Gaming accessory maker Razer has acquired Android game console maker Ouya. Rumors had suggested Ouya was looking for a buyer, and recently we’d heard that Razer was close to reaching a deal to acquire the company.

Now investment bank Mesa Global has confirmed that the deal is done, with the bank acting as and advisor to Ouya during the sale.

razer ouya

Ouya was one of the first companies to launch a video game micro-console running Google Android software. The $100 box was a crowdfunding success story when it was first announced in 2012, but by the time it launched in mid-2013, the hardware was a little dated and the selection of games was limited.

The Ouya team has focused more on software than hardware for the last few years, making its game store and user interface available for third-party game consoles and introducing a subscription-service that lets you play a selection of games for an annual fee.

Ouya black

But the company has been running low on funds while it tries to find a business model that works… and now it has to compete with newer hardware from companies including NVIDIA and Razer.

In fact, Razer launched its own micro-console this year. The Razer Forge TV is a $100 box that runs Android TV software. Connect it to a TV and you can stream media, play Android games, or even stream some PC games over your home network from a gaming computer.

But the Razer Forge TV has received lousy reviews, which could explain why the company’s interested in acquiring a company that has been working to bring Android games to the living room longer than just about anyone else.

thanks Victor C!

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12 replies on “Razer acquires Ouya (Android game system startup)”

      1. Never got to like the controller. And my old xperia play worked just as good tbh. Now I got a shield since a year or so back and that is still a beast, hope nvidia upgrade the portable line next year or so.

    1. It was a nice dream, but it was a pipedream.

      “Android, Controller + Couch Gaming, Indie Dev Support”
      That all sounded good on paper, the reality is this tho:

      You’re not inside the Google Ecosystem on the Ouya, you’re in the Ouya Ecosystem. So right off the bat the “Vast Library of Android Games” isn’t a selling point. You’ve got about “1000 Apps” according to official Ouya Statements, that’s not even all Games. Also a lot of games feel / felt laggy on the Ouya because of the anemic hardware. When it was announced in 2012 Tegra 3 was top of the Line, when it released in mid 2013 tho it was already a bit outdated and it’s pretty much a joke today. It’s basically a 2012 phone without the screen, without access to google play, which needs its games to be ported to use the controller instead of touch controls.

      Also it was announced and released at a time when MS and Sony didn’t play that nicely with Indie Devs and it was a pain to get onto XBox Live or PSN for a lot of Games, with 8th Gen that pretty much changed so it doesn’t even have the “Indie Dev Release Meca” thing going for it anymore.

      With the (re-)Launch of Android TV and Devices like the nVidia Shield Home Console, i’d advise anyone looking for Android Gaming in the Living Room to get a Shield instead of an Ouya nowadays.

      1. no I’d advise anybody to get a ps4 over shield these days , shield has barely any exclusive games which are not ports of old console games from ps2/xbox era , for a little more money you can play games of current gen era. In terms of ouya , It’s 3 x cheaper than shield and basically does everything you would really want as a casual device , if you are serious about games then why would you even consider an android box in the first place? while I like the direction of NVidia and tegrazone , the tegrazone store and lack of new games just goes to show that it would be an investment which you will just sit around on whilst devs decide to make anything decent and exclusive for android which looking at the play store right now I would say it could be a long while.

      2. Nothing wrong with tegra 3. And optimized games should hold up to many android games to this day tbh. Prob with Micro consoles are that SoCs are refreshed every half year and rumors about new hardware are out for the coming 4 years. Hard to create a platform with such a market

    2. I bought the console and have really enjoyed it. I can emulate, use it for media (XBMC/Kodi), and it’s got some pretty interesting games of its own. Being able to select Youtube videos on my computer and have them play easily on the TV through the Youtube app is fun stuff too. With as small and portable as it is, I like to take it to my friends’ houses and to family gatherings, and if I don’t, someone asks where it is haha. It has been a fun little box for me and the people I’ve shared it with.

      If you want the latest and AAA, it might not make a good fit. But if you like older games, some media things, and indie games, maybe it’s something you’d like. Different strokes for different folks.

      Though you can get some pretty interesting games through the Playcast/Gamefly streaming service, which are more AAA.

      It doesn’t come with Google Play, but with a little work, you can get it on there and use what apps are there.

    3. Mine gets used daily, but not for games. Pretty much exclusively for XBMC. For that purpose it’s mostly good, except for occasional codec that isnt supported. I’ve tried using it for streaming Steam games using Moonlight, but found the experience too fiddly and buggy for practical use. The controller also feels ‘plasictky’. So while I feel I’ve got my money’s worth from the OUYA, it’s not from the intended use.

    4. It sounded great initially but, then the company that made it put their prime focus into the ‘ouya store’, most of us backers never wanted another app store in the first place. We really just wanted something that would connect to Google Play and play the games we already had. The ouya would have been perfect for that, sadly, the company decided to develop their own brand new ecosystem to our detriment instead.

    5. I enjoy my OUYA console. I own a PS3, VITA, Xbox One, Wii, 3DS, and an Xbox 360, and out of all my systems, the OUYA is the one I play the most (outside of playing the PS3 only). Emulators leave you spoiled for choice. Not sure why so many people hate against this console. Yes, it has its issues, some of which have disappointed me heavily, but its worth it if you’re an emulation junkie.

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