Ouya Console Release: Amazon Shelves Sold Out, Backers Disappointed

Ouya quickly held those who waited for its release by the neck during its launch, but was quickly faced with a double-edged sword in terms of supply, as the console was quickly sold out on Amazon.com, with distribution delays to its Kickstarter backers, TechRadar.com reports.

"Well it is the 25th of June and I still have not received my Ouya. What a shame," one of Ouya's backers wrote on Kickstarter. "As each day ticks by I regret backing this project more and more."

According to several Facebook notes by Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman and head of operations Ken Stephens, it would seem that the delay of distribution to backers is because of a shipping problem. Ouya, which is manufactured in China, is seeing delay issues at Hong Kong as they ship the units.

Despite all this, Stephens assures that the shipment has left Hong Kong and that it would take around 15 days to get to the customers. Backers from all over the world have been affected, Stephens added.  

Initially funded and backed via crowdsourcing engine Kickstarter, Ouya makes its debut in North American and UK shelves this week, or at least Ouya says in its announcement, TechRadar notes. Priced at $99.99, Ouya's retail partners include Target, Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, and GAME.

The models released for early trials gathered mixed reactions, with the company promising immediate improvements after reviewers posted comments.

Ouya brings with it around 170 games and around 17,000 developers, all tracing its history from Ouya's beginnings at Kickstarter.

"It's incredible to think that a little under a year ago Ouya was just an idea - we wanted to do something completely new in console gaming: build a $99 game console, with no discs to buy, open to all developers, and affordable to all gamers," Uhrman was quoted as saying.

While stocks have been sold out at Amazon, TechRadar reports that it is still available via Best Buy.

Aside from gaming, Ouya's features also include multimedia offers such as hi-res video streaming as well as music apps from various app providers.

We're waiting for more updates on this development.