The Ouya release date has been pushed back three weeks, from June 4 to June 25, but it might not be all bad news for the Kickstarter-funded console. Early reviews for the Android-powered console have been less than stellar, with first-adopters complaining about lag between the controller and console, an unfinished UI ripped more or less straight out of stock Android 4.1 and a general dearth of Ouya games.
Fortunately, it appears the company listened to the resoundingly negative user feedback. The delayed Ouya release date is the result of a new round of venture funding that raised $15 million dollars on top of the $8.5 million already generated from the Ouya Kickstarter campaign. The company will use the funds to bolster inventory, address design flaws and attract additional interest from game developers.
"We've had incredibly positive reactions from our retail partners, and so in order to meet their greater than expected demand, we decided to shift the launch date by a couple of weeks — three weeks — which will allow us to create more units and, basically, have more units on store shelves in June," Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman told Joystiq.
Uhrman also addressed a defect in the console's controller, in which buttons would become stuck beneath the controller's faceplate while users attempted to play what limited Ouya games were available:
"I don't know what the exact millimeter is, but we've increased the size just a little bit, so now the buttons don't stick under it. We made that change very early so all the units are being produced with those larger button holes."
Bing Gordon, general partner with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byer, which led the latest funding round, will join Ouya's board of directors. Gordon reiterated the console's value proposition in a press release:
"OUYA's open source platform creates a new world of opportunity for established and emerging independent game creators and gamers alike," said Gordon. "There are some types of games that can only be experienced on a TV, and OUYA is squarely focused on bringing back the living room gaming experience. OUYA will allow game developers to unleash their most creative ideas and satisfy gamers craving a new kind of experience."
The Ouya Kickstarter campaign was among the most successful in the history of the crowd-funding site. While the pushed-back Ouya release date will likely be greeted with renewed criticism from the console's backers, it's encouraging that the company is at least aware of the lack of Ouya games currently available and is working to address the issue.
