The successfully crowdfunded, Android-powered, open games console project OUYA has started shipping units to its early Kickstarter backers today, and will continue to fill orders for "several weeks", the device's creators announced in a blog update today.

Start checking your mailboxes daily as these units roll out over the next few weeks. You'll get an email when your console ships out of our factory. Keep in mind, it’s a rolling shipment, and consoles will be arriving at houses every day for the next several weeks.

Once your OUYA arrives: get playing!

As of 7:59 p.m. PT, there are already 104 published games on OUYA (all still free to try), like Final Fantasy III and some new surprises we think you’ll love: Beast Boxing Turbo, Stalagflight, Knightmare Tower, and even one called Save the Puppies. There are already a few entertainment apps, too. You can watch the TV shows and movies you already own with XBMC and Flixster, or watch games streamed through TwitchTV.

On a less positive note, the update also revealed a factoid which is likely to ruffle a few feathers: that registration of a valid credit/debit card will be required to download games from the system's app store.

You'll need a credit/debit card to download games. All games are still free to try. Your card will only be charged if you buy content you love. We do want valid payment information for everyone. This is to ensure that game developers can get paid when you love their game.

No other justification for this requirement was offered. The move seems particularly strange, as card registration is not mandatory for free downloads on many other major walled-garden app stores such as Apple's iTunes, Google's Play store, and Steam.

A tradition retail store launch for the US$99 OUYA console is still on track for June 2013, and at least one of the US retailers expected to stock the device (Amazon) is offering international shipping.