Ouya Devs Reveal Disappointment at Games Sales Figures
The Ouya, thus far, has managed to move units. Using Kickstarter to gain traction, the indie console managed to raise record numbers in funding, which was later bolstered by venture capitalist money. Kickstarter sales combined with sales at retail have allowed the Ouya to do modestly well as a new console.
Of course, one of the draws of a console is its ability to court developers. The Ouya, as an open platform, has attracted plenty of indie developers, both new and veterans to the industry. Edge and Gamasutra have both independently caught up with a few of these developers to see the successes, if any, that they have had with the platform.
The developer most positive about the new console was Matt Thorson, developer of Towerfall, one of the Ouya's most critically and commercially successful games. "We’ve made about 2000 sales so far at $15 each," he stated to Edge."So sales have been surprisingly high for a new game on a new console. The game has definitely proven itself on Ouya, I think there’s enough demand to warrant bringing it to PC.
"Launching on Ouya got me a lot of attention, and the sales have been better than expected."
NimbleBit, developer of mobile adventure game Nimble Quest, also had quite a few positive things to say. "We released it on OUYA simply because we were using Unity and it was pretty much a snap to port it," said NimbleBit's David Marsh. "I would wholeheartedly recommend the OUYA to indie devs that have an existing pipeline to Android and are interested in what the OUYA does. It’s probably not going to be a huge source of income compared to other platforms, but it’s dead easy to submit a game and get it into the store. It’s the only console right now with a truly open store, which makes it interesting and worth supporting if you want to see more open platforms. It’s also a great device to have just to check out all sorts of neat experimental multiplayer games that are already popping up. I think it’s a step in the right direction." Nimble Quest was downloaded 6,508 times with 122 purchases. It made back only $427 in profit.
Other developers had a few less positive things to say. Ryan Wiemeyer, developer of Organ Trail, stated that sales were below expectations: "It's sold about half of what my low-end predictions were. Last I checked we were at 501 purchases from 13,112 downloads. (a 3.8 percent attach rate.) This accounts for about 0.1 percent of our total Organ Trail sales to date (which is over 400,000.) So, I don't even know if it was worth the man hours yet. Then again... Organ Trail was a pain to add controller support to and that was the bulk of the port."
E. McNeill, developer of Bomball, shared similar sentiments: "Bombball is making a little over $30 a day, before Ouya's cut. I kind of knew from the start that I was making a game that would be difficult to sell. Still, I let my expectations get inflated over time, and now I'm a little disappointed with the sales."
It seems that sales on the Ouya were a little bit on the low end for developers. Most were either resigned to the fact that the Ouya was a new console or expressed disappointment. In weighing the pros and cons of the console, such as the console's open platform nature versus its poor hardware, it seems like most of the developers interviewed are at least positive about releasing another title for the indie console.
So, maybe that's why.
godfather666; you're right, that is not a popular comment. It's also a very ignorant and baseless comment that makes no logical sense.
OUYA is a wonderful concept that a lot of people like, but the broader market doesn't appreciate. If they want to move consoles, they need to play where the big boys (e.g. XBL arcade) aren't, and do it better than Amazon who is also in the Android market. As it is, it seems like they were expecting the idea to sell the hardware, and it won't.
They didn't pay for a finished product. It was quite clear that the first units coming out were *not* finished devices and were intended for developers. It's part of the problem with running a Kickstarter campaign, that people think they are buying finished products at a discount price because they are "pre-ordering" and it's a joke, on them, for thinking it.
2. EVERY game must have a free-to-play model of some sort. This gives the feeling of not wanting to pay for games at all. So if a different game gives more fun for the same free, people will just keep game hopping instead of buying one and finishing it.
I could be wrong ofcourse.
By the way, i got the Humble Bundle and it came with Organ Trail. The game is a piss poor port to Android, barely playable. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
The games OUYA plays are the kind you play on a cell phone as for open platform not so sure about that the graphics quality is just not there the controller is pretty cheap.
Lots of products look promising but look what happens after a while take for example the boxee box after a few years support vanished many bugs where never fixed great open media streamer but no longer has flash support due to intel now it is in limbo after being bought out by Samsung.
@godfather666
I think you are absolutely right as well. People who seek alternatives are typically seeking them as a way to save money, not to spend it.
The games OUYA plays are the kind you play on a cell phone as for open platform not so sure about that the graphics quality is just not there the controller is pretty cheap.
Lots of products look promising but look what happens after a while take for example the boxee box after a few years support vanished many bugs where never fixed great open media streamer but no longer has flash support due to intel now it is in limbo after being bought out by Samsung.
Complaint: There no Google Play!; It's been done ourselves. Root, Busybox, Google Play, Permanant Save App
Complaint: Not Enough Space!; It's been done ourselves. Use Links2SD, format and mount USB drive, and create script to remount.
Complaint: Game quality isn't at it's best.; Ouya Store has Tegra 3 Sonic IV I&II. Add Google Play and you have the rest of the Tegra 3 Games, and they work perfect with the controller, Nuff Said.
Complaint: Ouya was released incomplete!; Remember the Xoom & Playbook on release? Of course not, selective amnesia.
Complaint: We're not hitting our target profit!; Such is business, there is no guarantee that someone is going to bite just cause you throw something at them. What was the flaw in planning or design if you focus is just profit?
In short, many people and media are simply on a witch hunt. Hazing the newbie till someone else "small" comes along. Others are doing the best they can to keep an open mind.
godfather666: I agree with teh_chem, it an ignorant and baseless comment.
Cost of XBOX 360 or PS3 Dev kit = $10,000 USD each (20k total)
Cost to update your version on XBOX = $2,500 USD per update
Cost of game submission (as PS3 and XBOX have to approve your game before it can be released) = $1,000
Only operating sytsem of choice for XBOX 360 = Windows Vista and above
OUYA cost of Dev kit = nothing. every console is a kit (I guess you can say 100 bucks for the hardware)
COST to update = 0
COST to submit = 0
O/S to develop = Any, including linux (plus it uses Open GL, which is far more superior than the closed Direct X, go look at Unigine to compare).
OUYA = "Field of dreams". The big 3 are living in the past, along with the RIAA and MPAA. OUYA is ahead of it's time but people expect $500 + $60 game quality, that take years and MILLIONS of dollars to create (and 4 hours to beat). So because the Media and most readers (who have never played it) don't have an open mind, this is what makes news.
I have OUYA. I dont emulate anything adn I think it's great. It's a hundred bucks! They really need to allow USB drives to store my games on though!