Remember that gaming platform/ mini-console that went by the name Ouya? Chances are, you may have forgotten about it since the hype over the product faded shortly after launch. However, it appears that it might get a new lease on life after the company received a $10 million investment from Chinese retail giant, Alibaba.
According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, both companies are working together to bring Ouya's over 1,000 video games to Alibaba's set-top boxes. This is a big deal for Ouya because the company failed to deliver on its promises. It also failed due to the launch of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and probably because folks have no interest in playing mobile games on the big screen.
Whatever the case, Ouya must now grab on to this newfound lease on life, because the window to escape the dreaded shackles won't be open for long. We suspect Ouya might find success in Asia since that is where Alibaba is at its strongest, and we all know the Asians are in love with mobile games.
The Ouya platform kicked things off back in 2012 after becoming the first company to successfully earn $1 million on Kickstarter. Backers supported the company because the idea was good, and also because it could give Android the chance to breakout in the video game industry in a big way.
However, terrible execution and a lack of content pushed the company into the dirt, along with badly designed hardware. It is safe to say Ouya's journey in the United States is over, and thus the company must try its best to save itself by making a big push into China.
At the moment, the Chinese economy is booming and set to eclipse that of the United States in a number of years. It means that if Ouya can enter this market successfully, it will definitely survive and may very well become a billion dollar business in the next 5 years.
Until then, we urge Ouya to work on its content and delivery system, because that is one of the main things holding back the platform from reaching new heights.
