Why the OUYA failed ?

Started by blabla, June 06, 2015, 06:54:39 PM

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blabla

Most gamers and video game websites dismissed the OUYA as a legitimate video game console.
Only Gamespot and GameFaqs are including OUYA games in their database,
despite the huge video game library (+1000 games) and active support from some indie developpers and rookies.
A video game console with a huge video game library and a low price (99$) should be successful, right ?

Unfortunely no.
The OUYA was not a huge success in terms of sales and since 2015,
no more OUYA consoles were produced for retailers and it is currently only available on ouya.tv and on used markets.

So why the OUYA failed ?

Tochiconuclear of Anaitgames wrote a very interesting article about the OUYA here. (in spanish)

He says that while the press is partly responsible for the bad popularity, he thinks project managers are the one to blame because
they cancelled some of their promises. (the free-to-play mandatory policy no longer exists)
However, they did that at a time when most people already mocked the OUYA as some "chinese clones" to the Xbox 360/PS3 and dismissed it.
I, for myself, did mock them at one time, before i became more curious and started developing games for OUYA.

No, the press is the really the one to blame.

Now remember, before buying a console, most people are looking for reviews online before they
decide they should indeed buy it.
And this is where the video game industry was successful to discredit OUYA and their business.
Remember at E3 2013 when someone (probably at E3) called the police on OUYA (they had a small stand outside),
before the police realised they were allowed to stay ?
A shameful attempt by the video game industry to shut up OUYA.

Anyways, back to the reviews.

So when the OUYA was released in late Juin 2013,
video game journalists did not reviewed the retail units but instead, they reviewed early Kickstarter units.

Early Kickstarter units were suffering from broken controllers and they were not updated yet unlike the retail units.
Bugs or weird things like this always happen at launch but they showed no mercy unlike PS4/XONE/WiiU.
They exagerrated the flaws of the console and ignored its price.
As a result, it received fairly negative reception.

From then, it went all the way downhill.
Unlike what people would like to pretent to, they are very influenceable by the media.
If they had taken a look at some reviews online, they would see that most of them have a positive reception.
OUYA had it shares of problems (some kickstarter units were not shipped until later) and the hardware was delayed
but people online either they say they don't need one or they mention the negative reception.

Also, it happens that most OUYA owners are developers, not gamers.
This explain the huge library but also why paid games are not selling that well. (gamers spends more money than devs)

This is my opinion why OUYA failed to take over the market.

If they (OUYA Inc.) ever plan on releasing the OUYA 2, here are my suggestions :

1. Make it Linux-based to allow easy ports and also so people does not dismiss it as an Android "knock-off".
2. Forbid video game journalists from reviewing early units.
3. Be more liberal about the content guideless and break some of the restrictions on nudity, hate speech etc...
4. Take more risks and pay some developers to port their games to the OUYA or even make some exclusives.

If you follow these 4 points, you should be doing great with the OUYA 2. (If you ever plan on releasing it)

As for you guys , feel free to comment on my thoughts.

I almost dare to say that the OUYA is the Dreamcast of this video game generation.

panreyes

Hi Gameblabla,

I'm glad you read my article on AnaitGames (Pablo Navarro, aka PiXeL, aka panreyes). Written by me, but edited and revised by ChicoNuclear ;)

I agree with you in some points, but in the essence I think OUYA failed for not creating a need.

Why would the common gamer buy it?
It won't run Call of duties or Assassin's Creeds, so there's no major interest in it.

It would had worked better as a multimedia device with casual gaming options, like the Google Nexus Player. And still, gamers have no interest in Nexus Player at all.

It was like a Wii U but without Nintendo's franchises: a failure.

For me, it was really interesting. I've played so many indie games that I wouldn't even hear off if it weren't for OUYA.

Still, I'll be publishing explosive Dinosaurs first in OUYA.

Regards!

PS: Did you know that you'll be able to play your Rubby Bird minigame on online multiplayer? xD

blabla

Quote from: PiXeL on June 06, 2015, 11:42:49 PM
Hi Gameblabla,
I'm glad you read my article on AnaitGames (Pablo Navarro, aka PiXeL, aka panreyes). Written by me, but edited and revised by ChicoNuclear ;)
I agree with you in some points, but in the essence I think OUYA failed for not creating a need.

Why would the common gamer buy it?
It won't run Call of duties or Assassin's Creeds, so there's no major interest in it.
...
Yes, this is ultimately what really happened after.
Perhaps i wasn't clear enough but the bad press about the OUYA really hurt it from the start, it was dead on arrival.
If people are not interested in the console because of "broken controllers" then devs won't be interested to make games for it  (like Assasin's Creeds)  either
and so on, you only need one bad thing and spread it through the word of mouth in order to make your life miserable.
The bad press really prevented OUYA from getting any exclusives or even ports.
And like you said, it didn't created a need so people didn't even gave it a chance.
Hopefully Retro VGS will learn from the mistakes of OUYA...

Quote
It was like a Wii U but without Nintendo's franchises: a failure.
Yeah, people only buy Nintendo games on them and when Patcher is telling them the truth,
they are still in denial and are stuck with their own mindsets.
Nintendo is almost a religion for their fans, it's really sad.

Quote
PS: Did you know that you'll be able to play your Rubby Bird minigame on online multiplayer? xD
That is really cool :)
Maybe i'll use your code base and re-publish as "Rubby Bird Online" using my own servers.
Lots of people asked me for an online mode, it's crazy.