Remember the Ouya? You'll be forgiven for saying no at this point, because the ill-fated micro-console didn't exactly make the splash that its creators predicted it would. One of Kickstarter's early hits, Ouya failed to set the games market alight and quietly faded into the night, never to be seen again.
Well, almost never. The console's controller design has been bizarrely resurrected as an unofficial wireless pad for the Switch, produced by Chinese firm ViGRAND.
The controller pairs via Bluetooth V3.0 and has a 380mAh lithium battery which gives about five hours of use on a 2 to 3 hour charge. Gyro controls are supported, and there are dual motors inside for rumble. The only thing missing is NFC support.
With a price tag of just $25 this is certainly an interesting option, especially if you're one of the few people who actually owned an Ouya and like the pad design. However, we can't say what the quality is like, so order at your own risk.
[source aliexpress.com]
Comments 47
That's a little random! lol! I suppose seeing as the Ouya is no more, manufacturers can, technically, steal the design of sorts.
I wonder if the colour plate on that controller are replaceable like the Ouya controller did? You might be able to change the colours to match your Joycon set up.
Speaking of the Ouya though, I always felt like I was the one who only got a kick out of it playing Chess 2 online and doing random things in Amazing Frog?
Thing is, there's Steam ports of both of those games. I guess that's that happens when you don't pay the devs that release games on your system.
Ah Ouya, a million jokes...
The Ouya website is still active advertising the number of games etc. until you go to shop, where it comes up with "This shop is currently unavailable."
The Ouya, is a vague memory. I don't like the look of this, partly because of the colour scheme and the analogue sticks don't look comfortable either. Then there's the pitiful battery life and as the article finishes up by saying, you don't know if it's quality made.
Looks nice to be fair, I like the Joy Con influenced colours! Got a Pro controller recently though so don't have a need for one of these at the moment.
Ouya trying to fool?
@AlexOlney Ouya gonna call?
Wow... 5 hours of battery life... I can use my joycons for 2-3 days of fairly long play sessions before swapping them over to my other set of joycons... On a side note, would anyone recommend a Pro controller as opposed to joycons and standard grip? I was thinking of getting the Xenoblade one, because I like the look of it, but am quite content with my 4 joycons and grip already, so I can't decide. Thanks.
5 hours battery Life?
I would have likely bought one for the Dpad, but not for 5 hour battery life. Even my Wii U gamepad got more than that, and it had a 6" screen attached!
Aaaand ..... no
Had an ouya back in the day. Was meh, but I did like the controller.
But I have loads of 8bitdo controllers and a pro, so I think I'm good.
@kincl4 @AlexOlney My brain has always pronounced it 'wii-yah', and now you're telling me it's 'oo-yah'.
Mind. Blown.
This is weird. All around.
I have an Ouya and a couple of controllers... Now I'm almost kinda tempted to pick up an extra Pro Controller and shoehorn the guts into an Ouya controller. Little expensive, but wouldn't be too hard... Could make a fun little project.
@NinjaAceTrainer My wife got me a Pro Controller for Christmas. Her sticker shock at that price tag aside, its a really great controller. If you can stomach spending the money for it, I highly recommend it.
As for this controller, there is certainly a market for cheaper alternatives for to the Pro Controller. So as long as they work as intended, I say the more the merrier
Ouch... !
@Bunkerneath Well, the Ouya library has been moved to the Razer Forge TV. I remember receiving an email from Razer to get a discount on one as I owned an Ouya. But in the end I didn't get one, I wasn't going to buy another machine to play the same exact games on. Besides, Razer had issues paying the ex-Ouya devs after the buy-out anyway, so it wasn't all happy ever after when Razer bought the company.
@Robotron2084 Get the Steam edition of the game! Fayju, the dev team, are going to release a major update that makes the game look super pretty!
The OUYA was pretty infamous for its awfully dysfunctional controller. I'm surprised you're showing it off, people are gonna buy this now and get a complete piece of garbage.
I liked my Ouya. Was an early android box before nvidia shield or fire tv.
However, the controller was pretty bad and would start lagging or losing connection. I would usually pair my ps3 controller to my Ouya. Using the controller design is an awful idea.
Hmmm...have to wait for reviews but those features at that price makes it tempting. Most other budget controllers have been wired so I love the fact this isn’t.
I'll always remember Ouya (pronounced "Oh yeah" like Kool-Aid says in my head) as the one video game console with a worse name than Wii U.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fjEViOF4JE
I made a LOT of games for OUYA.
... I’ll miss you, OUYA. :’(
@Robotron2084 I highly doubt that Fayju has updated the Ouya version. But they've been working on the Steam version slowly.
@Jayenkai Did you move your games to the Razer Forge TV?
Full disclosure, I have an Ouya and four controllers. Three are early models and one is the latest. Connectivity dropouts and lag were fixed in later revisions. Really! Firmware was key. The early controllers are disappointing because of said issues, though. That aside, I have always thought the physical design looks are incredible on the little machine. I still think the controller design is one of the best looking — if not necessarily best feeling — controllers out there. It’s so unique and nifty that I honestly am interested in getting one of these. Now the question is is it worth the risk? This could be in probably is an utter garbage knock off.
@UmbreonsPapa Thanks. How much better is it compared to 2 joycons and a grip?
The OUYA controllers were pretty cool, all things considered.
A collegue and I really wanted to make games for the system, but the team didn't make it easy, and once it was actually released publicly flopped as hard as it did, our interest sort of died down.
I hate those rubber bumper buttons on the Ouya controller, those got stuck after a while of usage. I hope no such issue plague this redesign.
@SepticLemon yep, and then some!
I’ve about 60 on OUYA, I think, and then a nice round 100 on Razer ForgetV
Why would we need this when there are so many good controller options already?
Looks interesting--I'll wait for a review before buying.
The handles look awkward to hold, the D-pad seems odd as those higher spots are not on the edges of the pad and the battery like is just crap. The pro controller is expensive for a reason. It’s good quality, looks classy, is awesome to hold and has all the features. I wouldn’t cheap out on it as the pro controller seems to the best one for switch.
$25 for a gyro controller. Would’ve bought this if I didn’t get my pro a little while back
that dpad looks like it might be decent lol
I still have my stupid Ouya...the controller is garbage. This product makes no sense.
This controller is an even bigger failure than the console that inspired its design.
Frick, I saw this and could never actually find one to buy. Thank you.
ou yeah, ouya you say? ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTqhyHuKVKA
The Ouya controller was famously terrible. I have no idea why anyone would want one.
@Jayenkai Hey, I remember you! I am pretty sure you are STILL making Ouya games.
"One game a week" is your thing if I remember correctly?
I still take out the Ouya for the occasional Multiplayer match in Towerfall or hidden in plain sight.
Razer bought OUYA, and shut down OUYA releases a long time ago.
This year they’ve switched off Cortex (the replacement) releases, too.
I’ll still be making AGameAWeek. But it won’t be there, anymore.
If I can keep them running, I will do, but no promises!
..maybe time to hit the Switch, but I don’t want to be "that guy" flooding the market with 100 really minor games!!
Ouya was an interesting little system to say the least but the controller was absolute garbage. I usually just paired my PS4 controller to it or used a mouse to navigate the menus.
I know Chinese firms aren't the mess they used to be, but I would not knowingly buy a cheap Chinese knock off unless I really did not care about the quality at all. I have a Chinese TV but it's a TV, and at this point TVs are so refined you really have to try to screw them up.
@NinjaAceTrainer Sorry for the late response. I find it to be a bit more comfortable. Personally. But if you didn't want to drop the $70 for the Pro Controller, the Joy Cons attached to the grip is sufficient. The only issue being (if you have the issuem which I do at the moment) is the left Joy Con issue
@UmbreonsPapa No problem at all, thanks for re-responding. I have that issue too, but it only acts up about once an hour, so I'll pass until I have money to burn. Thanks a lot.
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