The Ouya is one of the highest funded campaigns on Kickstarter, raising millions of dollars on the crowdfunding platform as a new indie game-driven games console. Even after the Kickstarter, it raised tens of millions of dollars from other investors.
Yet despite the financial success at the start, the Ouya failed miserably. The final nail in the coffin came on June 25, 2019, when Razer (who bought Ouya in 2015) finally pulled the plug on the online store. It’s been a long time coming, but the Ouya was a disaster long before this.
How did the Ouya fail? Was it doomed from the start? And what happened to the people involved with the console? Watch today’s video to find out!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEZpGlmmg9g
#Ouya #Kickstarter
Ouya founder Julie Uhrman tells us her biggest takeaways from crowdfunding her project.
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Video Rating: / 5
Cut content time! I originally had a bit of a diatribe in this video talking about my time owning an Ouya. I pre-ordered one in early 2013 and got it a month after it hit store shelves, because of course. I cut it from the video because it was little more than 10 minutes of unrelated rambling.
But if you’re interested, I talked about the build quality of the console and the controller itself. The controller felt great ergonomically, the shape of it fit into my hands perfectly, and is genuinely one of the best controllers I’ve ever felt. But it was completely ruined by how cheaply it was made. It was made out of low quality plastic and aluminum, and felt like it was going to break apart if you gripped it too tightly. Indeed, it did, as the controller had these removable face plates for the batteries, and they would frequently come off (at least in my case). The buttons were somehow too stuff and gummy simultaneously, and the touchpad was useless. Unlike the one on the PS4 controller, it had no tactile boundaries, so you never knew if you were touching it or not without looking down at it every so often.
The console itself was also cheaply made. It weighed nothing, and there was no metal weight inside it, so the stiff HDMI cable I used actually lifted the console off the shelf and held it up in the air at an angle. Pressing the on button also felt like you were going to shatter it.
The games were boring too, so much so that I have almost nothing to say about them. That’s why I didn’t really talk much about them in the video. There really isn’t anything to say. The “Ouya Exclusive games” just felt like slightly updated mobile games. Nothing special or interesting that didn’t later get ported to other consoles, the PC, or mobile.
I ended up putting the Ouya in a cupboard after just two months, and then sold it online three or four months later for $60.
7:52 holy shit the little crane that could. I loved that game on my phone.
kinda crazy how he ended up deadnaming and missgendering maddy because this video dropped 1 month before she came out lol
The little console that couldn't.
I remember the Ouya being advertised online. I thought it would be a failure. At the time I had a PS3 and later that year I bought a PS4. The Ouya seemed like a really stupid concept at time. Play free/ or pay mobile games with Ouya on your tv. The whole thing was a cheap POS too after reviews came in. At the time I had a Samsung Galaxy S3, smartphones were already very common about 4 yrs prior to the Ouya. I kinda wonder why people even backed the Kickstarter and who could have actually thought it would be any success? Funny thing is people are still trying to sell Ouya's on eBay LoL
Here before 4.82k subs
Just stumbled across your content man – loving the diagnostic approach, nice to have the same bigger picture on this dubious little box 👍
None of this would be the same though, without those righteous opinions on the health of gaming….and why it isn't, really make this content an easy watch, Like and sub – many thanks man 🍻
Ya know what's a good micro console? Nintendo switch.
I really don't get how this managed to gather 8 million dollars in the first place. Were people just that naive back then?
I never heard of this crap til now. Never remember seeing it in stores. No commercials. When did it come out??
4:30
You might slam on publishers but they are the reason things succeed. WIthout them you just have a big pile of games 100 times bigger than you can afford with no real idea what to buy.
And if you want to put a lot of effort into reading reviews and researching you likely wouldn't want to use an Ouya and instead would just get an old gaming pc if you don't have a lot of money. The Nintendo Switch has a lot of marketing muscle and must-have exclusives so it's pretty easy to know what to buy.
3:15
The issue is that every single person today has a phone and likely a tablet as well and most mobile games play better on mobile because that's what they were designed for.
Ouya just wasn't a big enough jump over playing games on tablet to really justify it for people. Compared to something like a PS4 which has a ton of games not on mobile and of a fidelity leagues beyond mobile games.
If you originally bought the Ouya and want to bring it back online again, this dude knows how to do it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZeRkgXogKE
Wait….wtf and why in the hell did they throw a pencil sharper thrown in there….? Did anybody ever use the damn thing?
Imagine Sony naming their console as Triangle Square Circle and Cross. Fuck you Ouya
Julie Uhrman, Elizabeth Holmes, and Billy McFarland should all team up and start a new company
First time I saw it I, all I thought was "who would want that?"
That Ouya lady is weirdly unattractive. Like not ugly, but just really strange looking.
Our controller is the only one with a touch pad…
PS4- controller – The Hell she just said 🙃
Where can i buy this masterpiece?