you out of anything if they want to, without informing you:
We reserve the right, but are not obligated, to remove or disable access to any Games and Apps or Your Content, at any time and without notice, including, but not limited to, if we, at our sole discretion, consider any Games and Apps or Your Content to be objectionable or in violation of these Terms or Content & Review Guidelines for Developers
Note the not limited to: They may also decide to disable the games on your OUYA because you sent a tweet they didn't like.
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And of course they can also close your account without warning at their sole discretion:
We may terminate your access to and use of the Marketplace, at our sole discretion, at any time and without notice to you. This includes our suspending your account if you are inactive for twelve months in a row.
They don't tell what happens with bought games then.
I do not accept
I don't want those terms. I didn't have to agree to them when I first used my OUYA, and don't want them now to be able to remotely delete my games and applications.
I clicked "No".
Swiftly I was logged out and saw the OUYA login screen, on which I can only register a new account or login with an existing one.
Entering my password brought me back to the terms of use screen, wanting me to accept the terms.
I am not able to use my OUYA anymore until I accept those terms. I cannot access the games I already downloaded and installed. The OUYA console I paid with my money is useless until I accept that they may delete games that I installed on my console.
I'd be fully ok with not having access to the store itself anymore, but not being able to play already downloaded games?
Is that the "open" and "hacker friendly" console that was promised on kickstarter ?
When we say, “open” we mean it.
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For gamers, we believe that OUYA will be more open than any platform on the market to a broad range of content that is really new and interesting, from the best known names in games to exciting indies that you may be getting to know for the first time.
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For hackers: root it. Go ahead. Your warranty is safe. [...]
I never heard of a Playstation 3 or Xbox game being remotely deleted.
Links
- ouyabrew.com has a Breakdown of the new OUYA Terms of Service
- In October 2014, Nintendo did the same with the Wii U