Want to buy an Ouya? Probably not. Though the Android-powered micro-console earned US$8.5 million in Kickstarter funding, interest in the device has dwindled to close to nothing. And I’m not in the least bit surprised; there hasn’t been a single Android microconsole that’s taken the market by storm – because what’s good for a phone, might not be the best thing for a set-top box. You may not want to buy a single Ouya, but you might perhaps be interested in buying the entire company. Okay, probably not.
But it is up for sale. According to some leaked e-mails, Ouya is in enough financial hot water that the company is going up for sale to try and pay some debt. That’s after the venture credit it acquired from Triple Point, and the more recent US$10 million cash injection it received from Chinese commerce giant Alibaba.
In a similar deal to the one they’ve inked with Chinese electronics company Xiaomi, Ouya’s library of games will be making their way to Alibaba TV’s and set-top boxes in the future – which may be the only way the company can stay afloat.
“Our focus now is trying to recover as much investor capital as possible,” Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman wrote in the email to investors. “We believe we’ve built something real and valuable. I continue to read the tweets and emails of our fans who play OUYA every day, and our catalog is now over 1,000 apps and 40,000 developers. We have the largest library of Android content for the TV (still more than Amazon) — hells ya!”
Ouno.
How much of a big deal is that library of apps and games? Not a lot. Apparently by mid-2013, 73% of Ouya owners hadn’t paid for a single game, opting instead for the free fare available. Where the Ouya does excel is in the realm of emulation – but that’s not going to make anybody any money, is it?
Last Updated: April 29, 2015
Matthew Holliday
April 29, 2015 at 10:31
ouya is still a thing?
Admiral Chief
April 29, 2015 at 10:44
I’d buy that for a dollar
Skoobaz
April 29, 2015 at 10:46
only one dorrar?
Admiral Chief
April 29, 2015 at 10:52
I’m feeling generous today
Skoobaz
April 29, 2015 at 11:13
Zimbo’s it is then!
Rock789
April 29, 2015 at 10:47
For Ouya? I think you’d get change from that… 😉
Ranting Raptor
April 29, 2015 at 10:48
Wait… This is still going? I’m… I’m surprised….
Pariah
April 29, 2015 at 12:35
But it’s good for mods…
Ranting Raptor
April 29, 2015 at 12:37
Go piss off someone else
Pariah
April 29, 2015 at 12:39
Lol, chill dude, seriously. Not everyone’s evil and bad and hates mods.
Ranting Raptor
April 29, 2015 at 12:47
Ok before I explode are you trying to be friendly with friendly banter or are you intentionally trying to bate me?
I haven’t slept in over a week so my ability to read in to things is pretty much superficial at best right now
Pariah
April 29, 2015 at 12:49
Both comments were just banter. The lack of sleep explains why you took it so harshly though, sorry. I’ll refrain from the banter for now, just let me know when it’s ok to go back to it, ok?
Hope everything’s ok man.
Edit: that’s a LOT of “ok”s. O_O
Ranting Raptor
April 29, 2015 at 12:57
Sorry man. It’s cool. Don’t stress or change your posting habbits coz of me. I’m just a bit miff lately.
All good no harm no foul and all that 🙂
Hammersteyn
April 29, 2015 at 10:54
But can it play Dungeon Keeper?
Capt. Bob of the Blood Ravens
April 29, 2015 at 11:06
It can but due to certain “trade agreements” there will be a small fee. Also, it’ll be F2P with many micro-transactions with the option of future DLC. New and improved DungEAn Keeper. Half the game, triple the wait.
Hammersteyn
April 29, 2015 at 11:27
XD
dawith
April 29, 2015 at 11:19
Yeah…style and gaming does not go hand in hand
Blood Emperor Trevor
April 29, 2015 at 12:17
It’s a gimmick. I dub it the… OUYA-CULUS RIFT