Ouya gets $5 million, does not wants more money

Update: Ouya has contacted us directly to clarify their position about the original Develop interview which is being discussed this post (it has been updated since). Although the original interview published made it sound like to us that Ouya was looking for additional funding, they are in fact not seeking additional funding.  The confusion had spread to many news articles, and after speaking with Ouya’s communications team, we can now confirm that no additional funding is required at the moment. We have left the original article below, but have changed the title to reflect the most current information.

“Let me be clear, OUYA is not seeking additional funding outside of Kickstarter.  Our priority now is to continue to focus on building a great game console while engaging in our ongoing Kickstarter campaign.” (Julie Uhrman, CEO, Ouya)

Original article:

Nom, nom, nom – that’s the sound of the Ouya games console, or so the Ouya story goes. Kicking off with a request for funds, Ouya’s Kickstarter support actually saw it pick up $2 million worth of funds in a short time, at it was just earlier this morning when we reported that the figure has more than doubled – hitting $5 million plus as at press time. All of this in under a month? It just goes to show that folks are definitely interested in a $99 Android-powered gaming console, no?

Unfortunately, it now seems as though the Ouya team needs even more money. Last Friday, Ouya founder Julie Uhrman mentioned in passing to Develop that “this is a really big undertaking and it’s going to be expensive.” Hence, they are looking for additional funds to attract developers and other partners in order to launch a successful console – something that is not too easy to achieve these days considering the traditional powerhouses of Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony at the moment. Well, hopefully all of that money will be spent wisely, and that top talent will be drawn to the Ouya project.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Gaming
Tags: Kickstarter, Ouya