Ouya development kits will ship 'on time' on Dec. 28

Development kits for the Ouya console will ship "on time" on Dec. 28, the company announced today.

Backers of the console's Kickstarter campaign who pledged $699 or more can expect to receive their Ouya dev kits, containing an early prototype and controller, a few days after the ship date, although supporters in Turkey and Russia will have to wait a bit longer due to shipping times. The company notes that although "every Ouya will be a dev console" once the final product ships, early adopters can expect something special once they receive their console.

"What we didn't tell you was that the advance dev consoles you ordered are pretty special — you'll know what I mean when you open yours," the company wrote in its blog. "They're rare drops."

Once the kits have shipped, all developers, including those who did not back Ouya, will be given access to more information, Ouya forums and a place to upload their games through the company's web portal.

The company is also giving away an Ouya console every day between Dec. 10 and 20 to those who did not pre-order an Ouya. To enter, applicants must tweet a game they would like to make for Ouya with the hashtag #myouyagame.

The retail version of Ouya is scheduled to ship to Kickstarter backers in March 2013.