Ouya Failure: Why developing an $8 million game console in 7 months is a bad idea (pre-Cloud Gaming)

[@SAWS]

What/who should I analyze next?

[@C-Rocks]

Someone in biotech!

[@AlphaPhaseSleep]

Rivian

[@el_puma_real]

You must analyze the Intellivision Amico debacle.

[@surgicalcapscom]

Sunny Balwani

[@milesdevinny5759]

@@el_puma_real Just mentioned this myself! It's not a fiasco that's even ended yet, but the writing is on the wall and there's a lot of video out there of Tommy BS'ing for hours with random KZbinrs, so plenty to draw from to see how he keeps lying to people.

[@catsmews]

Awh man, I remember backing this. By the time it eventually shipped, my phone was already more powerful than it 😅

[@tahustvedt]

Another good video. She seems clueless and should have bounced her points off someone else before taking to the stage. I look forward to your take on the Amico. A lot of similarities. Also, the CEO said big difference between the Amico and the Ouja is that the Amico isn't crowd funded, then ends up using four crowd funding campaigns and still haven't brought out a product.

[@SAWS]

Thanks a lot! Will look into Amico

[@tahustvedt]

@@SAWS It's a doozy.

[@mariusvanc]

This is a very strange approach from Julie, because she founded the company, she's not just a hired gun, so you'd think she had more belief in her product. I think the parallels to Holmes are spot on; both realized they were in over their heads and the product was impossible, but with so much money raised they need to march forward ignoring reality.

[@SAWS]

Yes, quite common with CEO in general even

[@petertan_sg]

The best way to sell this is - bringing android games to the big screen, with traditional console controllers. And for the developers, save on development cost to access the same gaming-on-TV market of Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo. Lastly, showcase product features like 4K support, hdr, dolby atmos, up to 4 controllers, and also features that address weaknesses in competition's products. Then maybe a video clip of a party where people are play a popular game, having fun and hi-5, as well as a solo player on a comfy sofa, that is able to communicate with others and laughing while playing game on his TV while his friend play on mobile.

[@FattigJon]

Nice video, never heard about this before. Sounds like it could have been Steam for the TV, she should have focused on: 1. It is a cheap alternative to ps or Xbox, just buy a cheap controller to a connected tv 2. Build a marketplace (with android) for cheap (indie) games Maybe this was not technically possible during 2012?

[@SAWS]

Yeah I think it was too early but Netflix started eith DVD as well. Launching in 7 months was a bad investment no matter what. They clearly lacked the competency for a real innovation

[@AlicjaChojecka]

great video, I have never heard about this company, I started watching and I was rooting for her!! but the longer I was listening... the more confusing her message was.. and what is she saying about developing games will be easy because of her product... how easy is developing games for android... well not THAT easy...

[@SAWS]

Haha yes she is a special character

[@Ronnie86753]

@@SAWS indeed she is

[@manjsher3094]

The spokeswoman killed this single handedly.

[@giacomotognoni9865]

Super video again, Saws. I subscribed. Really smart. About this lady: As both a gamer and a former game designer I can tell you she has no idea about gaming and probably doesn't even play any of them :-) Just mentioning that the trend is going back to TV shows gigantic ignorance of the market and players. As a marketer, she makes the massive mistake of extrapolating market demand based on her and her sister's opinions. Horrible CEO.

[@xenomorphlover]

She's a woman who wanted to scam a marked dominated and invented by men exclusively....it obvious failed! The thing that still bugs me is how in the world she got people to spend hundreds of dollars for this piece of trash hardware...

[@lesliekupchanko5001]

A big compliment to you Saws. Every time I watch your videos, I get an immediate impression of how passionate you are about what you do....You look like you truly enjoy people and analyzing them. We like you. Note: Her mannerisms remind me of Elizabeth Holmes right from the gecko. Have a great Sunday.

[@SAWS]

Thank you very much!!!! I always need encouragement 😁😁

[@lesliekupchanko5001]

@@SAWS We all need encouragement at times.

[@nineteenfortyeight]

Gecko?

[@uselessDM]

There were two groups of people back then, people who immediately realised this is a terrible idea and people who realised it the second they got their hand on one.

[@milesdevinny5759]

Looking forward to someday when you've got a video on the Intellivision Amico :)

[@SAWS]

Someone else mentioned them, will research them next!

[@DouglasBurton]

I really do love all these cautionary tales. As I move into talking to press more for work, I've been able to keep these examples in mind.

[@SAWS]

🙏🙏🙏

[@eddfasd]

my ears hurt when she speaks

[@corsairronan2606]

What’s the racing game on the top right playing towards the beginning of the video?

[@chrispjr]

Funny. As I was watching this video, this TIL came up on Reddit: "TIL that within the gaming industry, mobile gaming excluding advertisements ($93.2B) is worth more than PC gaming ($37.2B) and console gaming ($50.4B) combined."

[@SAWS]

Wow that's surprising! Maybe she was a visionary after all 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@omnibussy]

ok but tampon run sounds like it could be a fun flash platformer about rushing to the convenience store when your period starts early 😂

[@SAWS]

Haha it's a title full of content 🤣🤣🤣

[@anthonyvigil6351]

This woman was just in it for the money she was not in it for the passion of getting flopped ugly

[@99frojo]

Congrats on 10k subs.

[@SAWS]

Thanks 😊

[@KCFlyer2]

Your commentary is brutal....but spot on!. Love the asides and pop ups

[@eightsix73]

She’s only slightly less cringe than the original Magic Leap CEO. Maybe just as cringe but not as weird, if you can divide the two. You can make an argument she got caught saying something dumb and couldn’t get herself out of it, hence not believing what she is actually saying herself.

[@SAWS]

Haha yeah, he belongs into the hall of fame as well

[@Heromisra]

Great content keep up the work 👏👏

[@SAWS]

Thank you Ayush!!!!!!

[@barujhashem8]

she is like a mom talking about games when she doesnt have the slytest idea about games and gamers in front of her son's friends!! Humiliating .I love the interviewer answers: yeh, rrriiight. Let's face it, Elizabeth Holmes really know how to sell what she imagine. Even not knowing a lot. And this woman don't know nothing. And she didn't brainstom her vague idea.interviewer destroyed her and she didn't notice.

[@Mike.Garcia]

ouya was revolutionary, make that documentary!

[@michaelsabirlar5955]

You would think companies would have learned by observing the HUGE DATA about how NOT to start a console enterprise as done by Atari and Sega. Edit: I rewatched it, her body language is excessively aggressive. WOOO like she is insulted to be there or something. I am reading into it like she trying to sound confident but she brings her arguements in a pushy way and makes too many assumptions with no evidence to back it up.

[@SAWS]

Haha Yeah humans have a fetish for relearning the same lessons

[@THEREALVITO]

I really want to figure out why this got so well crowd funded in the first place. I think 2012 was a time where hardcore gamers were getting absolutely frustrated and on edge from the rise of motion controls, mobile games, F2P, microtransactions, Always Online, among many other issues. 2012 was also a year where the PS3 and 360 were starting to age and the XB1 and PS4 were still a year out. The Wii U and Vita had launched that year, both failures.

[@THEREALVITO]

When she mentions "the market is declining", she IS making a distraction, BUT the talk around the time was absolutely how console gaming in particular was plateauing. There really was such a massive fear that consoles were done for, that we only had one, maybe two more generations left then everything will be played on smartphones, as that was where the real money was at. I think it succeeded as a Kickstarter because it was trying to bridge that fear. It was a cheap game console with free mobile games, but with a traditional controller. This was much more of a new concept at the time. I remember having SOME interest in this console because of mobile and indie games I wanted to play, but only being available on mobile devices, which sucked. And there also was this sentiment that indie developers had it too hard on consoles too. It was difficult and expensive to get your games ported on console compared to mobile or PC.

[@avatarofwoo]

She answered some questions poorly but I don't think she evaded the question. She wanted to say that TV gaming for casual gamers that played on tablets and phones was not a thing. I think she is right and still right tbh but then again casual gamers probably don't want to do any gaming on tvs

[@LilBrownieD]

Your videos are really valuable! This business analysis that recognizes how effective some scammer techniques can be (like Elizabeth Holmes compared to this woman). This case is so strange... Julie's lies are so crazy obviously out of reality.

[@Karlenk0]

wow, very interesting i really like the way you explain things, i think the ouya wasnt a bad idea and it was handled very inadequately

[@petertan_sg]

I would also love 60 feet TV...

[@RK-252]

I know right! She should sell that and she'd have funding for 10 ouya companies. The largest TV in the world is only half that size. 😂

[@ftr58]

Ive always thought that this was marketed completely wrong. It's not a console for gamers. It should have been sitting in every hotel room as shitty console to rent.

[@SAWS]

Haha yeah

[@ArcticPrimal]

I;m sure the investors she approached who didn't invest were thrilled they that they didn't invest after seeing this interview, it just showed them they made the right choice

[@SAWS]

Haha yeah

[@ArcticPrimal]

@@SAWS Can you add Cicret to your next videos? I only know about their lies that they could release a concept product when giants like Samsung etc haven't yet but nothing else like it is still operational, was the product released, never saw the interviews etc.

[@kelly5822]

I can't get over how aggressively she talks. It's like she is defending herself constantly and with a really angry/defensive tone. I just feel immediately turned off. Her clothing and makeup are also very dark. The games that she is trying to sell are a mis-match with the way she presents herself. She doesn't come across as a gamer to be honest, or anyone with knowledge of games. I enjoyed watching your take on it and look forward to seeing more from you Saws 👍

[@SAWS]

Thank you Kelly 🙏🙏🙏😊😊😊😊

[@el_puma_real]

I feel bad for her only because I can only imagine how it must be as a woman CEO in a sausage party of an industry. She's forced to be aggressive to compete. Elizabeth Holmes took a different approach deciding instead to make her voice deeper as a way to seem strong. The rest is history.

[@Ronnie86753]

They’re both cringe as hell tbh

[@Nephthys-ness]

I thought this too. That what gets her listened to in a boardroom are not the qualities that one needs on a stage like this. I also felt like people "let her" take the glory up there, and she didn't know what level of hell she was volunteered into. Her pitch low-key feels like a slam on gamers which the host feels; in that he could talk circles around her gaming game. She was insulated in some way. Boardroom focused on getting product made & funded precluded certain Qs about actual sphere feasibility or were not posed bc nay-sayers were not welcomed? Or, she underestimated gaming delimmas and perhaps looked at Gamers as Cheeto stained boxers. Personally I would be very scared if wasn't an avid game player to do this pitch interview in front of a knowledgeable audience and host who will absolutely know everything surrounding what I'm talking about: - when all I really know are the word concepts I've been told to say , & what i know from my 4yo & sis. This pitch needs a gamers low-key, good nerdy, intense and passionate knowledge to sell properly. Which, when abnegated, seems like another huberistic attempt ( like quibly) to say "we know more about the thing that you love than you do), (we will fail at convincing you of this), and then we will ask you to change platforms and pay for that change. It keeps on sounding to my naive ears that she's trying to sell the family game closet - absent of all games... but, looky looky what a really cool new closet that you can make your own cheap clothes and games for. I think there's a market for a soccer mom to advertise an aspect of this product (2012 & now) .. I can see there maybe being a market for people who want to come home and play Solitaire, Tetris etc on their TV with a controller instead of at their computer desk or buried in a tablet. Fun & bigger; but less involved than Wo'W. But, I don't know of any guys that love the tiny games when they come home instead of the big big games. *edit - wrote ½way thru & SAWS,🫡 u just said all this better 😅

[@johnnyfive9815]

she's not knowledgeable in the field she's undertaking

[@SAWS]

Yes...🤣

[@beneaththedemonmoon]

So this lady just wanted to play candy crush on her TV 😅

[@SAWS]

🤣🤣🤣

[@nineteenfortyeight]

Ok thanks for explaining, turns out I did understand: She has nothing.

[@ryanjofre]

Excuse my arrogance but this is a textbook example of ONE's ambitions exceeding their intellectual capacity. That spokeswoman had no business on stage/in front of the camera.

[@nineteenfortyeight]

I still don't know what she's selling.

[@daveayala8515]

She didn’t do her homework 📚. Her explanations on the product sucks. People are walking out 😝

[@SAWS]

🤣🤣🤣

[@allandnnnn]

The only problem I had with the ouya was I didn't know how to sideload games and stuff it was a bad ass console my kids and I loved it till they broke the power button so I took the cover off and used a screw driver to start it

[@nineteenfortyeight]

Sounds like a quality product

[@C-Rocks]

Her demeanor is not ready for prime time

[@SAWS]

🤣

[@C-Rocks]

@@SAWS (I know, understatement of all time, but I want to be kind. The interview left her scrubbed out on the pavement).

[@Simonjose7258]

She's raising money. Period

[@GrubbJunker]

Wish I had a 60 foot TV.

[@Karlenk0]

lol, same

[@xenomorphlover]

A soccer mom who never played a "real" game on any console/PC and thought PS4/X-Box is played on a computer monitor and not on a TV? If you watch closely she constantly uses the words "television, immersive, experience"....this lady only was interested in money and then immediately knew she has no clue about what's going on and tried to act very confidently but horribly failed 🤣

[@RK-252]

21:13 "THERE IS NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT THIS BOARD!!! NOTHING!!! LIKE NOTHING!!!!!!!" So this is what a breakdown looks like.

[@lifeperspective-situationa2790]

With her fast aggressive talking and saying "it's nothing special", she would've broke the record for getting rejected on shark tank or dragons den 😂😂😂

[@SAWS]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@BloodiTearz]

at the time of ouya the Rasberry pi was cheaper and aspowerful as the Ouya, the product was just a quick cash grab, even Julie Uhrman wasnt convincing enough

[@TheLover20xx]

that ceo lady knows nothing about videogames she is a meme

[@OvercookedOctopusFeet]

New sub here, great content!

[@SAWS]

Thank you 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@anthonyvigil6351]

She was not in it for the games and gamers

[@barujhashem8]

She didn't have any clue about gamers mind and market.

[@axe863]

I thought that Ouya would be a cheap entry product for low rent games. Nothing propriety.

[@tessasanders1866]

She sounds like a person who is using an excuse, like playing Mario with her sister as a eureka moment. This woman is out of touch. She is using others to seem relatable 🧐🤨😆. Maybe she is stuck back in the 70s or 80s? What about those cool arcade style game machines that you can get from your local Walmart?

[@SAWS]

An old super nintendo was basically better than Ouya...🤣

[@demyxix1273]

Don't all major gaming companies have these exact people in their executive management? Today all the people who make the decisions are exactly this clueless.

[@richardhutnik]

I get Tommy T and Amico vibe from this.

[@SaltyRamen.]

The CEO looks angry 😂😂😂

[@Kawiboy]

How'd I miss this one 🤪🙃😆.. My BAD 😉 These folks were sad from the Got GO! OLD G 👍

[@juliandavidac]

At the end they messed up a massive opportunity, they could be what Steam and PSN are now LoL wasn't about the "tv" was about the cloud service and indie games with seasons, how they got wrong at their own project LMFAO

[@Simonjose7258]

She's so full of it

[@Yoni123]

Its a shit product but she got paid. Mightve just been a scam from the beginning

[@SAWS]

Yes especially the hardware seems like a cash grab

[@almo2001]

Android is one of the worst possible OSs to use for a console. It's a nightmare to develop for.

[@RayMak]

Like an emulator hehe

[@SAWS]

Exactly

[@alexanderweeks4701]

I don’t understand this trend of speakers talking like this, where they kind of shout every word like it’s a spite or a command. It is hard on the ears

[@vtr8427]

You need to do Elon musk. KZbin channels like Common sense skeptic and bullshit exposed are not doing this .

[@nineteenfortyeight]

💯

[@aljordan6352]

WHERES THE BEEF! She is out of her league, it will not end well for her. LAWSUITS.....

[@SAWS]

She has a female soccer team now I believe, living the dream in LA 😁😁

[@dimaua1830]

Love you videos!

[@SAWS]

Thank you 😊

[@cutthroat814]

9:13 She has a 60 foot TV? Damn lady, does she use her remote to play games? Lol

[@oolieboolieyeah]

She's describing the App Store / Google Play 😆

[@demyxix1273]

Maybe she was still in the year 1985 in her hear head a d thought the gamecrash was still a thing 😂😂

[@kevt4625]

"Temple Run" NOT tampon run 😅

[@demyxix1273]

Maybe there is for real a game called so xD

[@Kate-yr6bg]

Off topic but do u have an instagram?

[@SAWS]

Will connect website and social channels at some point but I'm waiting until the channel is a bit bigger 😇

[@Kate-yr6bg]

@@SAWS cool :)