Early adopters of the Ouya who didn’t receive their console before its eventual retail launch will be entitled to compensation, the company has stated. In a direct response to customer feedback, the company’s CEO, Julie Uhrman, addressed the myriad problems encountered by the console’s Kickstarter backers, stating that they will receive store credit in order placate their frustration.
Here’s what Uhrman had to said in the company email:
“It wasn’t OK that some of you – our most loyal supporters – didn’t get your Ouya until after it was on store shelves,” she said in a statement. “Others had an issue with our still-new customer service. Despite your frustrations, you’ve played on, putting up with our bumps and bugs as we work to get better every day. We want to do more than tell you how much we appreciate you – we want to show it.”
Delayed customer services, missing controllers and even late shipments were just some of the issues which marred the launch of the Android-based gaming machine. In fact, though the company promised to deliver the $99 console ahead of time to 43,000 of its backers who pre-ordered before March, 2013, much of the fanbase were still waiting on their shipment even though the Ouya launched at retail on June 25, 2013. Therefore, in order to curb this disapproval, those who pledged their allegiance to the Ouya’s Kickstarter campaign will be entitled to $13.37 (£8.35) of store credit to spend on the system’s Discovery Store.
In truth, this compensation package may provide the stuttering console with a twofold boost. Firstly, it will appease the tens of thousands of supporters who have invested in the system, and secondly, providing the Ouya community with a lump sum of store credit tailored to spend on games may address the console’s poor software attachment rate – a figure estimated to be around 27% at present.
Thought the platform is still very much in its infancy, do you believe these ongoing problems will impact the console’s public perception? Or do you expect the Ouya to carve out its own niche as a nifty emulator?