Gamesbeat:
From crowdfunding darling to horribly in debt.
Ouya, the company behind the Android-based microconsole of the same name, tripped a debt covenant (which means they violated the terms of a loan agreement) and is now on an auction block, according to Fortune. We do no know what the asking price is, but investment bank Mesa Global will handle the process.
From systems that could keep your beer cool, to oddities trying to get in on the popularity of VHS and laserdisc, you’ve got some very, very weird video game consoles out there.
I had the LaserActive... it was a nice collectors piece but not very practical. Especially when it came to needing recapping. I think i paid all of about $50 for the floor model from an incredible Universe back in the day. I ended up selling it many years later for $300 at the time due to it needing a new laser and the aforementioned recapping.
An honorable mention not on the list would be the VM Labs Nuon. It basically looked like any regular DVD player but it had ports on it for controllers to play specific games. one of which is still exclusive to it with Tempest 3000. It also offered nuon enhanced DVD movies with extra content not accessible by regular players.
Virtual Boy, Sega Nomad, Ouya and the other troubled game systems that nobody bought.
How has this article missed out Sega's Dreamcast and Nintendo's Wii U, two consoles that were actually superb devices in their own right, but were seen as failed due to lacklustre sales at the time of release?
Wonder how long before Stadia appears on the list surprised the Ngage is not on that list
Talk about a blast to the past.......I remember trying the virtual boy at Toy R Us and it was cool but I did feel slightly disoriented afterwards......good article.
The Ouya, a failed Android gaming console from early in this generation, is getting a second lease on life thanks to Internet archivists and some new software.
That's pretty cool they were able to bring it back. It sucks when something online only gets killed.
I got mine when it first launched, however it wasn't good for anything other than retro emulation. I couldn't sell the thing fast enough. Managed to get almost all my money back selling it on eBay.
I guess the Stadia launch is bringing back memories of other failed consoles/services.
Cash money
Hardly a surprise. They were always impossible to get in touch with, and seemed to have no clue how to promote their brand in a positive and encouraging way.
I remember before Ouya came out everyone was super excited about it, then when it actually did come out everyone started to hate it.
It was too damn expensive for what's essentially a stripped Android tailored to your TV. That's worth like $40 because you can get a PS TV for $80.
I think I have a filthy penny on the floor of my car...but that would still be too much for this.