Ouya to Enter the Competition a Bit Later than Scheduled

For those of you that do not know, Ouya, by OUYA Inc., is the highly anticipated gaming console that is powered by Android. Ouya has raised approximately $8.5 million via Kickstarter, which became Kickstarter’s second highest earning project. The console sells for $99.

The launch of Ouya was originally planned for June 4th. However, its launch date has now been pushed back to June 25th. The delay is not that far off from the product’s original launch date, but it is a delay nevertheless. The company decided to delay the release of the console due to a high demand for the console. In order to meet the increased expectations for the console, they decided to delay the release by three weeks in order to produce more consoles, and to be able to have more units available in stores on its launch day.

Ouya also discovered a slight problem in regards to the design and placement of the buttons on the console’s controllers. The issue was that the buttons could get stuck under the faceplate. Although this was a minor design flaw, it can become a great problem when users get frustrated with the buttons sticking and getting stuck. Nothing is worse than an angry customer that is angry because of a product’s design flaw. The flaw was reported by some Kickstarter backers who received their consoles on March 28th and discovered the sticky buttons when trying the product out. After being notified of this issue, Ouya has implemented quite a simple solution which was to enlarge the button holes. This has already been implemented into production and the corrected controllers will be available for launch day with the consoles. Ouya stated that “If [Kickstarter] backers have a problem with their controller, we will work with them to resolve the issue via customer service.”

In my opinion, Ouya made a smart move in pushing back the launch date in order to put more hours into production so that more units of their product will be available when the consoles are officially released. Hopefully there will be enough units to not create another iPhone5 disaster in not having enough units ready to meet the consumers’ demands. Ouya is also quick to fix and implement the solution to a design flaw to their product, and provides great customer service in offering to work with those that run into problems with their controllers if they received a faulty one.

What do you think about Ouya’s decisions to push back their launch date for this highly anticipated product? What can other companies learn from Ouya when it comes to new products or services in the future? How do you think Ouya will fare in the market for consoles?

Sources
Joystiq – Ouya launch delayed to June 25, controller defect being fixed
Joystiq – Ouya: Joyqstiq takes a closer look
Image taken from: Droid-life.com

7 thoughts on “Ouya to Enter the Competition a Bit Later than Scheduled

  1. This is very good because it is better to delay a product or service in order to make it better. If they release it too early and it is not the best then they will lose a lot of money in the long run. Perfecting the product or service will make it get more money in the long run. It is also making people anticipate it more which will bring publicity to the company. Since Ouya is new and up and coming it will be hard to get into the market dominated by Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. Those systems are already known around the world. They will have to rely on word of mouth marketing in order to get their foot into the market.

    1. I agree with this. A good example of this is the iPhone. iPhones come out with major defects, and take a few months before they work all of the kinks out. It’s good that this company decided to take their time in putting out a quality product, because if Apple wasn’t Apple, they would probably be getting a lot more criticism than they get currently.

  2. I completely agree with sprr1331eanyadiegwu, people will be dissatisfied with a product that is not “perfect.” Ouya is better off pushing the date back in order to make sure that the product is properly functional; being that it is an up and coming company/product. If Ouya is able to fix this product before it is released they have a better chance to have a competitive advantage. This is especially important because their competitors have high ratings and are the biggest companies. If there were to be a problem with this system I feel that it would automatically fail due to the fact that this is a company that is just being introduced. Also, it may give Android a bad name if their platform was not perfected due to physicalities.

  3. I think it is a smart decision to push back the release date. It is much better that they take their time and make sure they meet the needs of the consumers rather than rush into it. Delaying the release date may discourage some people; but overall, I think it is the right decision.

  4. It is a good idea to push the release date back. Since the customers expect their newly purchased gaming console to properly function, it is good idea to delay the launch date rather than having upset customers. I may be wrong but I haven’t heard about any new consoles being launched anytime soon, so it wouldn’t hurt them much either. The people that want to buy it are gonna buy it regardless, because they most likely want to purchase the Ouya.

  5. The decision to delay their product launch to avoid potential problems is imperative for Ouya. A new company entering such a competitive market like the video game industry that has been dominated by Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo for the majority of the past decade must make every effort necessary to ensure the survival of their new product. Consumers can be an impatient bunch, especially when a new product fails to deliver what it has marketed to their customers. I am intrigued to find out how Ouya fairs with their new console because of the current landscape of the industry and the difficulty new competitors have entering this particular market.

  6. This is a great product success story. I’m really happy to hear that it has so much support and that it is so affordable (compared to other gaming consoles). I’d be interested to find out how it compares to other gaming consoles and what it offers that sets it apart from the rest. In terms of its launch date, I believe pushing the date back was a brilliant decision on the company’s part. No company or product wants to get plagued with negative emotions, such as many customers waiting in line for hours and coming home empty handed. Also, the company’s willingness to fix problems as soon as they arise show me that they are truly passionate and dedicated to their work. I can’t wait to hear the reviews!

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