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Crowdfunded gaming console Ouya will shut down for good on June 25th
Seven years ago, Ouya was going to change the face of gaming. Now it's dead. Razer, the company that bought Ouya back in 2015, announced today that it will be discontinuing support for the gaming console. Owners of Ouya will have until June 25th to continue using the device. After that, Razer will be deactivating user accounts and shutting down all online elements of its service. Gamers will only be able to play games they have downloaded directly to their console.
This day in Engadget history: Ouya is a Kickstarter smash hit
Engadget has been around for 14 years and counting, which means our archives contain a veritable treasure trove of technology history. From notable reviews and news to the more mundane or ridiculous finds from across the internet, there's a lot to explore here. "This Day in Engadget History" will take you on a historical voyage as we look at what made the headlines in years past. Join us, won't you? Six years ago today, we stood on the precipice of an exciting gaming development. The Ouya console smashed through its $950,000 Kickstarter funding goal in under 12 hours. At the time, it was the biggest first day for a project in Kickstarter's history.
Investment bank 'confirms' Razer quietly bought OUYA
One of the problems with keeping the news of a recent engagement a secret is that, sometimes, an investment banker runs off and tells your parents before you can. That's the sticky situation that has met Razer and Ouya, since their recent union has been revealed by the latter's advisors at Mesa Global. The news comes a week after the first rumors that corporate wedding bells were in the air, which was met with a non-denial from the high-end gaming company. There's no word on the specifics of the deal, but like an angry relative, we've sent Facebook messages to representatives of both companies in the hope of getting a picture of the ring. Still, if Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan had any big announcements ready for E3, they probably just got ruined. Bankers, eh?
OUYA confirms further moves into China with Alibaba deal
Is Chinese giant Alibaba investing $10 million into California-based game console maker OUYA? That report remains unconfirmed, but OUYA did confirm this morning that Alibaba is getting the OUYA game library on its YunOS platform. Sorry, the what platform? It's essentially a version of Android that was created by Alibaba, intended to compete with Android in China. So does that mean OUYA is heading to smartphones in China? Not quite.
'Big players' from US and China reportedly interested in OUYA
OUYA's remained relatively quiet over the past few months, aside from making content-focused announcements here and there -- such as OUYA Everywhere and the expansion of it. That said, the gaming startup, once a Kickstarter sensation, could be making a very big splash in the near future. Re/code is now reporting OUYA is in the middle of acquisition talks with "multiple big players" in the US and China, citing sources familiar with the matter. Chinese companies said to have had discussions with OUYA are Xiaomi and Tencent, among others; meanwhile, here Stateside, Amazon and Google reportedly took part in "some engagement" over a possible sale. Interestingly enough, though, Re/code notes that these outfits are primarily interested in the sale to acquire members of OUYA's staff, rather than the business stemming from its tiny game consoles. Only time will tell if anything ends up actually happening -- but as they say, where there's will, there's a way.
Hands-on with the Ouya destined for store shelves
The Ouya journey, according to founder Julie Uhrman, will never have a firm conclusion. But, we'd say having retail units enter production and shipping to mega stores like Game Stop and Best Buy represents at least the culmination of this particular story arc. With only a few weeks to go before the retail launch, the company brought the final console, controller and packaging to E3 for a press tour. The console itself is unchanged from the version that shipped to Kickstarter backers, except that it wont have contributor names etched on the side. The final tweaks heading into production have focused on the controller and the software. Visually the gamepad is exactly the same, but a number of small changes have be made to the various components to address feedback from early adopters and reviewers. The holes around the four face buttons have been widened to prevent them from sticking and, no matter how hard we tried, we could not get the O, U, Y or A to get wedged under the face plate. The right thumb stick also had a tendency to get caught on early versions of the controller, thanks to a small amount of glue that leaked into the area. That issue has supposedly been resolved, and in our time with the production model we had no problems with the analog stick. %Gallery-191293%
OUYA review (founding backer edition)
Most modern gaming consoles are big, heavy and power-thirsty. They dominate the entertainment centers into which they're placed and suck down hundreds of watts of electricity when they're running. They've evolved this way, growing larger and more powerful to deliver better graphics and more comprehensive gameplay experiences. So too have their talents expanded. It's no longer good enough for a gaming console to simply play games: modern systems have to be complete home entertainment devices. Or do they? When the OUYA was announced in July of 2012, its $99 cost was low and its processing power as simple as its premise: a tiny little box designed to be a haven for those who want to play (or develop) good, original games. Many gamers connected with this idea immediately, helping to drive the system to an $8 million run on Kickstarter. Plenty of others didn't, saying this would be just a cheap distraction on which to play mediocre Android games. The truth, as it turns out, lies somewhere in between.%Gallery-184637%
Ouya gaming console raises $2 million on Kickstarter, doesn't know what to do with it
When we first detailed the Ouya $99 Android-based game console yesterday, we had a feeling it would become a hot property over at Kickstarter. But still, there's no way we anticipated this: the project has just raised $2 million in its first day, having sped past its initial $950,000 goal within a record-breaking 12 hours. Now, in an email to backers, the project has asked for feedback on its "stretch goals" -- in other words, what it should do if it makes even more cash and is able to set its sights on loftier ambitions. If you're a backer then check your email, if you're a potential backer then check the source link, and if you're a traditional VC then weep.
OUYA's Android-based, hackable game console now official: we chat with designer Yves Behar (update: funded)
A handful of details briefly slipped out about the project earlier, but now it's here: the OUYA, an attempt not just to delve into the cutthroat world of TV game consoles but to try and shift the goal posts. At its heart, the design sounds more like a smartphone than a gaming rig with a quad-core Tegra 3 and 8GB of storage running Android 4.0. The upscale, RF wireless gamepad's standout is a built-in trackpad for playing mobile games alongside the familiar sticks and buttons -- clever, though not entirely new. But with completely open hardware and software, an emphasis on free-to-play gaming and an all-important $99 price, the system is a gamble by a handful of game industry luminaries that at least a subset of players are frustrated with the status quo enough to want a real break. Read on for the full details, including a Kickstarter project as well as added details from our chat with OUYA (and Jambox) designer Yves Behar.
