Ouya Android Gaming Console Ships Developer Kits Ahead Of Schedule

The Ouya Android gaming console will begin its launch in earnest now. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the Ouya developer consoles were projected to release closer to the end of December but some developer console are already shipping.

Those who contributed to the Kickstarter Ouya project early on should expect to have the open-source Android machine in their hands no later than January 10, according to new posts on the official Ouya forums. The OUYA Development Kit (ODK) includes one special dev console and two controllers. The Ouya Software Development Kit (SDK) is still expected to be released on December 28 which gives game developers plenty of time to familiarize themselves with the Ouya platform before receiving the hardware in the mail.

Like the Amazon Kindle Fire HD the Ouya will not be tied into the normal Google Play store. While, yes, there are tons of games already available all of those games are intended for touchscreens and not a controller. It’s possible that using the OUYA Development Kit (ODK) that game developers could simulate some of this functionality in order to make porting their game titles easier. A mouse-like cursor could be combined with buttons for “touching” and “not touching”. Zooming out via pinching could be another button. But many games also feature dynamic interfaces with buttons all over the screen so those would have to be updated to natively support the Ouya.

The Ouya gaming console will be available to normal gamers for a low price of $99 USD. According to Tech Spot, the Ouya sets records for a Kickstarter project:

“Ouya was one of the most successful crowd sourced campaigns of 2012, raising over $8.5 million from more than 63,000 backers. Earlier this month, the firm behind the $100 Android console announced 10 new games would be coming to the console in time for a planned March release. New titles include Fist of Awesome, MechKnight Chronicles, Syder Arcade, KidElectro, Space Runner, Legend of Dungeon, iMech Online, DustyRevenge, HolyShield! and Starbound.”

Do you plan on buying an Ouya gaming console?