These rumours have been doing the rounds for months now. It has possibly even been a couple of years since the first rumblings that Amazon was set to take on home consoles with an Android powered box. It’s a rumour that seems only about six months younger than the talk of AppleTV taking on gamepad support and allowing apps to function as a home console.
But here it is again, originating at VG247 this time. According to multiple sources, who they do not name, Amazon was set to release the console last year but delayed it and are now eyeing up a 2014 release. It’ll be Android powered and they’ve been secretly chatting up certain developers to get them to add controller support to their tablet apps. It sounds like it might be like an updated Kindle Fire reformatted inside a box into which you plug your own screen.
Given that this month the company has been advertising for staff to help work on a new product that offers Amazon the chance to “deliver Digital Media to customers in new ways and disrupt the current marketplace,” it seems that work continues on the much-rumoured device.
It’s easy to dismiss Android based home consoles, especially after several of the contenders in 2013 didn’t exactly inspire confidence and OUYA seems to lurch from one haze of awkward PR to another. But this one has got much more potential than most. For starters, these rumours suggest a retail price of less than $300. That’s a ridiculous price for an Android based home console but that suggests that it might be something more than the OS shoved in a box with an ageing chip and a supremely uncomfortable controller. It suggests that Amazon might be putting a bit more in the box, and having to charge a bit more for it.
Don’t expect anything that competes with a PS4 or Xbox One but given that Amazon’s existing customer base is massive – all eyeballs on their advertising and trust in their distribution – they’ve got a better chance than almost anyone else at making this kind of box a relative success.
Source: VG247
camdaz
£180+ is certainly a lot but it all depends on what it can do. I’ve got PS4 for gaming on TV and a Nexus 7 (& Vita) for when away from the TV.
Avenger
If it’s anything like the Kindle Fire HD then it’ll be shite.
Considering the Wii U has had a price drop, PS3’s and 360’s are cheaper, I really can’t see the point aside from it being a ‘fad’ item.
DrDamn
Not sure how high a price they can really sustain. With similar boxes rumoured from Apple and Google I would think a bit of a price war and an eventual price of around £100-£130. They will offer something different to the established and new consoles, so co-existence I think is entirely possible.
Anyone else wanting to get into this market, Ouya and PSVTV I think are too late and haven’t taken advantage of the lead they have had.
Starman
I think the problem with any android consoles is most of the games available aren’t optimised to any particular device unlike console and iphone games.
Hobbes130
The way they could succeed is with game price. If the android games are priced as they are for phones and tablets, and perhaps you can sync your existing purchases, they could have a winner if the system price is low.
I still cannot understand (and have no interest in buying it) how Angry Birds Star Wars can be £32.99 on the PS4 when it’s 69p for my phone.
The Amazon console, if it is indeed a thing, needs to target the consumer that won’t pay £40 for a game, but will happily pay sub £1 for all the tat you can get on smartphones and tablets to play on their TV. (I admit there are some good games but they tend to be the exception)
The other string to Amazon’s bow is that they own Lovefilm, the streaming service. It’s on a par with Netflix in the UK for content offered and although Sony & Microsoft console owners have had the availability of these services for ages, for a non-gamer, to be offered a good streaming service and very cheap games, for some, it will be a winner.
Obviously, you can hear the comments now “Why do you pay £40 for your PS4 games, they’re only 99p on my Amazon Tatbox 2000?” it won’t put any dent in the hardcore gamer market, but perhaps the casual non-gamer will go for it. It might sound like a bad idea but look at how the first Wii targeted the non-gaming maket and made a fortune…
TSBonyman
If they were making something sub-€100 i think they might have a chance to compete with Ouya and whatever Apple are planning but that price seems more in line with a proper games console – something i doubt this will be. Also as it’s the Android platform i could easily see the market being flooded with similar and cheaper devices.
boeboe
NO! We do not need a watered down console market. This just screams micro transactions and shitty portable games with no soul. FUCK OFF.
zeroTRoN
Oh hey. Why dont we all release our own gaje consoles. The way this “FAD” is going, how long before we see a NIKE system ? MTV perhaps ? Fakebook? McDonalds maybe? oh , oh, a Quaker Oats Android based home console! Why does this feel like the game industry days from back in the 80’s? This needs to just STOP already