A month ago, Ouya called on gamers and developers to Kickstart exclusive games for the console. Under the rules of Ouya’s promotion, the company pledged to match any user-funded games between $50,000 and $250,000, and so far two games have reached their goal. There’s a problem though: both games are alleged to be scams.
The first Ouya-backed games on Kickstarter might be scams
17 backers contributed over $4,000 each
The game Gridiron Thunder, to date, has raised $78,229, surpassing its goal by over $3,000. When Joystiq announced the news, one reader decided something was wrong. With just 125 backers, most on reasonably low tiers, reader "louiedog" calculated 17 backers had individually contributed over $4,000 to the project. Joystiq then discovered via Kickstarter tracker Kicktraq that the majority of the funding came on four days, where it appears round pledges totaling $10,000 and $25,000 were made.
Kicktraq chart showing daily pledges for Gridiron Thunder
Backers include a woman who has been reported as missing since 2011
It's also alleged that another game, Elementary, My Dear Holmes!, is also suspect. Although there are no strange large donations, Fanboys Anonymous looked into some of the project's mystery backers, discovering they included "celebrities such as Iron Chef's Cat Cora, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, and, most heinously, a woman who has been reported as missing since 2011."
It’s too early to condemn either game, but Fanboys Anonymous is calling for Ouya and Kickstarter to look into both of the Kickstarters. In response to Joystiq’s request for comment on the allegations, Ouya told the site that it “couldn’t be more excited to see [the team behind Gridiron Thunder] bring their game along with their supportive community to Ouya.”
Thanks, nikescar!
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