Ouya Backers Receive Free Store Credit

Unsatisfied Ouya Kickstarter backers are entitled to free store credit on the Ouya marketplace.

Backers have faced a variety of issues, such as consoles being delivered much later than promised, problems with controllers (if they weren't outright missing), and poor customer service. An email has been sent to backers of the Android-based game console informing them they may receive $13.37 that can be used on any purchases made on the Ouya's Discover store as a way of making amends for the rough launch.

"It wasn't OK that some of you -- our most loyal supporters -- didn't get your OUYA until after it was on store shelves," reads part of the email sent out by Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman. "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. That being the case, we want to do more than tell you how much we appreciate you -- we want to show it."

This offer comes almost exactly one year after the Ouya's record-breaking Kickstarter concluded. Its goal of $950,000 was surpassed many times over, with the final pledge total coming out to more than $8.5 million. Consoles began shipping to backers in March, and a retail launch followed in June.

You can read IGN's review of the device here.

So far, software sales have been modest. Only 27% of Ouya owners have bought a game through the console, though Uhrman has refused to acknowledge this as being a bad sign considering the system allows every one of its games to be sampled without a purchase.

This $13.37 offering by Ouya could not only generate good will among backers, but it may have the added benefit of providing a boost to software sales by getting owners to make purchases on the marketplace, even if those purchases aren't actually coming out of users' wallets.

Are you an Ouya backer who is less than pleased with the system thus far? If so, does this free credit make you feel any better about the situation? Let us know in the comments.

Chris Pereira is a freelance writer who spends his spare time agonizing over the final seasons of The X-Files. Check out what he's saying on Twitter and follow him on IGN.

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