The Revolution is Dead

The revolution is dead

OUYA was born out of the frustrations of gamers at the end of a console cycle that had grown particularly stale. Now the arrival of a new generation of consoles is imminent, and Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are collectively pushing to diversify their game portfolios by courting the quirky and colourful indie gaming scene.

The original reason for OUYA’s existence has largely evaporated. It has no future as a rebel console, indie champion or alternative to PS4/Xbox One.

Instead

But it does have a future as a console for kids and party gaming. Bar the novelty-feature motion controller, the OUYA has all the ingredients that made the Wii successful: Bright, colourful games you can play with your friends and parents at a cheap price.

As luck would have it, other consoles currently lack this: Local multiplayer games to play together with friends. Emulators on which parents can show their kids the games they grew up playing

Getting There

Fortunately, virtually no one knows the OUYA exists. Mums don’t browse reddit, they don’t read The Verge and they sure as hell don’t read Kotaku. Right now, if they google for OUYA, they will get back a whole bunch of negativity from those sites. OUYA needs to undergo a rebranding exercise. That can come in the form of OUYA 2, or even completely dropping the OUYA name (it’s become that toxic).

There is no need to rush it either. Go back to the lab, get the product right, let Sony and MS slog it out over Christmas. Come back in the new year with a fresh image and clear focus on who your customer is, why they should buy this product

OUYA, please stop trying to compete with global megacorporations for the tiny hardcore gaming market. Don’t be afraid to pivot!