It's actually not true, because they had tiers for developers: "Developer Special. A first-run OUYA (already rooted so you can just get going), EARLY SDK ACCES

It's actually not true, because they had tiers for developers: "Developer Special. A first-run OUYA (already rooted so you can just get going), EARLY SDK ACCESS, an extra controller, and we'll help you get started. We'll also help you promote your game for ONE YEAR, and your games will be marked with a FOUNDER EMBLEM."