Amazon is reportedly working on developing an Android-operated gaming console (like the Ouya) scheduled for a launch “by the end of the year,” Game Informer reports mentioning people “who have knowledge of the in-development hardware.”The console will come with a dedicated controller, games would be available on Amazon’s library of Android titles on its marketplace.
The Android-based console could be scheduled for a release by the end of the year, most likely by Black Friday,” according to Game Informer. Amazon in its current portfolio of Android devices offers a range of Kindle Fire Tablets and is also rumoured to be developing a smartphone with a 3D screen.
A few micro-consoles already are using Google’s smartphone and tablet operating system, such as the Kickstarted Ouya and PlayJam’s GameStick. Polygon reported last month that Google may be developing its own Android -powered gaming console.Shortly after, reports suggested that Google had privately displayed a prototype of a set-top box device with a camera and motion sensor during this calender year’s Consumer Electronics Show.
So, if this rumour has any amount of truth in it, it could be big news, both for Amazon and the expanding market of Android-based consoles.As Ouya had to seek assistance from Kickstarter for its funding, Amazon console will have the leverage here bearing in mind the company’s substantial resources.Not to forget that Prime users will have the benefit of free two day shipping, which clearly suggests that they’d probably get their consoles a lot faster when compared with Ouya.It will be interesting to watch how things unfold. We could see a new competitor taking on the big guns of the console market.
Source:GameInformer; Polygon