OUYA's VP of Product Development is Leaving the Company

By Jane McEntegart
published

The man in charge of hardware at OUYA is waving goodbye.

OUYA's had a pretty wild ride since it launched as a Kickstarter project in July of 2012. Now it looks like one of the company's founding team members wants off the train. TechCrunch reports that Muffi Ghadiali, a man who played an instrumental role in the Kickstarter campaign and getting OUYA to market, has left OUYA. Ghadiali's job at OUYA involved managing all hardware development from concept to mass production as well as managing business relationships with Nvidia, Broadcom, TI and more. OUYA confirmed Ghadiali's departure but didn't offer specifics when it came to the reason for his departure or where he was headed.

OUYA is focusing more on the next phase of the business and product development. -"We've made some recent changes including the departure of Muffi Ghadiali who was invaluable during the launch of OUYA. As is to be expected, OUYA is an ever-changing business, and as we continue to grow our needs shift accordingly."

A TechCrunch source told the site that Ghadiali left of his own accord. His LinkedIn still lists VP of Product Development at OUYA as his current position. Previous employers include Lab126 (Amazon), HP, and Synaptics.

Read more: OUYA vs. GameStick: Android Game Consoles Compared

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Jane McEntegart
4 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Stimpack
    Took that long, huh?
    Reply
  • vmem
    I've been saying this about OUYA from day one and I'll say the same thing about Steam Box (not Steam OS). why should I shell out $100 (or whatever value) for a new console in my life? especially to play games that I can already play on my tablet or PC?we all know people who own both an xbox AND playstation AND a Wii. how did the big-3 do it? exclusive games and exclusive experiences. I know it sucks for the consumer and you guys can down vote me all you want, but you all know you got the Wii originally for the Wii-mote experience, and some of you probably got a PS3 at launch, then went and got the Xbox360 due to all the exclusive titles. Until OUYA gets an exclusive launch title (and it has to have good multiplayer) to push sales, it'll always be marginalized. The reason I hold some hope for Steam OS/Steam Box is because Valve is a huge developer as well. if they really wanted to, they can force us to install steam OS by making all the new Valve content exclusive (I doubt they will, but they CAN)
    Reply
  • protogenic
    vmem, I like your over generalization. Personally I think that the OUYA had nothing new to offer, similarly to your post. It burned out early because nobody wanted to make Android console games (or could) that would have to compete over the top dogs in console gaming, especially now that there are newer and faster consoles out. As we all know, most Android games existed for touch screen gameplay, and that is what made them sell so well; games like Angry Birds and etc. However, OUYA brings nothing into the ballpark and has no enticing factors to lure both devs and consumers. Their decision to have encrypted HDMI was also a killing blow, because now Youtuber's and streamers cannot aid in advertising for the young company, which as we all know, is what launched many games into popularity, eg: Minecraft, DayZ, etc.
    Reply
  • ouroboros
    Eh, I had always viewed it as a streaming box first and a lite-gaming console tossed in for free as a bonus. My problem is that I want a SUPPORTED device for Amazon Prime and nothing I've found regarding Ouya and Prime streaming has shown me that it's directly supported. I have my PVR/HTPC and my Roku, I'm good as it is. I'd be happy to retire my Roku and support Ouya IF they could get Amazon's HD streaming supported
    Reply