Yes, it´s true. The OUYA is now so far in debt that it´s being auctioned off as we speak. And who could have guessed that something like this could have happened a couple of years ago? Because back in 2012 OUYA was able to collect over 8.5 million dollars on Kickstarter. So pretty much no one (including myself) thought that the OUYA would end up in a situation like this.
Besides, when i first heard about the OUYA (which used the cocky slogan “A New Kind of Video Game Console”) around Christmas 2012. I really thought that OUYA was a really cool idea. As it was a cheap and rather strong Android based micro-console (Jelly Bean). And there was so much hype around the OUYA as well, the indie scene praised it and the video game media talked about the console A LOT.
Even big AAA studios and companies such as Square Enix (Namco Bandai had thoughts on doing the same) jumped aboard the OUYA ship (Final Fantasy III was the launch title for the OUYA). And in June 2013 the OUYA was released on the market at the price of $99. So far so good right? Yes, and by the end of 2014 OUYA released it´s 1,000th game.
And the good news just kept on coming in for OUYA, as they received an investment of 10 million dollars from Alibaba back in January this year. So here´s the 1 million dollar question. What went wrong along the way for OUYA? As the console has been praised as a big success story since day 1.
Well, as it all turns out. Nothing of that really matters all that much. Because here´s the harsh reality and truth behind the OUYA. The console (and the company behind it) has such big debts that it´s going to be auctioned away to the highest bidder. This became known when a confidential email from OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman leaked out on the internet (the mail was originally intended for OUYA company advisors and investors).
And the investment bank Mesa Global has been hired to handle the auction process for OUYA. However, there´s no word on the asking price just yet though. I´m also rather curious to find out who would be interested in bidding on the OUYA?
So, what do you guys/girls think? And who will buy OUYA?
OUYA Specifications:
Tegra3 quad-core processor (1.7 GHz Quad-Core ARM Cortex-A9)
1GB RAM
8GB of internal flash storage
HDMI connection to the TV, with support for up to 1080p HD
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth LE 4.0
USB 2.0 (one)
Wireless controller with standard controls (two analog sticks, d-pad, eight action buttons, a system button), a touchpad
Android 4.0
ETHERNET! (Announced by Muffi 7/18)
Source:
Fortune
Robin “V-Act” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround
More by Robin Ek:
Tags: Android, BOXER8, Jelly Bean, Microconsole, OUYA