Remember OUYA? You'd be forgiven if you'd forgotten about the crowdfunded Android console, but allow Razer to jog your memory with news that it's about to pull the plug once and for all. The OUYA game store is about to expire, and with it will go Forge TV and the MadCatz MOJO game stores too.
Google has a presence in almost every aspect of our digital lives, from Internet services to smartphones to digital content distribution to connected homes. But one thing it has not yet fully sunk its teeth into is gaming. Yes, Android has mobile games but, so far, Google has been rather detached from them. Rumors, however, are now starting to flow about a Google gaming platform that will boldly take on the likes of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. But whether it’s game streaming or not, Google will probably need to take these factors into account to avoid producing another Ouya.
The most obvious step in what I believe is Razer's path toward a gaming-centered smartphone is not its first: acquiring Nextbit. With this acquisition, Razer puts itself squarely in position to take a brand new position in the mobile phone universe. Not a position like Sony took with their gaming phone Xperia Play, and not a position like Samsung takes with a single app that links to games they suggest. Razer has the building blocks now to create a phone that's radically unique.
Earlier this year it became apparent that OUYA was going to crash and burn - until Razer acquired their whole company. Upon acquiring the company, Razer (eventually) made clear that they'd be essentially dumping the hardware, but keeping the games. As such, we sort of suspected there'd be a resurgence of the Razer Forge Android TV device, which has had a bit of an odd past, especially over the past several months. That OUYA game collection is back as Razer Cortex for Android TV.
The Android TV device Razer Forge TV has been getting some work done in the games department - so says Razer. They suggest that their purchase of the gaming system/company Ouya has allowed them to begin "doubling-down on Android gaming in the living room." As such, we'll expect that the current disappearance of available stock in the Google Store of this gaming TV bundle is just temporary. Once it returns to general sale, we'll more than likely see an upgraded collection of games available for the entire Android TV universe, as well.
OUYA might have found a bit of salvation in Razer when the latter acquired part of OUYA's operations, but that doesn't mean it has completely escaped controversy. Now hounding both companies, indie developers have voiced out concerns over OUYA seemingly "screwing them out" of promised thousands of dollars under its Free the Games marketing stint. Although not legally obligated to do so, since it didn't buy that part of OUYA's business, Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan wants to do good by these indie devs and is willing to pay what OUYA owes them under slightly revised conditions.
Here's why being acquired by a company like Razer is great: not only will OUYA continue to be made in hardware form, the software will be expanding. According to Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan, Razer has acquired the software assets of OUYA and will start this party off right - by integrating OUYA games and their store into the Razer Forge TV - that's their Android TV device revealed earlier this year at CES 2015. Not only that, but the OUYA gaming console will continue to live on, and maybe even grow!
In a move that'll likely put them in competition direct with the likes of NVIDIA, Razer has acquired Android console-maker OUYA. This tiny machine - the OUYA - was created back before Android TV was a reality, making headway in the "Android console" space before Android was prepared to live in the living room. Over the past couple of years the company hasn't done especially well for itself, falling a bit behind in the market as it fails to summon the explosive response elicited with its original launch.
Ouya's quest for survival might be close to an end, for better or for worse. The once darling of the Android gaming and Kickstarter communities has, for months, been rumored to be looking for potential partners, investors, or, when all else fails, buyers. Although it has been successful to some extent, the story was far from over. Now that chapter might soon be ending, with sources familiar to the matter claiming that gaming device and accessory maker Razer are in talks on how to buy Ouya out of its predicament.
Ouya is in trouble. In a leaked email, CEO Julie Uhrman reportedly told investors and advisors that the company is in desperate need of a buyer after failing to restructure their debt. This comes after Ouya successfully secured investments from Alibaba in February to the tune of $10 million, and $15 million in a series A funding round two years ago. On top of that, Ouya earned an unknown amount via venture capital firm TriplePoint Capital. For now, Ouya’s focus is on ‘recovering’ as much capital as they can.
Seems like it's an investment run this week. After the rumored Microsoft investment in Cyanogen, Inc., another startup is getting an infusion of cash from a giant. This time, that startup is former crowdfunding darling OUYA and the giant is Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba. Word on the street is that Alibaba is investing around $10 million in OUYA with the goal of putting OUYA's catalog of Android games inside Alibaba's set-top boxes for the Chinese market.
OUYA is not dead. And to prove that claim, the startup has just announced it's latest update that brings a couple of new features to the console and the OUYA gaming ecosystem as a whole. Taking center stage in this update is a focus on user-made content and mods, opening the door for more replayability in mobile games. Plus, it is finally possible to bundle games in promos and sales, just in time for the holiday countdown. Of course there are also bugfixes here and there plus the traditional new paint job for the user interface.