The Ouya (pronounced "OO-yə"), named OUYA, is a small console based on the Android system, created by Ouya Inc. Julie Uhrman started the project in 2012 and worked with designer Yves Béhar on its design and Muffi Ghadiali, who managed the engineering team. The project was funded through Kickstarter, a crowdfunding website, raising $8.5 million, making it one of Kickstarter's most successful projects.
Units were sent to Kickstarter supporters in March 2013 and became available to the public in June 2013. The Ouya included a store for apps and games made specifically for the Ouya platform, with most being casual games. It supported media apps like Twitch and Kodi right out of the box. The console used a modified version of Android Jelly Bean, and rooting, which allows users to modify the system, was officially encouraged. The hardware could be opened easily with a standard screwdriver, making it simple to modify or add parts.
All Ouya systems could be used as development tools, letting any owner become a developer without paying fees. At first, all games needed a free-to-play element, such as being completely free, having a trial, or offering optional upgrades. This rule was later removed.
Even though the Kickstarter campaign was successful, the Ouya did not sell well. Few game developers supported the platform, and efforts to encourage its use failed, causing financial problems for Ouya Inc. The company eventually stopped operations. Razer Inc. bought the Ouya's software and announced the console would stop in July 2015. Razer continued supporting existing Ouya units until June 2019, when it closed the Ouya store, services, and accounts, making some apps unusable.
History
Ouya was announced on July 3, 2012, as a new home video game console. Julie Uhrman, the chief executive officer of Boxer8, Inc. (a company based in Santa Monica, California), led the project. On August 13, 2012, Boxer8 changed its name to Ouya, Inc. On July 10, 2012, Ouya began a campaign to find out how many people were interested in the console. Boxer8 confirmed that it had a working prototype with software and a user interface in development. The console used an Nvidia Tegra 3 chip and had a price of $99. Early supporters of the Kickstarter campaign could purchase it for $95.
The Kickstarter campaign aimed to raise $950,000 in one month. Within 8 hours, the campaign raised more than $1 million. Funding continued to grow as more models became available at different price levels. According to Kickstarter, Ouya set a record for the most money raised in a single day for any project on the platform. In the first 24 hours, the campaign gained one backer every 5.59 seconds. Ouya was the eighth project in Kickstarter history to raise over $1 million and the fastest to do so. The campaign ended on August 9, 2012, with $8,596,475 raised, which was 904% of the goal. At the time, this made Ouya the fifth-highest fundraising project on Kickstarter.
Ouya units for Kickstarter supporters began shipping on March 28, 2013. On June 25, 2013, the console was sold to the public for $99.
In July 2013, Ouya announced the "Free the Games Fund" to support developers who made games only for its system. Ouya promised to match every dollar raised in a Kickstarter campaign, up to $50,000, if the game was exclusive to Ouya for six months.
In October 2013, Uhrman said the company planned to release an improved version of the Ouya console in 2014. This version would include a better controller, double the storage space, and improved Wi-Fi. On November 23, 2013, a limited edition white Ouya with double the storage and a new controller design was available for pre-order at $129.
By January 1, 2014, the limited edition white Ouya was no longer available for purchase on the official store or from resellers. On January 31, 2014, a new black version of the Ouya with double storage and the updated controller design was released.
In January 2015, Ouya received a $10 million investment from Alibaba, which considered using some of Ouya's technology in its own set-top box.
In April 2015, it was reported that Ouya was trying to sell the company because it could not renegotiate its debt. On July 27, 2015, Razer Inc. announced that it had acquired Ouya's employees and content library. Ouya hardware was no longer produced. Users were encouraged to switch to Razer's Forge microconsole. Ouya's content library was added to the Forge system, and the Ouya brand would continue as a standalone gaming publisher for Android TV and Android-based TV consoles. On the same day, Uhrman left her position as Ouya's CEO.
The technical team and developer relations staff from Ouya joined Razer's software team, which created its own game platform called Forge TV. Forge TV was discontinued in 2016.
On May 21, 2019, Razer announced that online accounts and services for Ouya would stop working on June 25, 2019. Razer said most apps would no longer function because they relied on user accounts. Users might be able to transfer purchases to other platforms like Google Play, if developers and publishers agreed.
Hardware
The Ouya is a small cube that measures 75 millimeters (2.95 inches) on each side. It is designed to connect to a TV using an HDMI cable. The device comes with one wireless controller, but it can also support multiple controllers. Games can be downloaded digitally or manually installed onto the device.
A test version of XBMC uses a software component called libstagefright to support hardware video decoding.
The Ouya controller is a standard gamepad with two analog sticks, a directional pad, four face buttons labeled O, U, Y, and A, and pairs of back bumpers and triggers. It also includes a single-touch touchpad in the center. The controller has magnetic faceplates that cover the two AA batteries, which are placed on each side of the removable plates.
Other controllers, such as those from the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Wii U, can be used with the Ouya, but only for games that are compatible with these devices.
Reception
The Ouya received positive attention at first, raising $3.7 million on Kickstarter in two days. However, some people doubted whether the new company could deliver the product. On July 12, 2012, PC Magazine’s Sascha Segan wrote an article titled "Why Kickstarter's Ouya Looks Like a Scam," criticizing the Ouya and other Kickstarter-funded hardware projects. Unreality Magazine defended the Ouya, explaining that a scam involves illegal deception, and that working with multiple investors is not illegal or a scam—it is normal business practice.
Engadget reviewed the Ouya’s pre-release version in April 2013. They praised its low cost and ease of hacking but noted problems, such as controller buttons getting stuck under the casing and the right analog stick snagging on the casing. They also reported a small delay between the controller and the console and said the controller was "usable, but not very good."
The Verge shared similar concerns about the controller’s quality. They appreciated the console’s openness and potential but criticized its interface and game selection, stating the Ouya was "not a viable gaming platform, a good console, or even a nice TV interface."
Tom’s Hardware described early media reviews of the Ouya as "lukewarm."
Engadget later reviewed the retail version of the Ouya and found improvements compared to the pre-release unit. They noted major upgrades to the gamepad and a cleaner, faster user interface. They concluded that the Android-based device now left them "feeling optimistic" and that the company was "taking customer feedback seriously."
Digital Trends called the final retail console "a device with a lot of potential built with love" and described its design as "sleek and cool-looking." They noted the console’s potential but pointed out that it was not as powerful as many smartphones and would struggle to compete with major console makers.
ExtremeTech found the Ouya had "serious faults," including a poor-quality controller, connectivity issues, and games that performed poorly on the console despite working well on smartphones. They also said there were "not enough worthwhile games" available.
Market analyst NPD Group reported that Ouya sales in its first month were "relatively light," and some outlets noted low game sales on the platform. In April 2014, developer Maddy Thorson said her game TowerFall, the Ouya’s most popular title at the time, sold only 7,000 copies for the console. Overall, the Ouya sold about 200,000 units.
Free the Games Fund
In July 2013, Ouya introduced the "Free the Games Fund," a plan to help fund game developers. Ouya promised to match any Kickstarter campaign if a goal of $50,000 was met, provided the game remained exclusive to Ouya for six months. Concerns arose about the first two games that reached the target. Observers noted that few backers contributed large amounts, many backers had never supported a project before, and some used duplicate names and avatars, including those of celebrities. This led some to believe the projects might have exaggerated their support to get more money from Ouya. One project had a backer whose identity seemed linked to a missing person case.
Ouya denied any issues with the projects and planned to continue funding. In September 2013, funding for one game, Elementary, My Dear Holmes, was paused by Kickstarter. The developers of another funded game, Gridiron Thunder, threatened to sue a commenter on the Kickstarter page and dismissed worries about using NFL branding, which is owned by Electronic Arts. That same month, another project, Dungeons the Eye of Draconus, caused controversy by claiming a relative of one developer had given extra money to qualify for the fund. Ouya removed the project from the fund, and the developers took it off Kickstarter.
Many developers criticized the fund’s rules. Sophie Houlden removed her game, Rose and Time, from the Ouya marketplace in protest. Matt Gilgenbach, who was trying to fund his game Neverending Nightmares through the fund, said, "If other projects misused the Free the Games Fund, people might lose trust in our project… While I support the idea of the fund, it needs changes to prevent abuse." A month later, Sophie shared that she and other developers had discussed concerns with Ouya’s leader, Julie Uhrman, who agreed the fund’s rules were too idealistic. Ouya updated the rules, including a limit on how much each backer could contribute. Rose and Time was later returned to the Ouya marketplace, and Neverending Nightmares became eligible for funding under the new rules.
On September 18, 2013, Ouya revised the fund’s exclusivity rule. Developers could still not release their games on mobile devices, video game consoles, or set-top boxes during the six-month exclusivity period. However, they could now release their games on other computer systems, such as Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, during that time.