Ouya
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
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Sections to complete：02 · 05
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
OUYA was an Android-based micro-game console founded in 2012 by Julie Uhrman. It launched with one of Kickstarter's biggest early campaigns, raising $8.6 million in 2012, and shipped the $99 console to backers in March 2013 and the public that June. It also ran the Free the Games Fund, matching crowdfunding pledges for developers who launched exclusively on OUYA, and took a $10 million investment from Alibaba in January 2015.
02 / FAILURE REASONS
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03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded and crowdfunded
Julie Uhrman founded OUYA; its Kickstarter campaign raised $8.6 million, one of the platform's biggest early hits.
- Console launch
The $99 OUYA console shipped to Kickstarter backers in March 2013 and went on sale publicly in June; reviews criticized the controller's build quality, game library and UI.
- Acquired by Razer
In April 2015 OUYA was revealed to be shopping for a buyer after failing to renegotiate venture debt. On July 27, 2015, Razer acquired OUYA's software assets, content library and technical team in an all-cash deal (the hardware was discontinued); CEO Julie Uhrman stepped down the same day.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN / AFTERMATH
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