An update on the Ouya website today revealed that Kickstarter backers will have their Ouya consoles shipped out to them on March 28th. In order to meet that ship date, production on the tiny Android-powered consoles has already started. If you listen close you can almost hear the whirr of the itty-bitty wheels turning the little conveyor belt on the miniaturized assembly lines.
To celebrate the milestone the company announced that several well know game developers have jumped on board with the promise of exclusive games for the Ouya console.
The first name on the list of new Ouya partners is none other than Kim Swift of Airtight Games. You might remember Kim as having worked on a few little-known games such as; Portal, Left 4 Dead, and Quantum Conundrum. There is no word on what exactly it is that Swift is bringing to the Ouya, but it is an exclusive and she promised that we should hear an official announcement soon.
Minority Media (the developers behind one of my personal favorite games of 2012, Papo & Yo) has also pledged their support with a new “adventure puzzler” that will take advantage of the “Ouya touchpad and buttons simultaneously”.
Tripwire Interactive is launching The Ball on the Ouya this March, and working on a new unnamed exclusive game for the console. Additionally, nWay has pledged to port their action-RPG ChronoBlade to the console.
Finally, Kellee Santiago (co-founder of thatgamecompany, the studio behind the amazing PSN game Journey) has joined the Ouya team as the head of developer relations. A position otherwise know as Ouya’s DBF (Developer’s Best Friend).
The Ouya fully launches this June (pre-orders start to roll out in April) and will be available both online at at retailers for $99.99, plus another $49.99 for an additional controller. As more announcements are made about the console we will let you know.
