The new device needs time to grow and get a big title library

Apr 10, 2014 14:39 GMT  ·  By

Amazon has finally revealed its much-rumored mix between set-top box and home console, called the Fire TV, which is at the moment available to all users in North America who are interested in streaming media content and in playing a number of video games, close to 100 on launch.

The device is less than a home console and more than a simple set-top box and the development team behind it claims that it is designed to create a one stop destination for all the entertainment needs of a user.

The pitch does not specifically mention the Xbox One from Microsoft or the PlayStation 4 from Sony at any point by name and Amazon has treated the video game elements of the Fire TV as more of an afterthought, but the new device certainly has the long-term ability to challenge the current generation of gaming hardware and maybe even replace it for some users.

Amazon Always Thinks Long Term

Amazon is a company that has become famous for its willingness to function without massive profits in order to enter a new market and disrupt it in significant ways and this could be the way that the Fire TV will transform the gaming space in the coming years.

Jeff Bezos is betting that the hardware included in the new device, while not groundbreaking, is powerful enough to deliver solid options for streaming and downloads, which is great for anyone who wants to explore the huge library of content that the company is currently offering,

At the same time, as users spend more time with the Amazon Fire TV, they will stay away from the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4, which cannot match it on the entertainment front.

The number of video games for the new device is small at launch, but if the claim that 1,000 titles are getting prepared for it is true, Amazon might gain a foothold with the gaming public that cares more about small indie titles and experiences than about huge exclusive blockbusters.

And Amazon has also announced that important developers, like Clint Hocking and Kim Swift, are working inside its games division.

The Power of the Cloud

But the biggest long-term advantage for Amazon in a potential fight against Microsoft and Sony on the console hardware front is the trend towards moving more and more content and gameplay to the cloud.

The two gaming-focused companies are currently just experimenting, enhancing some titles here and there, but Amazon has a huge business based on cloud computing, which it can easily leverage in the future.

Once streaming becomes normal, the hardware in the box sitting in the living room will matter a lot less and the impressive performance delivered by the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 will only matter for the hardcore.

A future in which the Fire TV dominates gaming is not in any way impossible to avoid and a lot will depend on how widely it is adopted this year and on how Sony and Microsoft will develop their own platforms in the coming years.

But Amazon is clearly a big challenger, even if its first move is not a very threatening one, and the company’s willingness to abandon profits for large market share might benefit gamers in the long term, even if it negatively affects Microsoft and Sony.