Ouya games console follows Kickstarter funding with $15m VC round
Ouya games console follows Kickstarter funding with $15m VC round
Ouya made the games industry sit up when it raised $8.6m on Kickstarter in 2012 to make and launch an Android-based games console. Now the company is turning to a more-traditional source for more funding: venture capitalists.Ouya has raised $15m of new funding from VC firms including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Mayfield Fund, Shasta Ventures and Occam Partners, as well as chipmaker Nvidia.The company says it plans to use the funding to meet "increased demand" for the retail launch of its console on 25 June in the US, Canada and UK, while also supporting the more-than 12k developers who have registered to make games for the device.Ouya has a new board member with a heavyweight reputation within the games industry: Kleiner Perkins partner Bing Gordon, once of Electronic Arts and with more recent investment experience with games companies including Zynga and ngmoco."Ouya's open source platform creates a new world of opportunity for established and emerging independent game creators and gamers alike," said Gordon in a statement as the funding round was announced."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 has been a topic of hot debate within the games industry since its successful Kickstarter campaign, cheered on by prominent independent developers for its potential to disrupt Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, but scrutinised by sceptics unconvinced by the console specifications and its maker's chances of building a sustainable business.The company is pushing back against the latter, with chief executive Julie Uhrmann saying "we want Ouya to be here for a long time to come" after securing the new funding round.Ouya is expected to cost £99.99 in the UK when it launches through retailers, with additional controllers costing £39.99. Every game available through its digital store will be free to try, with developers making money from player payments to unlock the full games or buy virtual items.Raising $15m from VC firms is certainly a turnaround for Ouya, which failed to attract investor interest before launching its Kickstarter campaign. "VCs are still somewhat skittish when they come to hardware companies," Uhrmann told The Guardian in July 2012. "They wanted to see more traction."More than 63k Kickstarter backers; distribution deals with Amazon, Best Buy, Game, GameStop and Target; and on-time shipment of consoles to early backers later, it seems some VCs have now seen the traction they were looking for.Where they see Ouya's eventual exit is another question. While the company is currently focused on its standalone console, Uhrmann hinted in another interview with The Guardian that its long-term future may be embedding its technology in televisions."We always believed that the console would die away and become a chipset on the television. But you still need a great, responsive controller and a gaming ecosystem with great developers and great games," she said at the time.