Below you will find the complete Reddit Q&A session with Julie Uhrman, OUYA’s founder. In this long Q&A session she answers some of the concerns that the community has had about the overlay funded kickstart project for OUYA.
She covers DRM, the OUYA Controller, Price of games on OUYA, what she is planning to do with the $5million extra that was raised and much more.
Q: How do you plan to tackle to content discoverability problem that plagues current digital content stores?
A (Julie Uhrman): This is definitely one of the most important things for us. We have the advantage of being mostly focused on games, we won’t have lots of other categories to deal with. So we’ll try to do the standard stuff: top games by popularity, for example. But we’re also looking at grouping by genre, doing OUYA’s picks, seeing some unknown finds that the community surfaces. But this is going to evolve, we will have to learn as we go. Tracking usage instead of just sales is a great idea — we have to think on that more.
Q: A feature suggestion: Let’s say I’m looking at an OUYA game in my web browser (similar to browsing the google play store in a browser.) Can I click a button to remind my OUYA to download the game when I next turn it on?
This would really help developers take advantage of marketing from blogs and articles - readers can learn about a game that interests them and set a reminder to try out. It’s important because you can learn about a cool game at any time during your day but the OUYA is trapped at home, tethered to the TV.
A (Julie Uhrman): Great idea and something we’ve been thinking about it — lots of things we’d like to do, probably can’t do at launch. But we’ll look at it!
Q: Several questions… from a developer standpoint:
How will voice be handled when it is implemented? Will it be based on developer integration per game or will it be console centric (like XBL)? In my opinion console centric is important for promoting a strong community that holds itself together.
The Developer Special said that we get “first-run” Ouyas. Does this refer to just being a part of the initial launch in March (pre-rooted) or will these be sent out in December to allow use to work with the console prior to launch?
How strict will networking be on the Ouya for multiplayer games? For example will games on the Ouya be able to connect to any database/server on the web or will it be controlled? In my opinion being able to access any database/server on the web would help promote cross platform play and prevent communities from being segmented.
The Developer Special reward states that our game will be promoted for one year. Will this timer start on release of our game or will it start on release of the console? I also wanted to request confirmation that the founder symbol is put on all games made by the developer, not just the first one that is promoted for one year.
Will developers be able to generate promo codes for purchasable content/full game to be able to hand out to reviewers, contests, etc.?
How many controllers will the Ouya recognize? Developers get a third… does this mean that it recognizes 3 or 4 or is this third controller just for backup?
Do developers still get engraved controllers? And if so is it just the two engraved controllers or do we get our third extra controller engraved? And can we have different names engraved per controller (like one for my wife and son)?
I know these are a lot of questions, but it would be great to get some clarification on many of those issues as I know a lot of them overlap with other questions. 
Looking forward to being a part of the Ouya family and adding “Covet” as one of the founder games.
A (Julie Uhrman): Lots here! Let me try to quickly answer as many as I can. We haven’t made a plan for voice chat yet, but this feedback is great.
Developers will get their OUYAs in December — expect a pre-rooted, rough product. We want you going, though.
As for networking, you can do what you want within your game code, connect to whatever server — unlike traditional consoles. And as for promotion… we’re figuring out exactly how to do, presumably you would prefer it start with the release of the game. And, yes, the founder symbol would be for all your games.
Promo codes: yes, at some point, not sure at launch.
PHEW, OK gotta move to other questions! Some of this stuff we can handle through Kickstarter backer survey, as you pointed out.
But most of all: THANK YOU. It’s great you’re thinking about this so deeply. The more we raise in our Kickstarter, the more of this we can do.
Q: I’m mainly concerned (interested, not worried) about the various online features that will be available. Primarily, will there be a web-browser included at launch? And if not, maybe sometime down the road? Also, what can we expect for the community aspects of the console (friend-list, achievements/trophies/other-name-for-in-game-accomplishments, etc.)? Thanks for all you’re doing! Can’t wait to get my hands on OUYA!
A (Julie Uhrman): We are working to include a web browser in time for launch — we do think we’ll do one it’s just a matter of resourcing.
As for community, we have plans to build lots, but at launch it will probably be pretty simple.
Thanks for supporting us!
Q: What is the planned life cycle of the ouya as a console? Will new versions be released as the technology advances?
A (Julie Uhrman): We are still figuring that out, it’s just too early in the product lifecyle to predict how this will evolve. We think this hardware will be plenty powerful to last a while — there is always something new that comes out, but having a simple, open product that developers can build on is more important.
Q: Will there be support for other USB controllers and USB Keyboards at launch?
A (Julie Uhrman): Yes - although we haven’t tested a wide range of peripherals yet, there will be support for these types of input devices (it’s in Android today).
Q: Are there any plans for an online community built into the Ouya platform? Like a trophy system and a friend list for online play?
Will there be any tie-ins with android phones with the Ouya platform?
Will the Ouya platform bring any other support for third party accessories? (Steering wheels, motion controllers, cameras)
A (Julie Uhrman): Yes, yes, and yes. When? Can’t say…
(But we do hope that others will build accessories, that developers will support in their games. And we have thought about tie-in apps to Android phones.)
So invite all your friends!
Q: Are there any plans to support more than two controllers on a single Ouya? I would really love the ability to play four-player games with my friends on this console.
A (Julie Uhrman): We are still figuring this out — we don’t want to leave any of your friends out
Q: Is sideloading separate .apk flies to install apps not in the ouya store something that is possible without having to root and lose access to the ouya store?
Also do you have anything to announce with unity support? Will it be a separate plugin or part of the current android add-on?
A (Julie Uhrman): Yes, we will allow installation of your APKs.
Q: I haven’t seen it definitively said one way or another whether you guys will have a gyroscope/accelerometer in the controller. Can you answer this question?
I’m a huge fan of the indy motion game Johann Sebastian Joust — if this could be played on an Ouya I think it could be a system seller at 100 bucks. Moving in slow motion is crazy fun.
A (Julie Uhrman): Not in our controller, but you could make one! That game looks great.
Q: There have been a lot of complaints about the D-pad so far (people are worried it will be too much like the Xbox 360′s failed attempt) Is Ouya considering changing the Design of the D-pad? or Is there a special bit of engineering underneath that bad boy we don’t know about?
A (Julie Uhrman): Yes, we heard the feedback on the circular d-pad. this is why it’s great to include the community. We’re looking at it again with Yves and team. Stay Tuned.
ALSO, this is my last question…sorry…lots of work to do
Q: When Google updates the Android version, are you guys going to update too? Or are you going to set a kernel that is just updated externally?
A (Julie Uhrman): We’ll review each new Android version as it’s released, and try to update as we can. They key is making sure that the hardware is fully supported with the right drivers, optimizations etc.
Q: How do you guys plan on doing distribution of the OUYA? Online, retail, both? Also, I heard that we may possibly have the option to buy an OUYA pre-rooted, is this true? If so, would that be along side retail OUYA’s or just online? Would there be any difference in price, packaging, etc?
A (Julie Uhrman): We’re talking to all kinds of retailers… (they are enthiusiastic!) but we haven’t announced anything yet. And, yes, if you get one of our developer specials on Kickstarter it will be pre-rooted, but we will probably not offer a pre-rooted console after the Kickstarter is over.
Q: As a potential developer, what will be done to counter piracy? Android’s methods aren’t quite enough (see Dead Trigger).
A (Julie Uhrman): As the comments show, this is an important balance: we want to protect developers, and have a great experience for users. Our basic belief is that requiring all paid content to authenticate with our servers when you buy it is a good measure to prevent piracy.
Q: I’m a former OUYA backer. I withdrew from the Kickstarter when I saw this article: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20…-to-skepticismwhich states: all the paid content will require authentication with OUYA’s servers
At the time I withdrew, you had no information about this DRM, which I feel is a bit deceptive. Can you please give concrete information about the OUYA’s DRM?
I’m firmly anti-DRM but I love the idea of the OUYA. I’m hoping that this Eurogamer article just had incorrect information. Thanks!
A (Julie Uhrman): Much as we know some folks oppose DRM, we need to support it for game developers who want it. Some game developers simply won’t develop if they’re concerned about piracy, others don’t mind sharing source code openly. We’ll support both. It’s hard for us to hear when people pull out, but every choice we make has tradeoffs. We hope you’ll reconsider, since this platform is open in so many ways.
Q: Being built on Android would all the games I purchased for my phone and tablet work on the Ouya?
A (Julie Uhrman): They’d have to be published to our store by the game’s developer.
Q: There has been a fair amount of speculation on Hacker News (and possibly other sites) throughout the Kickstarter campaign questioning the schedule you have set yourself, to release the OUYA by March 2013.
How do you respond to such speculation?
A (Julie Uhrman): Per your question, we have an experienced team on hand, that has seen comparable products (for example, Android tablets) built and released in even less time. But ultimately, the proof will be in March (And December for the early developer boxes and the SDK…) Most of the people who have criticized the date don’t seem to have hardware experience. Muffi Ghadiali, our product lead, was one of the key Kindle product developers — he knows what he’s doing.
Q: How much freedom exactly do we have with this console? (i.e. Custom OS, homebrew, etc.)
Its just “open source” seems to have different meanings to different people.
A (Julie Uhrman): You’re absolutely right. You’ll be able to access the base hardware, and hack the OS as well. We’re figuring out which elements to make changeable when the console is rooted (we’ve heard a lot of people want to keep access to the store).
Q: Seeing how you’ve smashed your goal - what will all the extra money be put towards? Will it go toward making a better console, or has final prototyping and specs already been sorted?
A (Julie Uhrman): We don’t look at the money beyond our initial target as additional funds, because it’s actually mostly additional console orders (as bluescrn said below).
Most of the money is spoken for, because we’ll be using it to deliver the OUYA consoles to our backers. But to the extent we have some left over, we’ll be using it to continue to improve our platform and encourage game developers to publish more games to OUYA. We were honored that Square Enix decided to publish Final Fantasy, and hope for more…
Q: What moment was it when you decided that you should make your own console?
A (Julie Uhrman): Birth
Q: My main hardball question is: What is the advantage to us, the players and consumers, of having a custom Ouya game store rather than the standard Google Play store? Or is this simply the cost of getting a cheap device?
For example OnLive is already available on the Android Marketplace. Having a separate store meant you needed to make a deal with them rather than it just being available by default.
A (Julie Uhrman): I love my backers - great answers below! The advantage is that you know all the games are built for OUYA. And for us, it enables us to make money so we can create this platform in the first place.
Q: I’m fairly certain this is already the case. In any screenshots showing the UI of the operating system, button prompts seem to reflect the fact that they are O, U, Y, and A. It just doesn’t show those letters on the CGI-rendered controller images that have been distributed.
A (Julie Uhrman): Check out our new update - hope you like it!
Q: What do you expect the average price to be for software on the OUYA?
I know that developers have freedom to choose their own prices, I’m more wondering what your feeling is for where prices will naturally end up.
A (Julie Uhrman): Great question, no idea. I expect some developers will do a whole game (after free demo) and others will do microtransactions, so it could be a very wide range.
You check out the orignal interview on Reddit HERE
