Amazon, as we predicted, launched its own entry into the console wars today with the Amazon Fire TV, a $99 Android-powered box that promises high-quality streaming, apps, and a major emphasis on gaming. The Amazon Fire TV features a quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM, which Amazon claims makes it three times faster than competing boxes from Roku and Apple. The box uses an Adreno 320 for graphics, and has dual-band Wi-Fi for fast streaming.
Amazon has also lined up many key partners, including Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, Vimeo, MLB.tv and the NBA. The company has also included a remote that makes it easy to do voice search, and it has a click wheel to make text entry easier. When you press play, content starts playing back immediately ith no waiting, a definite plus compared to other set-top boxes.
Gaming is obviously where Amazon has put a lot of effort, showing a version of Minecraft running on the Amazon Fire TV, and announcing publishers like EA, Disney, Sega, Ubisoft and TakeTwo will be contributing to the device. Amazon Game Studios unveiled Sev Zero, an exclusive third-person shooter for the Amazon Fire TV.
The Amazon Fire TV box is only 0.7″ high, and is available now for $99. The Fire Game Controller will sell for $40, though you can also play games with the remote included with the Amazon Fire TV. A version of the Amazon Fire TV bundled with the game controller will sell for $140. Amazon boasta games like Minecraft, The Walking Dead, Monsters University and Sev Zero are available now plus over a hundred titles to explore, with thousands more coming soon. Many are free, and Amazon says the average price of paid games is only $1.85.
This is a strong bid by Amazon to establish itself as a player in the family room. While the game lineup is thin to start, Amazon will be able to put millions of these boxes into homes as a streaming device. That in turn will be an attractive market for game developers. The Amazon Fire TV won’t be competition for high-end consoles, but it’s going to make the market tougher for low-end boxes from many companies. Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony will have to take this into consideration if they plan on putting consoles into that $99 price range (PS Vita TV ), and Apple needs to get off the dime and move forward with a revised Apple TV as soon as they can.
