Press "Enter" to skip to content

Category: Game Controversies

Ouya Responds To Kickstarter Controversies

Ouya Console ControllerDuring the controversies over the potential for the two successful Ouya Kickstarters being scams, Ouya has remained mostly silent. Their communications have mostly been a simple congratulatory note toward both Gridiron Thunder and Elementary, My Dear Holmes. People have been pressuring Ouya for more and they have now relented.

In a forum post at the unofficial Ouya Forums, one admin posted the message he was given by Ouya representatives. While this message will not satisfy the demands of those seeking Ouya’s blood, it does put a definitive statement down for Ouya.

Leave a Comment

Elementary, My Dear Holmes Is Legit According To Kickstarter

Elementary, My Dear HolmesEarlier today, we reported on the concerns that the two successful Ouya Kickstarter projects were scams. While there were some rather strikingly large pledges for Gridiron Thunder, we felt the concerns over Elementary, My Dear Holmes were a bit overblown.

Well, we can now confirm that Elementary is legit. At least as far as Kickstarter is concerned. Sam Chandola, the project creator, has been very open about those concerns and had requested an investigation from Kickstarter. In a comment on the Kickstarter, he confirmed that Kickstarter doesn’t feel any real concern over the backers and their pledges.

Leave a Comment

Are The Recent Ouya Kickstarter Successes Scams?

The Ouya $1 Million Free The Games FundThat is the question being asked around the media and on the Kickstarters themselves. You may recall back in July that Ouya announced its “Free The Games Fund”, a matching program for successful Kickstarters in exchange for six months of Ouya exclusivity. Since then, a number of Kickstarters have sprung up to join the program. Two of those projects, Gridiron Thunder and Elementary, My Dear Holmes, have reached their goals of $75,000 and $50,000, respectively, pretty quickly. This has raised some concerns among potential backers and Ouya critics that shady dealing have been going down.

While most of the criticisms have little corroborating evidence, there are some very peculiar events happening. The first major issue is with Gridiron Thunder mostly. It has only 129 backers at this time and total donations of over $78,000. A lot of people wonder where that money came from. When looking at the site Kicktraq for Gridiron Thunder, we see some very large donations in a short period of time. There are two separate days that saw over $10,000 raised, one day with over $5,000 and two more days with over $25,000. Those five days are well above the normal daily donation topping at $700 on a good day and under $300 most days. Those five donations put it at its funding goal and sealing Ouya matching funds.

Leave a Comment

New Ouya Ad Rankles Feathers Of Critics

Screen Capture of Ouya AdA new Ouya ad that appeared the other day has rankled a lot of feathers among those who love to hate on the console. The ad in question, which can be viewed here since it was set to private on the official Ouya channel, features a gamer feeling extreme and exaggerated remorse for paying $60 for the new “Medal of Duty” game. The ad is done in an animation style reminiscent of 90’s cartoon Ren and Stimpy and looks to be something that would air during Adult Swim or ADHD programming.

Personally, I find the presentation of the ad a bit tasteless but the message is clear. How many of us have spent upwards of $60 on a game we didn’t enjoy? It happens to the best of us. Sure these games may come with tons of hype and fan support, but are they truly great games worth $60? With the Ouya, you don’t even have to spend money unless you really like the game after trying it for a while. Of course that message is muddled by the crude nature of the ad. 

Leave a Comment