Ouya delayed to June 25; secures extra $15 million in funding

Opinions on the Ouya declare it everything from the vanguard of a new games industry to a novelty gadget, but we'll need to wait a little longer to see quite how it shakes out. The Android-powered mini-console has been delayed by three weeks, from June 4 to June 25. In cheerier news, the makers have secured an extra $15 million in funding from investors--almost twice the $8.6 million it raised through crowdfunding.

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Opinions on the Ouya declare it everything from the vanguard of a new games industry to a novelty gadget, but we'll need to wait a little longer to see quite how it shakes out. The $100 Android-powered mini-console has been delayed by three weeks, from June 4 to June 25. In cheerier news, the makers have secured an extra $15 million in funding from investors--almost twice the $8.6 million it raised through crowdfunding.

Most of the new investors are venture capital funds, their interest no doubt piqued by the attention and support the Kickstarter campaign raised, but Nvidia also chipped. The GPU manufacturer provides the system's Tegra 3 graphics chip, and doubtless wants the Android-powered games device market to take off, as it's entering the field with the handheld Project Shield.

"Ouya's open source platform creates a new world of opportunity for established and emerging independent game creators and gamers alike," venture capital fund member Bing Gordon said in today's announcement. Gordon served 26 years at EA, and has joined Ouya's board of directors.

"There are some types of games that can only be experienced on a TV, and Ouya is squarely focused on bringing back the living room gaming experience."

Following complaints about stuck controller buttons from people who have already received an Ouya after backing the Kickstarter, the company has also confirmed that's been fixed. The finished production model of controller will have slightly larger holes so buttons won't get jammed, CEO Julie Uhrman told Joystiq. Backers will receive new controllers when it launches.

This delay means the Ouya may not beat the similar-ish Android-y micro-console-y thing GameStick to market, which is due to launch at some point in June at $79. That hardly has the same profile or support, though.

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  • reply
    May 9, 2013 8:00 AM

    Alice O'Connor posted a new article, Ouya delayed to June 25; secures extra $15 million in funding.

    Opinions on the Ouya declare it everything from the vanguard of a new games industry to a novelty gadget, but we'll need to wait a little longer to see quite how it shakes out. The Android-powered mini-console has been delayed by three weeks, from June 4 to June 25. In cheerier news, the makers have secured an extra $15 million in funding from investors--almost twice the $8.6 million it raised through crowdfunding.

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      May 9, 2013 8:35 AM

      [deleted]

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      May 9, 2013 8:39 AM

      So do we get Tegra 4s as a result from both of these announcements?

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        May 9, 2013 9:18 AM

        Not from a ~20 day delay.

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          May 9, 2013 9:30 AM

          I know :( , they really should do this though, it make a massive diff. I am sure they have already cooked them all up and have them boxed.

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            May 9, 2013 9:40 AM

            I'm sure the next revision will be something better but that probably won't happen for a year if at all.

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        May 9, 2013 10:12 AM

        Safe bet that the way they're able to make the $99 price point is because the T3 chip has already hit it's mass production peak. Moving to a newer part would need a price adjustment on the unit. So, I'd expect this console to always be a generation behind to maintain it's pricing.

        But, for the market they're aiming for I'd say that's okay.

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      May 9, 2013 8:54 AM

      unreal.

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      May 9, 2013 9:01 AM

      I got my shipping notification for mine. I'm in for a hell of a ride, I know it.

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      May 9, 2013 9:22 AM

      $15 million. For android phone guts in a crappy plastic casing with the heat vents on the bottom. Good lord.

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        May 9, 2013 10:39 AM

        Heat vents are really on the bottom? Wtf

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        May 9, 2013 3:12 PM

        I doubt the heat vents really matter much in any case. The same guts are in phones and tablets that have none. The only difference is this device will probably run at higher clock speeds more of the time.

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      May 9, 2013 10:01 AM

      Wow, it looks like the Ouya pissed into the breakfast cereal of many Shackers. What did they do to warrant all the pitchforks?

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        May 9, 2013 10:29 AM

        Dont know...they exist, maybe.

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        May 9, 2013 10:36 AM

        [deleted]

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        May 9, 2013 2:12 PM

        I like how 3 negative comments = pitchforks. wow. Just wow.

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        May 9, 2013 4:09 PM

        Made a stupid product

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        May 9, 2013 4:14 PM

        I think it's not the Ouya itself which is bad- it's more people backlashing against the overly enthusiastic people who were ranting about the product.

        The Ouya isn't going to be anything special but the dopey hippies praising it as the second coming of jesus caused the backlash.

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          May 9, 2013 4:26 PM

          I honestly haven't seen that. Most of the supporters, myself included have been pretty realistic about it and the chances that it catches on. Even in this thread most comments are along the lines of "It should be a good XBMC machine for cheapish with more options and a controller". That's not hippy praising, it's just reasonable expectation.

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          May 9, 2013 4:50 PM

          I think you'll play games like Monaco and Castle Crashers on it. There will surely be a lot of schlock made for it, but also some gems. People will also write emulators for old consoles, DOS, and arcade machines. I personally won't be too interested, since I have a solid PC set up for the TV, but I can see it being a nice solution for those that want a Roku-like thing that runs some games.

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      May 9, 2013 10:38 AM

      Opinions on the Ouya declare it everything from the vanguard of a new games industry to a novelty gadget bag of shit

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        May 9, 2013 12:26 PM

        Alice definitely missed a wide spectrum of things it's been declared to be!

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      May 9, 2013 3:11 PM

      Having actually used one of these things, it was pretty terrible and stuff.

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      May 9, 2013 3:39 PM

      For $100, if it handles video well, along with running some decent games and emulators, I'll say it did alright. I'm not expecting direct competition for the 360 and PS3 at this price point.

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