The open-source games console from OUYA now has its own open source development kit. OUYA consoles have so far only been shipped to 1200 developers, but the Dev Portal is now open for anyone to try.

As we reported back in July, the OUYA games console is planned to be an open competitor to the likes of Xbox and PS3, and the spec was attractive enough to have attracted crowd funding to the tune of $1 million. The console will retail at $99, is built on Android, and all the games will be free to try.

In the Kickstarter info about the console, the OUYA team says:

“We're handing the reins over to the developer with only one condition: at least some gameplay has to be free. We borrowed the free-to-play model from games like League of Legends, Team Fortress 2, Triple Town, and many others. Developers can offer a free demo with a full-game upgrade, in-game items or powers, or ask you to subscribe.”

Anyone lucky enough to be among the first 1200 recipients will get a special edition frosted translucent console. The first 1200 are being sent to people who pledged more than $699 in the crowd funding stage. Anyone pledging less via Kickstarter, and any developers who have ordered the console already, should receive their units starting in March.

The OUYA Devs Developer Portal is open now with the full development kit, which OUYA is calling the ODK, along with forums offering online support. The idea is that you can alter anything about the console software so long as you don’t meddle with OUYA’s trademarks. The team at OUYA do say they’re retaining some control to make sure the development and playing environment remains safe and welcoming, and games will be screened for copyrighted content and offensive material.

Programming the OUYA looks a lot like creating an Android game using the Unity game engine with the addtion of some API calls to get access to the game controllers:

• four digital buttons (O, U, Y, and A)
• a four direction digital pad (D-Pad)
• two analog joysticks (LS, RS)
• two digital buttons that activate when the joysticks are pushed straight down (L3, R3)
• two digital bumper buttons (L1, R1)
• two analog triggers (L2, R2)
• a touchpad, configured to behave as a mouse input

This should make it possible to port Android games and vice versa with only a little effort.