Ouya confirms March 28 console shipping and hires ex-Journey developer Kellee Santiago

Ouya said today that it will ship its Android game console on March 28 to consumers who backed its Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. On top of that, the company announced that Kellee Santiago has joined the company as the head of developer relations.

“Parts are in the factory, and assembly lines are buzzing,” the San Francisco company wrote in a blog post.

Santiago’s hire is a coup for the indie-focused company. She was recently chief executive of Thatgamecompany, the maker of titles such as Journey and Flower. Santiago also serves as a partner at the Indie Fund.

She said, “Ouya gets it. This is the first console company that really understands how important it is to remove the barriers to development. By freeing up the development process, Ouya is opening up new doors in console gaming.”

The full launch of the console is still set for June, when Ouya will be available in stores including Best Buy, Amazon, Target, and GameStop. In the meantime, the company will send consoles to tens of thousands of people who pledged funds and helped it raise more than $8 million in the largest game crowdfunding project on Kickstarter.

Ouya also said that Kim Swift — the creator of titles like Portal, Left 4 Dead, and Quantum Conundrum — will develop an exclusive title for Ouya along with the team at Airtight Games.

“We truly feel that this platform will give us the freedom to fully realize the funky, unique game we have in mind,” Swift said. “Though the title will definitely appeal to core gamers in terms of skill and difficulty, it really has a completely unexpected, imaginative slant that’s totally at home on this console.”

Also, Minority Media, the developers of Sony’s Papo & Yo, will release their adventure-puzzle game on Ouya this fall.

And Tripwire Interactive is bringing The Ball to Ouya in March. It is also working on an exclusive title for the console.

Nway is working to bring over ChronoBlade. The company also announced the winners of its 10-day game jam with Kill Screen. The winners are:

• CREATE Grand Prize: Strange Happenings on Murder Island (Free Lives)
• Most Surprising: Television (Laboratory Games LLC)
• Four Bright Buttons and Two Sticks: Bombball (E McNeill)
• Most Immersive: Whispering Willows (Night Light Interactive)
• Pop Your Eyes Out: Pipnis (Santa Ragione)
• Best Couch with Friends Games: 2D Cube Zombie Platformer (Molinware)
• Best Game Created Using Unity Engine: Stikbold (Team Stikbold)