Support NeoGAF

[LewieP]

However such a clause would be pretty much standard in these types of contracts I would think.

Assuming anything Ouya has done has been done in the typical industry standard way would be a grave mistake, especially when it comes to drawing up contracts.

 

[BaloneyFraise]

This doesn't look good, they already reduced their original scope a lot.

 

[infovore]

Yeah, but again it seems weird that there would be a provision in the contract preventing the sale of material assets, just for a situation like this. No creditor would ever approve any loan if you could just sell your main assets and leave the shell to die with the debt. There's of course a chance these developers had terrible representation and didn't think of requesting a clause like that. However such a clause would be pretty much standard in these types of contracts I would think.

For a company like OUYA, a startup which has been in financial difficulties for some time, the major creditors will negotiate safeguards, like positions on the board of directors, or preferential treatment of their claims. Venture capital firms know that most startups fail, and how to structure deals to limit their exposure to risk and loss. So it's likely that OUYA's major creditors had to approve the terms of the sale, and its proceeds are likely to have gone to them first.

The devs on the other hand are in the "OUYA will double your kickstarter" program. They never were in a position to negotiate the terms of those contracts. The most amazing thing there is that section 8.3 wasn't present from the very start.

One thing the devs may have in their favor is that this likely also relieve them of the 6-month exclusivity to the OUYACortex store. It should leave them free to attempt to negotiate some deal with other platform holders. (DIsclaimer to any devs reading this: consult a lawyer.)

 

[crazygambit]

For a company like OUYA, a startup which has been in financial difficulties for some time, the major creditors will negotiate safeguards, like positions on the board of directors, or preferential treatment of their claims. Venture capital firms know that most startups fail, and how to structure deals to limit their exposure to risk and loss. So it's likely that OUYA's major creditors had to approve the terms of the sale, and its proceeds are likely to have gone to them first.

The devs on the other hand are in the "OUYA will double your kickstarter" program. They never were in a position to negotiate the terms of those contracts. The most amazing thing there is that section 8.3 wasn't present from the very start.

One thing the devs may have in their favor is that this likely also relieve them of the 6-month exclusivity to the OUYACortex store. It should leave them free to attempt to negotiate some deal with other platform holders. (DIsclaimer to any devs reading this: consult a lawyer.)

I would think that's a given if one party didn't (or wasn't able) to fulfill its part of the contract.

As for the 8.3 clause, it seems the devs just had poor (cheap and probably not expert) representation if they signed a contract that contained that clause, especially knowing Ouya was very likely to face some sort of economical hardship.

 

[infovore]

It should leave them free to attempt to negotiate some deal with other platform holders.

I would think that's a given if one party didn't (or wasn't able) to fulfill its part of the contract.

According to the OP "... Ouya notified these developers via Skype voice calls that they will not get the rest of the money they were owed ..." That isn't exactly getting things in writing. Best case, it was a friendly heads-up: "the money you were counting on won't arrive, you'd better engage your contingency plans now."

As for the 8.3 clause, it seems the devs just had poor (cheap and probably not expert) representation if they signed a contract that contained that clause, especially knowing Ouya was very likely to face some sort of economical hardship.

Each dev will have had their own representation, if any. And this was a many-to-one negotiation: if you're an unexceptional part of the many you don't get to dictate, or even negotiate, terms.

 

[Neuromancer]

Yow that sucks. I feel bad for the devs affected. Imagine missing out on the $30K you need to finish your game for reasons completely outside your control.

 

[TheMan]

yeah it sucks, but what do they expect? no one bought any fucking ouyas, so how in the world were they gonna pay out? yeah i guess you could say they were swindled, but how did getting into bed with fucking ouya sound like a viable business decision?

 

[Banjo-Kazooie]

Razer is gong to pay them, but the deals are structured differently:

http://www.polygon.com/2015/7/28/9059341/free-the-game-fund-ouya-razer

 

[Neuromancer]

Razer is gong to pay them, but the deals are structured differently:

http://www.polygon.com/2015/7/28/9059341/free-the-game-fund-ouya-razer

Huh that's really interesting. Seems like a pretty good deal to me.

"What we want to do is make sure we support indie developers," [Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan] said. "Razer will be backing the new Ouya publishing arm. So we are going to try and make good on this fund and give these developers an option."

That option is to sign a new contract that reflects the specifics of the deal with Ouya, with two major exceptions.

The games released under the fund will no longer have to be exclusive to the platform. And the money given to developers will be used, once the game is published, to give away copies of the game to people on Razer's Cortex storefront.

 

[SwiftDeath]

And the money given to developers will be used, once the game is published, to give away copies of the game to people on Razer's Cortex storefront.

What, so the developers wouldn't get funding from Razer to develop the game, just get money for releasing X number of free copies for Razer to give away on the cortex storefront?

It's better than nothing but still a bit odd

 

[SerTapTap]

Doesn't sound too bad honestly, since you're only giving way $bonus worth of games and most of the people scampering for free games probably had no intent to purchase your game in particular anyway so it's not $bonus worth of lost cash.

 

[infovore]

What, so the developers wouldn't get funding from Razer to develop the game, just get money for releasing X number of free copies for Razer to give away on the cortex storefront?

It's better than nothing but still a bit odd

Based on the article Razer does provide funding, and Razer gets copies of the games in return, proportional to the amount of funding they provide. This replaces the temporary exclusivity that the deal with OUYA had. Razer will probably use these games to market their console and store. Quite clever.