Vikidia currently has 4,626 articles. Improve it!

Join Vikidia: create your account now and improve it!

Ouya

From Vikidia, the encyclopedia for 8 to 13-year-old children that everybody can make better
Jump to navigation Jump to search

The Ouya, stylized as OUYA, is an Android-based microconsole developed by Ouya Inc. Julie Uhrman founded the project in 2012, bringing in designer Yves BĂ©har to collaborate on its design and Muffi Ghadiali as VP of Product Management to put together the engineering team. Development was funded via Kickstarter, raising US$8.5 million, becoming one of the website's highest earning projects in its history.

Units started to ship to Kickstarter backers in March 2013 and were released to the general public in June 2013. It features an exclusive Ouya store for applications and games designed specifically for the Ouya platform, of which the majority are casual games targeted at or used by a mass audience of casual gamers. Out of the box, Ouya supports media apps such as Twitch and the Kodi media center. It runs a modified version of Android Jelly Bean, with rooting being officially encouraged. The console's hardware design allows it to be easily opened up, requiring only a standard screwdriver for easy modding and possible hardware add-ons.

All systems can be used as development kits, allowing any Ouya owner to also be a developer, without the need for licensing fees. All games were initially required to have some kind of free-to-play aspect, whether that be completely free, has a free trial, or has purchasable upgrades, levels, or other in-game items. This requirement was later removed.

Despite the successful Kickstarter campaign, sales were lackluster, causing financial problems for Ouya Inc. and forcing the company to wind down the business. Its software assets were sold to Razer Inc., who announced the discontinuation of the console in July 2015. Razer continued to provide software support for existing Ouya units until June 2019, when it shut down Ouya storefront, services and accounts, making most apps on the console unusable. The Ouya has since been considered a commercial failure.