Friday, July 5, 2013

Ouya backlash from Kickstarter backers



Hot off the heels of its official launch last week and guerrilla style appearance during the E3 expo, it seems there is an ever growing controversy surrounding the highly anticipated android based console OUYA. Kickstarter backers have taken to the official Facebook page to voice their anger after numerous email attempts have so far failed to invoke a response.

The problems surrounding Ouya have been no secret since its highly successful Kickstarter was completed on August 9, 2012 exceeding the original pledge goal of $950,000. Gamers over the world rejoiced at the idea of an open sourced and fully modifiable console, supported by a total of 63,416 backers sending $8,596,474 to the Ouya developers way.

Backers were promised exclusives such as reserved usernames, extra controllers and early access to the first production run of the console. While it seems a large number of consumers are happily picking up their consoles from retailers after the official June 25th launch or receiving express shipping from Amazon.com orders; many Kickstarter backers are still left waiting for the delivery of their promised devices. 'Incorrect tracking numbers' and 'excessive international custom charges' are appearing as some of the most referred to complaints posted on the companies Facebook wall at this time.

Whilst there are many happy consumers jumping forward to defend the Ouya, we are still yet to see any official apology from the Ouya team themselves. The only acknowledgement of these oversights to be found on their official blog is a mere footnote stating "...It's been a long road for all of us, and we are still navigating some of the bumps in the road..."

It seems every hour or so a new comment appears with a disgruntled backer asking for their 'x' numbered email to be responded to or for their long awaited refund to be actioned. Are the delays due to overworked Ouya employees tending to the backlog of unanticipated and subsequently overflowing complaints?  Or just the result of poor customer service and a refusal to acknowledge the bigger issue here? Regardless there is some poor management decisions going on here and not enough power to fix them efficiently.

Be that as it may, its not all bad news; with every complaint comes a juxtaposing compliment praising the devices functionality and modification abilities. Even so will the praise of those who have not been perturbed by the persisting problems be enough to save the company from the ever increasing army of unsatisfied customers? Only time will tell.

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