Jacob Hall, Editor-in-Chief of TapSauce | BUSINESS | 07.31.2012 @ 1:00 pm
Today in OUYA:
One of the most exciting things about OUYA is the chance for it to become an archive of great games from previous generations. The announcement that Final Fantasy III will be an OUYA launch title is a definitely indication that this is the case. The game was previously remade for the Nintendo DS in 2006, but the new version (which is also available on other Android devices) will feature updated graphics and a modern interface, making one of the most popular games of all time available for a new audience. This is exactly the direction OUYA should take: lure in gamers with remakes of their old favorites but keep them with great new games from brilliant small developers!
Today in Apple:
It’s difficult to imagine the world without the iPhone at this point, but according to Apple design chief Jonathan Ive, the project was almost cancelled multiple times before everything finally came together. As he told the Telegraph:
“We nearly shelved the phone because we thought there were fundamental problems that we can’t solve. With the early prototypes, I held the phone to my ear and my ear [would] dial the number. You have to detect all sorts of ear-shapes and chin shapes, skin color and hairdo … that was one of just many examples where we really thought, perhaps this isn’t going to work.”
Next time you find yourself at your wit’s end while working on a project, just remember that Apple almost gave up on what turned out to be one of the most important, world-changing devices ever created.
Today in “The Death of Cable”:
Hulu Plus is now available on Apple TV, sending another nail straight into the coffin housing traditional cable. There are many reasons why this partnership took so long (Hulu’s reliance on ads, Apple wanting a cut of Hulu’s subscription fees, etc), but it will be worth it: this is the kind of thing that could sell a whole bunch of Apple TVs. With more and more people frustrated by the costs and limitations of cable companies, the Apple TV has never looked more appealing. If the rumors are true and Apple is actually working on a full-blown television, expect to see a major shake-up in how people view television within the next few years.
Today in David VS Goliath:
How’s this for a marketing strategy? Your small company finds itself at the financial mercy of a much bigger conglomerate (like, oh, Facebook) so they make a big stink out of it and find themselves in the spotlight like they’ve never been before! Success? Well, we’ll see what the future holds for the Long Island based startup Limited Run, but their violent tussle with the world’s biggest social network has given them headlines that no traditional marketing scheme could have ever netted. The beef between the two was created when Limited Run realized that 80% of the clicks that came to their page (clicks that they paid Facebook for) where spambots, meaning that the company wasted thousands of dollars on an audience that doesn’t exist. As Facebook tries to further transform itself into a necessary tool for businesses of all kinds and sizes, it’s going to have to clean up its act. This kind of stuff just won’t fly.