I'm chilled. I'm relaxed. But I want better communication (and others do too by appearances).
Incidentally, what happened when the Oculus rift ran into problems? They let their backers know ( Including a gannt chart detailing the steps in production, seen here ).
Honestly, I could go on and on. I still get updates about a comic book I backed that has had delay after delay for years now... I don't complain that i haven't received the comic, because the backer is up front and honest about it. He doesn't try and cleverly claim everything is going smoothly as planned.
I'm sorry if you are unfamiliar with kickstarter, but for those of us who are, I certainly don't need you tell ME the way it is. By all means excuse yourself, but this is important to me, and to others, and we feel we are entitled to an acceptable level of explanation as to what's going on.
So you are assuming they have run into problems and are being quiet about it? Is that your issue?
How about we wait for Julie Uhrman's next communication as promised in her Twitter post just five hours ago? Once that is out, then there might be something more to say.
Incidentally, what happened when the Oculus rift ran into problems?
What happened when Drunk Quest had issues both mailing and in receiving their imports at the habor?
I still get updates about a comic book I backed that has had delay after delay for years now...
Again, you keep bringing up examples of Kickstarters that had PROBLEMS. Yes, if there were any problems you are right, they should communicate those. But as there are no hints or evidence of any problems in this situation, there's no need for that. I mean, the units have been shipping for only what, 4 business days at most by now? If the units had been shipping for a couple weeks and there were signs that almost nobody had received theirs, then yes, there would be a problem.
It is safe to say they have missed the deadline. They clearly do not have the capacity to deliver it in March as stated in their Kickstarter page.
You do realise the meaning of "Estimated", right? That Julie posted on March 28 that the first production devices have started shipping is not good enough for you? I think they were pretty darned close to their original estimate. A lot better than many other production runs can claim.
Well there are two answers... one, yes I believe they have run into problems... this is confirmed by their pointing out the holidays have mucked things a bit in china.
There are also a lot of indicators something is being withheld because of bad news... it could very well be something small (and I suspect it is something small), but their one liner tends to support that supposition. Additionally, judging by what I'm observing in the communities and twittersphere (as it were), there really is a very small quantity of units shipping.
I get it, I have no secret lens into their business and what's going on, so can't really know without a shadow of a doubt (or whatever it is you're looking for), but I and others feel there are very clear indicators that something unexpected is occuring, even if it's as simple as only tens of units have shipped thus far.
Regardless, it doesn't really matter. Transparency solves all of this. I don't see why you keep arguing the point of "you have no evidence" and "they will come through" and all that jazz, because that's very irrelevant. What matters is that they are losing the confidence of kickstarter backers and exhibiting responses and behaviors that do more harm than good. They should be trying to make people happy with information that is inconsequential to them but very important to us.
All of this said, I expect we'll see something soon, and if there is a problem hopefully it will be honest and not a cleverly worded way to spin things into a positive light with ambiguous phrasing. That's something we should all be happy about and want... for whatever reason you're playing some weird defensive card on Ouya's behalf which is bizarre and frankly makes you look like a shill. You should be on the side of transparency and the backers, because THEY made this possible equally as much.
It is safe to say they have missed the deadline. They clearly do not have the capacity to deliver it in March as stated in their Kickstarter page.
The Kickstarter page estimated that it would begin shipping in March. It began shipping in March.
For who? The delivery was supposed to be in March. I assume they would begin shipping for every single one of the backers. But what happened was they chose the very last moment of the month to say they actually start shipping then blaming the holiday for the delay of everyone's shipment. Nice job.
It is safe to say they have missed the deadline. They clearly do not have the capacity to deliver it in March as stated in their Kickstarter page.
The Kickstarter page estimated that it would begin shipping in March. It began shipping in March.
For who? The delivery was supposed to be in March. I assume they would begin shipping for every single one of the backers. ...
Exactly the same thing happened with the devkit consoles, so it's not a surprise to some of us.
If all the consoles had shipped and already arrived at people's doors, we'd probably all be sitting around complaining about the lack of paypal payment options instead (HINT HINT), despite being warned we'd need a credit card in announcements from OUYA.
Is anyone else disturbed that we're a week after the "big day" and there's no new information? Few people reporting anything? I'm telling you... something. is. up. This is getting weird.
Backer 616 here, and still no shipping notice. They're gonna have to ship these things out by thousands per day if they think they can get all the backer consoles out by the end of April. The odds of all the backers getting their consoles before the June launch are getting slimmer and slimmer with each passing day.
Also, if they seem to be having this much trouble with 60,000 consoles, how the hell do they plan on stocking Target and Amazon and WalMart and GameStop by the beginning of June?
ItsJustAC said:
As per Julie's promise, I'm hoping for more information tomorrow. She did say a day or two, so I'll hold her to that.I wouldn't hold your breath. @playouya on twitter stated that they are shipping by backer number. And that an e-mail goes out as soon as it leaves the assembly line. Yet backer #276, still has nothing to show. https://twitter.com/playouya/status/320217887933616128
The rollout will be as follows: We are starting with the standard OUYA
unit (grey console+controller), then working on the Kickstarter
exclusive units and units with more than one controller.
That's backwards. The "Kickstarter exclusive units and units with more than one controller" are the units for higher-level backers, the ones who invested the most, who did the most to get the project going. They should be shipped first, not pushed to the back of the line!
The rollout will be as follows: We are starting with the standard OUYA
unit (grey console+controller), then working on the Kickstarter
exclusive units and units with more than one controller.
That's backwards. The "Kickstarter exclusive units and units with more than one controller" are the units for higher-level backers, the ones who invested the most, who did the most to get the project going. They should be shipped first, not pushed to the back of the line!
I gotta be honest, I completely disagree.
Complexity of the order should be last not first. Its obvious that the simpler units will be easier to distribute first and again likely isn't any different to other companies in that sense. Not a 1:1 comparison but again, computers and other consumer electronics where orders are being manufactured/customized in the present are a similar case.
Higher backers are getting more from the console, engravings, founder statuses, more controllers (lets take the controller example, when units have only started manufacture how easy do you think it would be to provide 3 controllers with one unit?) etc.
Its completely up to you what you pay, but ultimately these are donations, legally and technically with a 'reward' given, not buying your place in the queue. That wasn't the deal.
Really? Because I thought the deal was delivery in March not May - and no mention was ever made that extra controllers or LE would increase shipping time as that might have influenced the number of people who purchased both - very dishonest.
I've only ever seen an 'estimated' delivery, which was March. Any man and his dog can see that they are slightly off the month (by a month), to me personally, not a big deal but I didn't see any promise so didn't expect too much. I can't be the only person that noticed.
I've seen billion dollar console companies make firmer release day projections and schedules than Ouya, yet nothing happens when they release 'the next spring'.
Boxer8 (if they still carry that name) made a console and said they would deliver it, that is what they are doing and set to do. The point about higher paying backers is a nonsense - the reward wasn't priority thus not part of the deal.
I wonder, by "As of today, we plan on making our final delivery in May" does that include pre-orders? It'd be kinda silly if pre-orders arrive after the OUYA hits retail
Boxer8 (if they still carry that name) made a console and said they would deliver it, that is what they are doing and set to do. The point about higher paying backers is a nonsense - the reward wasn't priority thus not part of the deal.
Completely wrong. My reward for being a backer was early delivery - not less than a month before it hits retail.
Its
completely up to you what you pay, but ultimately these are donations,
legally and technically with a 'reward' given, not buying your place in
the queue. That wasn't the deal.
"Legally and technically" are what people hide behind when they know they're doing something wrong. And yes, legally they haven't violated any formal obligations. But that doesn't mean it's not the wrong way to do it.
That's the thing that a lot of people defending Ouya's actions don't seem to get. This isn't about legality! It's not about "what can we get away with while not doing anything technically wrong." It's about trying to get a product off the ground--in a very competitive market--that has the potential to disrupt the industry and change things for the better. This is about image and reputation, and proving that something like the Ouya can be done successfully.
That's why I donated, and I suspect that's why a whole lot of us donated, and right now what we're seeing is not confidence-inspiring. And that could be bad, not just for us or for the company, but for the whole idea of a true open console. When pioneers with a good idea crash because of a bad execution, it tends to taint the idea "by association." To give just one example, look what happened when Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within bombed at the box office. We didn't see another movie using photorealistic CGI like that until Avatar, 8 years later.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to wait another 8 years for an open console!
Boxer8 (if they still carry that name) made a console and said they would deliver it, that is what they are doing and set to do. The point about higher paying backers is a nonsense - the reward wasn't priority thus not part of the deal.
Completely wrong. My reward for being a backer was early delivery - not less than a month before it hits retail.
I don't see how.
If you have written down in stone an exact delivery month (not an estimation), and that you somehow get priority over me (a £75 backer with a simple order) regardless of technicality or backer number fair enough.
Otherwise, you are getting the console cheaper and earlier than people who will get it at the official launch, and cheaper and earlier than those with a pre-order.
I just get the sense that the comments here are largely coming from personal anticipation and impatience bubbling over as opposed to the reality. So far I haven't seen a compelling case to say Ouya are in the wrong.
They couldn't make a projection of exact pre-release day in a mere 8 month dev cycle, and didn't lie saying they could. Kinda get over it? If they do you a serious wrong I'm not holding anyone back...
Very confusing statements coming from @playouya.
https://twitter.com/playouya/status/320248531854184448
Now they're saying that extra controllers only take a little extra time to pack. Yet, that doesn't explain why backer #276 hasn't received anything yet. Unless they haven't even gotten 300 out the door yet.
Boxer8 (if they still carry that name) made a console and said they would deliver it, that is what they are doing and set to do. The point about higher paying backers is a nonsense - the reward wasn't priority thus not part of the deal.
Completely wrong. My reward for being a backer was early delivery - not less than a month before it hits retail.
I don't see how.
If you have written down in stone an exact delivery month (not an estimation), and that you somehow get priority over me (a £75 backer with a simple order) regardless of technicality or backer number fair enough.
Otherwise, you are getting the console cheaper and earlier than people who will get it at the official launch, and cheaper and earlier than those with a pre-order.
I just get the sense that the comments here are largely coming from personal anticipation and impatience bubbling over as opposed to the reality. So far I haven't seen a compelling case to say Ouya are in the wrong.
They couldn't make a projection of exact pre-release day in a mere 8 month dev cycle, and didn't lie saying they could. Kinda get over it? If they do you a serious wrong I'm not holding anyone back...
I'm not getting it cheaper as an LE backer I paid more than the retail version and there was never any mention that pledging more would increase shipping - as others have mentioned on the KS page, they would not have pledged more nor bought extra controllers had they known. And as others have mentioned, you don't rev up production of the standard version then reset to produce LE then go back to standard - very inefficient.
Its
completely up to you what you pay, but ultimately these are donations,
legally and technically with a 'reward' given, not buying your place in
the queue. That wasn't the deal.
"Legally and technically" are what people hide behind when they know they're doing something wrong. And yes, legally they haven't violated any formal obligations. But that doesn't mean it's not the wrong way to do it.
That's the thing that a lot of people defending Ouya's actions don't seem to get. This isn't about legality! It's not about "what can we get away with while not doing anything technically wrong." It's about trying to get a product off the ground--in a very competitive market--that has the potential to disrupt the industry and change things for the better. This is about image and reputation, and proving that something like the Ouya can be done successfully.
That's why I donated, and I suspect that's why a whole lot of us donated, and right now what we're seeing is not confidence-inspiring. And that could be bad, not just for us or for the company, but for the whole idea of a true open console. When pioneers with a good idea crash because of a bad execution, it tends to taint the idea "by association." To give just one example, look what happened when Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within bombed at the box office. We didn't see another movie using photorealistic CGI like that until Avatar, 8 years later.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to wait another 8 years for an open console!
I don't want to wait 8 years either but I don't expect to. There are and will be more like it, but in the present this 'attempt' could do with a chance.
The cycle of this console was unprecedented, in some ways I think maybe it should have been longer and allowed more time to get the OS/Service right and perhaps use a later chipset, but they aimed to get a console out in 8 months, with a high ambition and dirt cheap price.
Yeah, estimated delivery was March. With the amount anticipation I had, I would like to have it now but I can't. Realistically, it was a big ask for the console to make it guaranteed at that point in time.
However, a month isn't a terrible ask to wait for the console to be physically manufactured to such a quality spec and get it to my home snug in the UK.
Like I mentioned earlier, I've seen far larger scale productions from bigger companies delayed for entire seasons *cough* Nintendo, *cough* Microsoft, *cough* Sony, *cough* SEGA despite years of development and planning - and few bat an eyelid when the company says "see you next year!"
I'm not trying to make the delay seem like absolutely nothing but after having a couple of days to take this all in, I can't see why its such a deal breaker and seen as such a criminal betrayal. It really isn't.
Consoles get get delayed, mobiles get delayed and so on. In the grand scheme of things 'April instead of March' isn't making me lose much sleep. And really, the console has a long way to go in areas well outside the hardware to become a viable market disruptor - that will go into 2014...
I'm just happy to get SOME information. I don't like that their post was mostly non information like "we've brought on new vendors who will make things go faster, but we won't sacrifice speed for quality!"... what a meaningless thing to say.
They have pointed out that it will take 8 weeks for delivery though, and while disappointing, it definitely tells me not to spend time working on an Ouya game vs. creating a touch interface instead.
I guess next week will be interesting to see if they give any hard facts, or if it's more "we shipped some units, they are shipping, so keep an eye out for things shipping!" LOL.
They didn't say it would take 8 weeks for delivery, they said their final delivery would be May - that could mean May 1 or May 31, but it didn't say 8 weeks. And how is the fact that they are going to start using more companies for manufacturing/shipping non-information?
They didn't say it would take 8 weeks for delivery, they said their final delivery would be May - that could mean May 1 or May 31, but it didn't say 8 weeks. And how is the fact that they are going to start using more companies for manufacturing/shipping non-information?
Well simple... they said one thing to indicate they were speeding up, then followed it with a statement that indicated they would take their time. It's a peculiar wording is all, and doesn't seem to really say anything useful.
As for delivery, you're right. They might actually have meant everything would be delivered by May 1st. Of course, if that were the case they would have said that rather than use an open ended entire month :)
I think the reality is most likely they are ramping production for retail and have discovered that the most inexpensive way is to include the kickstarter backers in that order, so delaying is in their best interest. But again, time will tell.
I appreciate your optimism though. It's adorable. So far I've been pretty dead on in my predictions... we should do a gambling game :)
Comments
Incidentally, what happened when the Oculus rift ran into problems? They let their backers know ( Including a gannt chart detailing the steps in production, seen here ).
What happened when Drunk Quest had issues both mailing and in receiving their imports at the habor? First they let everyone know, and then posted updates regarding the shipping progress.
Honestly, I could go on and on. I still get updates about a comic book I backed that has had delay after delay for years now... I don't complain that i haven't received the comic, because the backer is up front and honest about it. He doesn't try and cleverly claim everything is going smoothly as planned.
I'm sorry if you are unfamiliar with kickstarter, but for those of us who are, I certainly don't need you tell ME the way it is. By all means excuse yourself, but this is important to me, and to others, and we feel we are entitled to an acceptable level of explanation as to what's going on.
The Kickstarter page estimated that it would begin shipping in March. It began shipping in March.
Again, you keep bringing up examples of Kickstarters that had PROBLEMS. Yes, if there were any problems you are right, they should communicate those. But as there are no hints or evidence of any problems in this situation, there's no need for that. I mean, the units have been shipping for only what, 4 business days at most by now? If the units had been shipping for a couple weeks and there were signs that almost nobody had received theirs, then yes, there would be a problem.There are also a lot of indicators something is being withheld because of bad news... it could very well be something small (and I suspect it is something small), but their one liner tends to support that supposition. Additionally, judging by what I'm observing in the communities and twittersphere (as it were), there really is a very small quantity of units shipping.
I get it, I have no secret lens into their business and what's going on, so can't really know without a shadow of a doubt (or whatever it is you're looking for), but I and others feel there are very clear indicators that something unexpected is occuring, even if it's as simple as only tens of units have shipped thus far.
Regardless, it doesn't really matter. Transparency solves all of this. I don't see why you keep arguing the point of "you have no evidence" and "they will come through" and all that jazz, because that's very irrelevant. What matters is that they are losing the confidence of kickstarter backers and exhibiting responses and behaviors that do more harm than good. They should be trying to make people happy with information that is inconsequential to them but very important to us.
All of this said, I expect we'll see something soon, and if there is a problem hopefully it will be honest and not a cleverly worded way to spin things into a positive light with ambiguous phrasing. That's something we should all be happy about and want... for whatever reason you're playing some weird defensive card on Ouya's behalf which is bizarre and frankly makes you look like a shill. You should be on the side of transparency and the backers, because THEY made this possible equally as much.
If all the consoles had shipped and already arrived at people's doors, we'd probably all be sitting around complaining about the lack of paypal payment options instead (HINT HINT), despite being warned we'd need a credit card in announcements from OUYA.
Website
Also, if they seem to be having this much trouble with 60,000 consoles, how the hell do they plan on stocking Target and Amazon and WalMart and GameStop by the beginning of June?
As per Julie's promise, I'm hoping for more information tomorrow. She did say a day or two, so I'll hold her to that.I wouldn't hold your breath. @playouya on twitter stated that they are shipping by backer number. And that an e-mail goes out as soon as it leaves the assembly line. Yet backer #276, still has nothing to show. https://twitter.com/playouya/status/320217887933616128
One thing that's a bit annoying to see:
That's backwards. The "Kickstarter exclusive units and units with more than one controller" are the units for higher-level backers, the ones who invested the most, who did the most to get the project going. They should be shipped first, not pushed to the back of the line!
Didn't backer 276 say he had ordered an extra controller, something we've already been told will delay orders? Anyways, check this out:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console/posts/446691
I gotta be honest, I completely disagree.
Really? Because I thought the deal was delivery in March not May - and no mention was ever made that extra controllers or LE would increase shipping time as that might have influenced the number of people who purchased both - very dishonest.
I wonder, by "As of today, we plan on making our final delivery in May" does that include pre-orders? It'd be kinda silly if pre-orders arrive after the OUYA hits retail
Website
Completely wrong. My reward for being a backer was early delivery - not less than a month before it hits retail.
"Legally and technically" are what people hide behind when they know they're doing something wrong. And yes, legally they haven't violated any formal obligations. But that doesn't mean it's not the wrong way to do it.
That's the thing that a lot of people defending Ouya's actions don't seem to get. This isn't about legality! It's not about "what can we get away with while not doing anything technically wrong." It's about trying to get a product off the ground--in a very competitive market--that has the potential to disrupt the industry and change things for the better. This is about image and reputation, and proving that something like the Ouya can be done successfully.
That's why I donated, and I suspect that's why a whole lot of us donated, and right now what we're seeing is not confidence-inspiring. And that could be bad, not just for us or for the company, but for the whole idea of a true open console. When pioneers with a good idea crash because of a bad execution, it tends to taint the idea "by association." To give just one example, look what happened when Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within bombed at the box office. We didn't see another movie using photorealistic CGI like that until Avatar, 8 years later.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to wait another 8 years for an open console!
https://twitter.com/playouya/status/320248531854184448
Now they're saying that extra controllers only take a little extra time to pack. Yet, that doesn't explain why backer #276 hasn't received anything yet. Unless they haven't even gotten 300 out the door yet.
They have pointed out that it will take 8 weeks for delivery though, and while disappointing, it definitely tells me not to spend time working on an Ouya game vs. creating a touch interface instead.
I guess next week will be interesting to see if they give any hard facts, or if it's more "we shipped some units, they are shipping, so keep an eye out for things shipping!" LOL.
As for delivery, you're right. They might actually have meant everything would be delivered by May 1st. Of course, if that were the case they would have said that rather than use an open ended entire month :)
I think the reality is most likely they are ramping production for retail and have discovered that the most inexpensive way is to include the kickstarter backers in that order, so delaying is in their best interest. But again, time will tell.
I appreciate your optimism though. It's adorable. So far I've been pretty dead on in my predictions... we should do a gambling game :)