Ouya raises another $15 million, delays console launch to June 25

[Dave LeClair]

Ouya, one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns ever, has landed another $15 million in funding. This time the company took a more traditional route, however, landing its money from world-famous venture capitalist firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Mayfield Fund, according to a report from The Verge. 

To be better prepared for a large retail launch, the company has also decided to delay the release of its console by a few weeks, moving it back to June 25. Julie Uhrman, chief executive for Ouya, said they want to make sure they're able to get enough units to retail quickly, and the extra time will allow that to occur.

Of course, trying to push out a large stock of devices requires money, and that is where the additional funding comes into play. “Our demand is already beyond expectations. That’s a great problem to have, but it leads to a need for cash,” said Uhrman. 

The money from the venture capital firms will not only go towards creating more hardware units, however. It's also going to be poured into the game development community, which is ultimately what is going to decide whether the device is able to make it in the market. A game system without quality titles to play is one that is destined to fail, and strong third-party support is often what pushes a console to the next level.

Bing Gordon, a partner at Kleiner Perkins and now a member of Ouya's board, understands that $15 million might still fall short of the amount required for a successful console launch, but he decided to invest in it because he was so impressed with Uhrman and the Kickstarter campaign. 

The Android-based console will be available at BestBuy, Amazon, GameStop, Game, Target, and on Ouya's own website for $99.99. Additional controllers will also be available with a retail price of $49.99. 

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https://www.techspot.com/news/52531-ouya-raises-another-15-million-delays-console-launch-to-june-25.html

 

[Jad Chaar]

Hopefully they update it with a Tegra 4, 2GB of RAM and some software tweaks before launch. That will help fix the laggy experience first adopters have been experiencing.

 

[Vrmithrax]

Hopefully they update it with a Tegra 4, 2GB of RAM and some software tweaks before launch. That will help fix the laggy experience first adopters have been experiencing.

Well, if they are delaying product launch until June 28, but the release of the Tegra 4 isn't until July, I'd guess that there is less than zero chance of that happening. There is no way they can be ramping up their production to meet their excessive demand with hardware that is not available yet...

Not to worry though. If the Ouya doesn't completely flop, I would imagine you can expect a new Tegra 4 board to be available for it as the first yearly update. Or just wait and grab the next generation. Of course, in a year I'm sure everyone will be complaining that it only has a Tegra 4 and not the Tegra 5 coming soon...

 

[Jad Chaar]

Well, if they are delaying product launch until June 28, but the release of the Tegra 4 isn't until July, I'd guess that there is less than zero chance of that happening. There is no way they can be ramping up their production to meet their excessive demand with hardware that is not available yet...

Not to worry though. If the Ouya doesn't completely flop, I would imagine you can expect a new Tegra 4 board to be available for it as the first yearly update. Or just wait and grab the next generation. Of course, in a year I'm sure everyone will be complaining that it only has a Tegra 4 and not the Tegra 5 coming soon...

Right! I forgot about the release date. I think they should wait till the Tegra 5 comes out. But for a device dedicated solely to gaming, you need 2GB of RAM.

 

[St1ckM4n]

Right! I forgot about the release date. I think they should wait till the Tegra 5 comes out. But for a device dedicated solely to gaming, you need 2GB of RAM.

Probably not. Android uses RAM differently. I am sure there's a cap on the RAM usage possible (like x86 software), but even then there's no single game that uses close to 1GB RAM on Android - the market dictates that it can't.

Add in the fact that the Ouya won't be running random junk in the background as much as a phone and 1GB is plenty.

 

[Jad Chaar]

Probably not. Android uses RAM differently. I am sure there's a cap on the RAM usage possible (like x86 software), but even then there's no single game that uses close to 1GB RAM on Android - the market dictates that it can't.

Add in the fact that the Ouya won't be running random junk in the background as much as a phone and 1GB is plenty.

True. With the latest rumor of 4.3 using OpenGL ES 3.0, we may see more advanced games, and thus they will need more RAM. We have to wait and see.

 

[GeforcerFX]

I doubt there abilities to get a tegra 4 into a $99 package for at least another year maybe two, tegra 3 is cheap and powerful hence why they went with it, but it was pretty pricey at launch back in 2010. If the price goes up there prob gonna lose a lot of customers imo. The consoles is gonna be great for the casual gamer that has tablets or smartphones but wants the same experience on there TV and with a controller who isn't interested on dropping $60 on game (at least without getting to try it first). Then add in the custom games and the emulators that are bound to pop up and the whole package sounds pretty good to me. I want to see how nvidia tweaked the tegra 3 since it wasn't as power restricted being in the ouya. I remember reading some rumors of possibly 2ghz on the quad cores and a boost on the GPU clock as well, but I will have to wait and see in June.

 

[spydercanopus]

Ouya wanted an Xbox? Here kid, happy birthday *belch*

 

[Jad Chaar]

I doubt there abilities to get a tegra 4 into a $99 package for at least another year maybe two, tegra 3 is cheap and powerful hence why they went with it, but it was pretty pricey at launch back in 2010. If the price goes up there prob gonna lose a lot of customers imo. The consoles is gonna be great for the casual gamer that has tablets or smartphones but wants the same experience on there TV and with a controller who isn't interested on dropping $60 on game (at least without getting to try it first). Then add in the custom games and the emulators that are bound to pop up and the whole package sounds pretty good to me. I want to see how nvidia tweaked the tegra 3 since it wasn't as power restricted being in the ouya. I remember reading some rumors of possibly 2ghz on the quad cores and a boost on the GPU clock as well, but I will have to wait and see in June.

Yeah, the selling point of the Ouya is the price tag.

 

[Mister_K]

I have one bother with this company, terrible name for a console to be honest. OJA is what il call it or "oya"

 

[9Nails]

I hear people calling it the "Oo-yah", like hearing someone in Minnesota's reply when you ask them if they like pancakes.

Funny name aside, its got a really low price! Yeah, it won't be a PS4 killer, but how many games would it take to make a $99 investment pay off? I liken it to watching a movie in 4K at the theaters, but being satisfied with the DVD quality for home as well. Same experience, fewer polished pixels, better price. I like that its try before you buy as well. I think that this little console will be a blast to own!