Muffi-Ghadiali
Latest
Ouya co-founder Muffi Ghadiali departs company
Ouya co-founder Muffi Ghadiali left his position as VP of Product Development, with his departure noted in a company statement as one of a number of "recent changes." Ouya informed TechCrunch that Ghadiali is no longer employed at the company, while a "well-placed source" told the site the decision to leave was his, and not Ouya's. Ghadiali left Amazon for Ouya in 2012, having been part of the Kindle development team. "Ouya is focusing more on the next phase of the business and product development," reads an Ouya statement provided to TechCrunch. "We've made some recent changes including the departure of Muffi Ghadiali who was invaluable during the launch of OUYA. As is to be expected, OUYA is an ever-changing business, and as we continue to grow our needs shift accordingly." After amassing $8.6 million via Kickstarter, Ouya brought its $99 Android microconsole to retail in June 2013. It accumulated first week sales that were "relatively light for a new console" according to the NPD Group, although Ouya CEO Julie Urhman dismissed that data, saying the company sold "every unit available." Meanwhile, game sales or the lack thereof have been a bone of contention for some developers. Nonetheless, Ouya attracted more than 500 games to its marketplace last year, and the company is looking forward to a busy 2014 in turn. Development is set to begin on the Ouya 2, with plans to release the improved microconsole later this year, while a controller redesign is also in the works.
Amazon Kindle alum overseeing Ouya production, hiring
Muffi Ghadiali, an alumni of Amazon's internal Lab126 (the team responsible for developing Amazon's Kindle line of products), has been keeping an eye on every aspect of Ouya's production according to an update to the project's obscenely successful Kickstarter campaign."My job at OUYA is to ensure that we meet the needs of gamers and developers," Ghadiali said in a missive to supporters in the update. He cites the Ouya's inexpensive build design and his own personal experience bringing products to market as reasons that "this can be done."Ghadiali also updated on the device's forthcoming SDK, saying that the company wants it available as quickly as possible, and that it'll be "pretty simple to start, using the existing Android SDK and adding the ability to promote your game, and to charge OUYA customers." In one last note for supporters concerned about wireless connections, Ghadiali added: "And we heard your feedback: yes, yes, we'll add an Ethernet jack. We have a lot of consoles to make, so I wouldn't expect too many more changes to the spec."Ouya's Julie Uhrman concluded the update by saying "Muffi is also hiring some engineers to join our team. So if you know the Android OS well, and want to help us make OUYA, hit us up." No specific contact information was given, though she did say that "you can figure out a way to get in touch with him." Our professional suggestion: carrier pigeons.
