There is almost no information about the state of production hardware, and in fact nearly everything about the system seems to be in flux. The Kickstarter page contradicts itself on some points, and many of the images and statements seem to be intentionally misleading.
[...]according to the Kickstarter page work has only just begun on that aspect of the project. The specifications seem to be in place, but testing can be a long and tricky process, even with known components. There are only eight months between now and the stated ship date of March 2013. That would be an aggressive timeline if we were talking about Microsoft or Valve, much less an untested startup.
[...]It’s likewise important to note that the company refuses to confirm the existence of a single game that will run on the OUYA hardware. [...] “Not at this time,” I was told. [...]But wait, isn’t Minecraft a game that will run on the OUYA? “Mojang has committed that Minecraft (and their other games) will be on OUYA,” the Kickstarter page stated. The next sentence, however, makes it very clear that there is not the case: “But only if we prove that we can make a great product (that’s our job) AND enough people want their games (that’s your job). [...]” In other words, there is no commitment being made, and no reason to believe the game will ever come to the platform.
[...]“I’m skeptical of why people are so excited about OUYA,” Antichamber developer Alexander Bruce said. "[...] If openness is your main concern, I’m not sure what is stopping you from targeting the PC and selling games directly through your website. [...].”
I spoke with Robert Boyd, who has released retro-styled RPGs on both the PC and the Xbox Live Indie Channel, [...] “My main problem with the OUYA is that it’s selling a dream: ‘The Console for Indie Developers,’” [...] “The reality is harsh; we’ve seen what happens with open platforms. Look at Xbox Live Indie Games, where very few developers were able to make a living off of it and now the platform is dominated by knock-offs of popular games and wannabe Japanese softcore porn,” he said. “The Apple App Store has been more successful than XBLIG, but even there, you either get in the top 10 and make a fortune or you ‘die in obscurity.’ And the Android is even more open than Apple’s and yet how many success stories do you hear for Android developers? Not many.” Keep in mind all of these platforms have an installed base many times that of the OUYA.
“It’s hard enough to make a living as an indie developer on a popular platform like Steam. Even on popular platforms, there are many games, both indie and otherwise, that fail to sell enough to support the developer. [...]
[...] the creators of OUYA are actively encouraging both free-to-play, all games must be ‘free-to-play’ although their definition is very loose and includes demos and purchase for full version, and hacking. Trying to get a significant portion of an audience like that to actually pay money for a game and not just spend all their time on free emulators for old arcade and video game systems could prove challenging indeed.”
[...]The hype doesn’t match the reality
The entire system hangs on the ability that you want to play ported Android games on a cheap system, with an unseen controller, on a television screen. While many developers are willing to provide quotes about how great the OUYA could be, so far no one is willing to put their money where their mouth is and announce projects for the hardware.
