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Amazon Announces Amazon Fire TV Media Device
At an event today in New York City, Amazon announced its long anticipated media device. The Amazon Fire TV is a small box featuring a quad-core processor and a dedicated GPU similar to those found in smartphones.
The Amazon Fire TV also includes 2 GB of RAM, dual-band WiFi, and comes with its own remote control. The device runs on Android, as we revealed in August 2013.
The device will not only host Amazon's own Prime video content, but also that of other services. Hulu Plus will be available at launch also, with more services coming later.
Amazon has announced that Ubisoft, Take-Two, Double Fine, Disney, and Gameloft are all on board to support the device. Amazon Games' Mike Frazzini says that by next month, there will be over 1,000 games available on Fire TV, playable with the remote control, a downloadable app, or the $40 controller that was leaked last month.
Minecraft will be available, though it's not clear if it mirrors the mobile, console, or PC version of that game (Update: It's Minecraft Pocket Edition). Mobile style games were also shown off, including a Monsters Inc. endless runner. Amazon says the average price of games will be under $2.
As expected, Amazon will also be making its own game content for the Fire TV. The company acquired Killer Instinct developer Double Helix earlier this year. An original game called Sev Zero was shown off to demonstrate the kind of content Amazon will be providing.
The Fire TV is priced at $99 and is available today.
[Source: Engadget]
Our Take
As a media device, Amazon is shooting for a reasonable price point. It's too early to judge the Fire TV as a gaming console, though.
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