Amazon unveils updated gaming-focused Fire TV

When Apple released its updated Apple TV set-top box earlier this month, the company positioned the device as a gaming console as much as a streaming box, instead of focusing on HomeKit and the smart home. Next, Amazon released the newest version of its streaming box, the Fire TV, and it also surprisingly highlighted its gaming capability. That said, Amazon took a very different approach to gaming from what Apple did.

The Amazon Fire TV Gaming Edition comes bundled with a conventional gaming controller not unlike the Xbox controller line. The controller itself has a few interesting aspects to it that stand out, however, notably voice search capability along with a headphone jack. It can be purchased separately, and will work with any new edition of the Fire TV, which will cost $99. The Gaming Edition with controller and a pair of games bundled in will cost $139.99.

The company has come out with a number of new products over the past month that have competed heavily on price. For example, the Apple TV costs about $20 more for its base edition and does not come with a dedicated controller.

Does this mean that the set-top box market is becoming more than a streaming device and leaning toward the gaming market? It certainly appears so. Android set-top boxes can potentially tap into the vast library of Android-based mobile games on the big screen. While many games are not optimized for the big screen, the Fire TV and other Android boxes are certainly good console substitutes at the low end.

See a comparison table of selected Android-based set-top box suppliers on GlobalSources.com