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OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman leaves the company she co-founded
Julie Uhrman, CEO of OUYA, has announced that she'll be leaving the Android gaming company that she co-founded. The executive took to Twitter to make the statement, spending the better part of an hour thanking employees, developers and backers. Her tweets also confirm the long-rumored purchase of the company by gaming PC specialist Razer that, until now, had only been hinted at by third parties. The firm was one of the biggest early hits on Kickstarter, but when the micro-console was released to backers in July 2013, received plenty of criticism. Critics and users both attacked the build quality of the controller, game library and UI, and attempts to remedy the issue proved unsuccessful. Razer still hasn't spoken about what it plans to do with the hardware, but its plans will now be run without the input of the console's guiding light.
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.
B-OUYA! Guess who just got a $10 million investment from Alibaba?
Are we tired of making puns based around the silly name for the Kickstarter-funded, Android-powered, miniature game console, OUYA? No, friends. No we are not. Clearly. That aside, there's a whole nation of people who are just now hearing of OUYA for the first time: China. That's because Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba reportedly dropped $10 million into OUYA's coffers within the last month, according to The Wall Street Journal -- an investment in trade for bringing OUYA's platform to Alibaba's set-top box. That's quite an investment considering OUYA's poor-to-tepid response in the United States: "The system is rough around the edges in many ways, quite literally when regarding the controller, but the interface and menus also could use work," is what we wrote in our review from 2013. Much of those early edges were eventually smoothed, and OUYA branched out as a software platform known as "OUYA Everywhere." Xiaomi added OUYA everywhere to its set-top boxes last year, and now apparently Alibaba is looking to do something similar.
OUYA Everywhere is bringing the Android game platform to other devices
OUYA has plans to level up in the near future, and it has nothing to do with a new console. In fact, it has nothing to do with any console at all, as the startup has confirmed to Engadget that its software/platform will soon extend to other devices, including set-top boxes and smart TVs. As you'd expect, the firm's keeping most details about the "Everywhere" initiative a secret at this point, but OUYA's slated to announce its first deal with a hardware manufacturer within the next two weeks. This development doesn't mean one of Kickstarter's biggest success stories is about to get out of the hardware business, though, as a rep told us "...there will always be OUYA hardware." The firm will push through with the annual refresh cycle it promised, though he couldn't share details about the next reference design. If you're crossing your fingers for a mobile release, though, we're sorry to say that won't be happening. At this point, we're told the Everywhere project has nothing to do with mobile, since "Julie [Uhrman] believes strongly that the most immersive way to game is with controller and screen."
Ouya will begin shipping with a redesigned controller, but you won't know until you open the box
Anyone who's picked up an Ouya, or demoed one in-store, knows that the controller, with its sticky buttons and flimsy removable plates, could do with a lot of help. Company founder Julie Uhrman's aware of the issue and, in an interview with Polygon, she revealed that a new version of the Ouya controller is already on the production line. Taking the abundant consumer feedback into account, the company's phased out the old model and made some key fixes, including more secure triggers, improved thumbstick grips and buttons that (hopefully) don't get stuck in the controller's base. Whether or not you'll actually find one at retail is a bit of a crapshoot, however, as Uhrman said the packaging won't highlight the change. Uhrman also touched upon news of the Ouya 2, the release of which falls in line with previous reports of an annual update cycle. Specs for that next console haven't been finalized yet and, further, the company won't really be focusing on it until sometime in 2014. But when it does arrive next year, you can expect to see it receive an slight cosmetic update from designer Yves Behar.
Growing Up Geek: Julie Uhrman
Welcome to Growing Up Geek, a feature where we take a look back at our youth, and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have the founder of OUYA, Julie Uhrman! Growing up, I was your typical tomboy. My twin sister and I were incredibly competitive and wanted to do everything the boys did. That meant joining the city's YMCA and playing basketball with 60 boys from kindergarten through the third grade. When we got older, our mother would drop us off in Westwood Village at the Westwood Arcade (now, sadly, closed) to play Galaga, Centipede and Dragon's Lair. Going to the arcade, I now realize, was a big part of my life. I can remember three times I took dates there, well into my 20s, as something fun we could do together. Guess who always won?
OUYA revises Free the Games Fund to lower project goals, reduce exclusivity
It looks like outspoken indie devs are finally getting their wish: OUYA is revising the rules for its "Free the Games" fund. The matching contest (which provides additional funding to Kickstarter campaigns that meet certain goals) has come under fire recently due to OUYA's tepid response to exploitation controversy. One developer, Sophie Houlden of Rose and Time, even pulled her game from console's marketplace, accusing the company of being "incapable of ever correcting their mistakes." Now, it seems, the OUYA is ready to take a stab at doing just that, modifying the contest guidelines to lower pledge requirements, reduce participant exclusivity terms and limit loopholes. Projects applying to the fund now only need to reach a minimum pledge requirement of $10,000 (down from $50,000 previously), and to prevent exploitation of the system, every $10k a project raises must be funded by at least 100 individuals. This is a direct response to criticism of the fund's backing of Gridiron Thunder, which raised $171,009 from only 183 backers (Gridiron Thunder has since withdrawn from the program). Exclusivity requirements are now scalable too, and last for one month for each $10k funded to a maximum of six months. According to OUYA's Julie Uhrman, these changes are designed to protect the original intent of the fund, but suspicious projects will be still be reviewed on a case by case basis. "You need to play by the spirit of the fund as much as the rules. We can't account for every loophole," write Uhrman on the company blog. "So, if we, or our community, feel you are gaming the system, we will review your project (and consult with our developer friends for their advice) and determine whether to fund it or not." OUYA continues to explain the changes in an accompanying video (at the source and after the break), promising that if these changes don't fix the program, that they'll continue to tweak the rules until developers are satisfied.
Indie game devs push back on OUYA's 'Free the Games' fund, some pulling games
OUYA's "Free the Games" fund, which matches funds for any indie game on Kickstarter with at least $50,000 in funding (up to $1 million), is embroiled in backlash from the indie game developers it sought to court. After two Kickstarter projects tied to the initiative were found to be taking advantage of the promotion -- investing their own money or those of friends to receive the matching funds -- OUYA head Julie Uhrman attempted to assuage concerns with a blog post last evening. In it, Uhrman says, "Recently, the intention behind our Free the Games Fund - to provide additional funding to crowd-funded games bound for OUYA, and enable developers to make more of them - seems to have been lost." The post, however, seems to have caused more harm than good. Indie developers took to the comments section to berate Uhrman's response. "This reads like a press release from a console company locked into a foolish policy and using aspirational language to shift the blame, weirdly, onto its critics," Thomas Was Alone developer Mike Bithell wrote in the comments. "You can do better." One dev says she's removing her game from the OUYA marketplace altogether as a result of Uhrman's deflection. "After reading Julie Uhrman's blog post last night it became very apparent to me that the company does not support indie developers who need the support most, and that they are incapable of ever correcting their mistakes," Rose and Time developer Sophie Houlden posted to her blog. "I'm simply no longer comfortable supporting the company." Aside from a single statement on Twitter, Uhrman (nor OUYA) hasn't responded to critics just yet. "No we are not changing the Free The Games Fund. We are sticking with it," she wrote last night with a link to the blog post in question. We'll update this piece should OUYA decide to alter its course.
OUYA founder and CEO Julie Uhrman on the Motorola StarTAC and fitness gadget dependency
Every week, a new and interesting human being tackles our decidedly geeky take on the Proustian Q&A. This is the Engadget Questionnaire. In this freshly transcribed edition of our regular smattering of queries, OUYA founder and CEO Julie Uhrman addresses click reduction and quantifying inactivity. Head on past the break to peruse the full list of responses.
OUYA delaying retail launch to June 25th, altering controller to fix button sticking issue
The OUYA game console is shifting its launch from June 4th to June 25th, the company revealed in a press release this morning. Speaking with our friends at Joystiq, CEO Julie Uhrman explained the decision to push the console's retail launch back as a measure of keeping up with retail demand. "We've had incredibly positive reactions from our retail partners," Uhrman said. The date shift, "will allow us to create more units and, basically, have more units on store shelves." The company also revealed that it's altering the existing controller's button holes to ensure that retail buyers don't run into the same sticking issue that Kickstarter backers have been dealing with. And despite those two pieces of news sounding an awful lot like they're connected (the delay and the controller alteration), Uhrman claims they're not. "We made that change very early so all the units are being produced with those larger button holes," she said. At this point, it's not clear if OUYA will hook up early backers with a new controller upon request (or perhaps just new faceplates), but we've asked for more information.
OUYA promises improved responsiveness, simplified game installs for June retail launch
The OUYA's off to a rough start, with reviewers -- us included -- encountering button sticking and faceplate issues with the controller, and a variety of complaints about the $99 game console's OS software. A variety of backers also received their console in the mail with the controller's removable faceplates already removed, having slipped off during shipment. OUYA's addressing at least some of these concerns by the console's June 4th launch, company CEO Julie Uhrman promises in a letter to backers on OUYA's official site. "Our software is constantly evolving," Uhrman says. As such, OUYA has "a host of features" that it's working on adding to the console ahead of its impending retail launch: "external storage for games, simpler game install process, more metrics for developers, controller support for video players, and more payment options." But first, Uhrman says her team is "focused on optimizing the performance of our software (this mean responsiveness)," directly addressing criticisms of the console's seeming lag between input and on-screen response. As for the controller, OUYA is "considering adding additional magnets" to help with the faceplate issue -- the controller's faceplates are attached via six magnets apiece, currently. It's unclear if the controller will change in any other significant ways ahead of the console's retail availability, but we're hopeful that the button sticking issue is also addressed.
OUYA details launch titles, day-one software update
The OUYA Tegra 3-powered Android game console is having quite a day, but now that it's shipping, CEO Julie Uhrman is informing early recipients of what to expect when they open the packaging. According to an email sent out to Kickstarter backers this evening, their new box will have a software update required as soon as it's plugged in. After the Wii U we hope this isn't a trend (but fear it is) although the Ouya promises to take only seconds or at most minutes to complete. Also detailed are the 104 games already available from the 8,000 registered developers including Beast Boxing Turbo, Stalagflight, and Knightmare Tower, plus entertainment apps like XBMC and Flixster. The games are all free to try out, but a credit/debit card is required upfront. We've already offered our opinion of the shipping hardware after a quick hands-on, although backers are encouraged to contribute their own during the preview period before it officially launches. To that end, the company is planning a Reddit AMA next month and will have its own forums available for feedback soon. Until then, you can get the rest of the info directly at the source link below.
OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman: In Conversation liveblog
The Android-powered OUYA game console is set to ship to its many, many Kickstarter backers later this month, and we've got the company's CEO Julie Uhrman live on-stage from our Expand event this weekend talking about just that. Will we finally find out that the console and its Kickstarter campaign were all just a sneaky ploy by Cobra Commander to destroy the world's children? Doubtful, but you never know! The only way to find out is to tune in -- our livestream's right here -- but we'll also be liveblogging Uhrman's conversation with Engadget EIC Tim Stevens, which you've found. The talk kicks off at 4:45PM ET / 1:45PM PT. March 16, 2013 1:45 PM PDT
OUYA CEO sings the praises of NVIDIA, says OUYA will be 'best Tegra 3 device on the market'
OUYA and NVIDIA have a kind of love thing going on right now. The $99 Android-powered game console designed by Yves Béhar's fuseproject is powered by NVIDIA's Tegra 3 -- this much we already know. What we didn't know is that the folks at OUYA are working directly with a team of folks at NVIDIA on the project, and that NVIDIA is helping the company to max out its Tegra 3 processor for use on a console rather than a mobile (no battery dependency means the little chip can go much further than usual). "The partner that we've worked the most with, that is incredibly supportive of developers, NVIDIA, they have multiple people on their team dedicated to our account," OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman told us in a recent interview. She was responding to a question regarding partnerships the company's forged to make OUYA a reality, such as the aforementioned involvement with Béhar's fuseproject studio. Despite the OUYA running Google's mobile OS, Uhrman said, "We haven't worked very much with Google." As for NVIDIA, however, the American chipmaker is going all in, helping the OUYA to be the, "best Tegra 3 device on the market," according to Uhrman. That praise isn't all one-sided, of course; NVIDIA had praise to heap as well. "We have a dedicated team working with OUYA to ensure that Tegra 3's performance is being maximized. They've been amazing to work with," NVIDIA senior VP of Content and Technology Tony Tamasi told us. "The rich catalog of optimized and differentiated TegraZone games -- along with the work being done with developers -- ensures a flourishing ecosystem is in place and continues to grow." That support is unlikely to end with this year's OUYA. Uhrman said her company's console, unlike the big three console manufacturers, will launch anew annually, following the mobile model. And that model means beefier internals, such as NVIDIA's Tegra 4, announced just over a month ago at CES. In so many words, we very much expect NVIDIA and OUYA's lovefest to continue.
OUYA promises quick game approval process, reviews start by the end of February
OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman's promising a quick, simple approval process for games on her company's upcoming Android-powered game console, the OUYA. She told us in an interview this week: "It's similar to mobile: they'll submit their games, and we'll review for intellectual property infringement, and malware, and excessive pornography. But ultimately it's a quick review and you're in the storefront in one capacity or another." That's not the only mobile model OUYA's following; Urhman already said the OUYA hardware will iterate on an annual basis, similar to the mobile market. Despite the console's impending March launch to Kickstarter supporters, OUYA's yet to begin reviewing games for its storefront. "We literally just opened the ability for developers to upload their games into the store," Uhrman explained. The review process isn't too far off, however -- she's predicting a "middle-to-end of this month" timeframe. "We're building that right now," she said, when asked who's staffing that approvals process. "We are a start-up like any other start-up, it's just-in-time business." The first consumer-ready OUYA consoles are planned for a March launch, with availability at retail to follow in June. The $99 console made a big splash on Kickstarter, eventually raising over $8.5 million when the original goal was a meager $950K.
OUYA following mobile model: 'There will be a new OUYA every year'
There will be a new OUYA next year, and the year after that, unlike the traditional game console model, where new hardware ships in five- to seven-year generational increments. "Our strategy is very much similar to the mobile strategy," OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman told us in an interview this afternoon, following her DICE 2013 speech. "There will be a new OUYA every year. There will be an OUYA 2 and an OUYA 3," she added. One potentially featuring the recently revealed Tegra 4, perhaps, rather than the Tegra 3 powering the first units? It sure sounds like it. "We'll take advantage of faster, better processors, take advantage of prices falling. So if we can get more than 8GB of Flash in our box, we will," she explained. But don't fret, nervous game buyer. Uhrman assured us that "all the games will be backward compatible" going forward. When pushed on how this will work, she said, "The games will be tied to you, the gamer," (like Steam is now) rather than tying your game licenses to the hardware you purchased (like, say, Nintendo's Wii U). The first OUYA, set to launch for Kickstarter backers this March and at retail in June, comes with a quad-core A9 Tegra 3 that's been maxed out to 1.6GHz. Uhrman pointed out that, because of OUYA's home console form factor (which plugs into a wall, rather than relying on a tiny battery), the console will be, "the best Tegra 3 device on the market." It also doesn't hurt that OUYA's working directly with the Tegra 3's manufacturer, NVIDIA. She said that NVIDIA has a group of folks dedicated solely to getting the chip driving the OUYA to run at its highest capacity ever. We'll find out what that means when we get our hands on the console later this year. Should you like to hear more from Julie Uhrman ahead of that launch, she'll be speaking at Engadget's Expand event this March. Grab your tickets right here!
OUYA working with Psychonauts and Words with Friends creators, The Cave also enroute
OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman took to the stage at DICE 2013 today to reveal two new partnerships, one with Psychonauts creator Tim Schafer's studio Double Fine Productions, and the other with Words with Friends creator Paul Bettner. So far, that means both Double Fine's Reds and The Cave are headed to OUYA, while Bettner's Verse studio only announced it was working on two unannounced titles. "I believe we're about to see another disruption even bigger than this last," Bettner said, referring to his previous work in the mobile game space. "Gamers want the App Store in their living room. OUYA will be the first to deliver it," he said. The OUYA arrives in March for Kickstarter backers, and in April for the rest of the world (even later for retail). It's unclear exactly when Schafer and Bettner's games will arrive on the Android-powered console, but we'd expect The Cave to be there sooner than later (it's already available on other platforms). Update: This post originally stated that Tim Schafer created the Monkey Island series, when in fact it was created by Ron Gilbert. While Tim Schafer worked on the Monkey Island series, he is not its creator. Sorry about that, readers (and Ron Gilbert)!
OUYA's Kickstarter funding is complete: over $8.59 million raised, starts shipping in March
It's a wrap! Suffice it to say, it's a been a relatively short, yet astoundingly fruitful -- and initially record-breaking -- funding run for OUYA, the hackable, Android-based gaming console. With just 29 days to work with since being announced, the Yves Behar-designed system has raked in over $8.58 million thanks to just under 63,300 backers on Kickstarter as of its official 1AM ET funding deadline today (You'll find the final tally below). Those who opted for developer editions will be able to start tinkering with their own units around December, while the majority of backers should receive the console as early as March 2013. Missed the Kickstarter bandwagon? Don't fret, because OUYA plans to take pre-orders from the general public over the web soon, expecting those units to arrive at doorsteps near April. The numbers are only part of the picture, of course. If you'll recall, OUYA swiftly acquired a slew of partnerships from companies like OnLive, Square Enix, XBMC, Vevo, and Robotoki -- and as if that wasn't enough, just yesterday Namco Bandai and Plex officially joined the content-providing party as well. What's more, we now know that each console will support up to four of those touchpad-equipped controllers for local multiplayer action. Even with all that, this story is far from over, as Joystiq points out that Julie Uhrman and company "promise" to have more updates before its official launch. Naturally, it still remains to be seen how OUYA's (literally) tiny, Tegra 3-powered footprint will fare against the big three in gaming, but we're cautiously optimistic. So, while the final, mass-produced product is still months away, in the meantime you'll find a recap of all the highlights from OUYA in the nifty saga module below. You can also hit up our friends at Joystiq here for extra insight from the company about its successes so far. Update (1:15AM): Despite the timer hitting zero, it appears that pledges are still being accepted past the 1AM deadline -- better be quick! We'll be sure to update the numbers again as soon pledging is officially halted. Update 2 (7:30AM): It took a bit of time, but OUYA's Kickstarter is officially not accepting any more pledges. The final numbers? 63,416 backers helped to raise a final sum of $8,596,475.
The Engadget Interview: OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman on taking console concept to reality
Oh, the fickle fate of a Kickstarter darling. Initial hopes and dreams culminate into a single video and a few pages of text on a website that can send your brilliant little idea careening down one of two paths. Path one is the lonely one, falling short of your goal and retreating back to the very literal drawing board to find out just why your idea didn't match everyone's ideals. But the other path has its challenges too. Look at the OUYA Android-powered videogame console. The console was announced on a Tuesday, one week ago today, went on to meet its $950,000 funding goal in roughly eight hours and went on to raise millions. While thousands of gamers pledged their funds, the pundits got to pondering the unlikely (early) success, many predicting doom for this little gaming box that still has a long way to go before its promised release next March. With the pressure building, OUYA founder and CEO Julie Uhrman is feeling no doubts. She took some time out of her incredibly busy schedule on the one week anniversary of the Kickstarter launch to refute some of the hate that's been brewing and reassure those who have pledged their $99 that it will ultimately prove to be money well spent.
