Ouya
On the 10th of July 2012, the Ouya project launched a campaign to gauge interest in its new home video game console. The initial goal was $950,000 with one month to reach it. Within eight hours, the project surpassed $1 million. This speed set a record for the best first-day performance of any project on the website at that time. Backers arrived at a rate of one every 5.59 seconds during the first twenty-four hours. By August 9, the campaign had raised $8,596,475. This total represented 904% of their original goal and made the project the fifth-highest earning in Kickstarter history up to that point.
The device shipped as a cube measuring 75 by 75 by 82 millimeters. It contained an Nvidia Tegra 3 chip running at 1.7 GHz. Memory consisted of 1 GiB DDR3-1600 SDRAM shared between the CPU and GPU. Storage came as 8 GB eMMC flash memory expandable via USB. The console featured HDMI 1.4 output supporting 1080p resolution. A standard screwdriver allowed users to open the unit easily for modding. The included controller used magnetically attached faceplates to enclose two AA batteries. These plates could be removed using fabric pull-tabs found inside the inserts.
In July 2013, Ouya announced the Free the Games Fund to support developers making exclusive games. The fund matched Kickstarter pledges dollar-for-dollar if a minimum of $50,000 was reached. Critics noticed small numbers of backers pledging high values on some projects. Duplicate names and avatars appeared in several campaigns raising suspicion of artificial inflation. One project involved a backer whose identity seemed taken from a missing person case. In September 2013, funding for Elementary My Dear Holmes was suspended by Kickstarter. Developers like Sophie Houlden protested the rules before Ouya modified them to add a dollar-per-backer limit.
Engadget reviewed the pre-release version on the 3rd of April 2013 and reported issues with stuck buttons. They noted the right analog stick snagged on the plating during use. PC Magazine published an op-ed on the 12th of July 2012 titled Why Kickstarters Ouya Looks Like A Scam. Tom Hardware summarized early media reviews as lukewarm despite the initial excitement. Digital Trends called the final retail console sleek but noted deficiencies in performance compared to smartphones. ExtremeTech found serious faults including sub-par controllers and connectivity issues that caused stuttering in games.
Sales remained relatively light according to market analyst NPD Group in the first month. By April 2014, TowerFall had sold only 7,000 copies making it the most popular game at the time. Total sales reached around 200,000 units over the life of the product. In April 2015, reports revealed the company tried to sell itself after failing to renegotiate debt. Razer Inc acquired employees and content library on the 27th of July 2015 while discontinuing hardware production. Online accounts and services were shut down on the 25th of June 2019 rendering many applications unusable for existing owners.
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Common questions
When did the Ouya project launch its Kickstarter campaign?
The Ouya project launched a campaign to gauge interest in its new home video game console on the 10th of July 2012. The initial goal was $950,000 with one month to reach it.
What hardware specifications does the Ouya microconsole contain?
The device shipped as a cube measuring 75 by 75 by 82 millimeters and contained an Nvidia Tegra 3 chip running at 1.7 GHz. Memory consisted of 1 GiB DDR3-1600 SDRAM shared between the CPU and GPU while storage came as 8 GB eMMC flash memory expandable via USB.
How much money did the Ouya Kickstarter raise by August 9?
By August 9, the campaign had raised $8,596,475 which represented 904% of their original goal. This total made the project the fifth-highest earning in Kickstarter history up to that point.
Who acquired the Ouya company employees and content library in 2015?
Razer Inc acquired employees and content library on the 27th of July 2015 while discontinuing hardware production. Online accounts and services were shut down on the 25th of June 2019 rendering many applications unusable for existing owners.
When did critics report issues with the Ouya controller design?
Engadget reviewed the pre-release version on the 3rd of April 2013 and reported issues with stuck buttons. They noted the right analog stick snagged on the plating during use.