Ouya shipping to Kickstarter backers March 28th

$99.99 gaming console Ouya will be shipping to its Kickstarter backers on March 28th, the company has just announced. A full retail launch is still planned for June, but the console will be shipping soon to more than developers, who started receiving kits late last year. We’re also hearing about some potentially exciting new Ouya projects. While we already knew a bit about what was coming to the platform, the company has announced that designer Kim Swift (of Portal and Left 4 Dead fame) and her team at Airtight Games will develop a new title exclusive to Ouya. An announcement with some real details should be “coming soon,” but the game is supposed to have a “completely unexpected, imaginative slant.”

Minority Media, which developed Papa & Yo, will also be bringing an apparently non-exclusive title that’s “designed to take full advantage of the Ouya touchpad and buttons simultaneously,” and a new title from The Ball developers Tripwire will be coming, as will RPG ChronoBlade. To cement its relationship with developers, the Ouya team is also hiring Kellee Santiago — co-founder of Flower and Journey’s thatgamecompany and Indie Fund partner — to serve as a liaison or “Developer’s Best Friend” for Ouya.