Amazon has both revealed and launched it’s brand new streaming box, the Fire TV. The device not only streams a breadth of content from various providers, but it also streams video games. Yes, games – meaning the rumors of them ramping up games development have been true.
The news comes via a press conference that the distribution titan held in New York City today, and guess what? The device is already available to purchase, and for shipping. Since there’s quite a lot of information to digest as far as the support apps, games, and technical specifications go, I’ll be doing a lot of copying and pasting, if you folks don’t mind.
The apps that are available for the Fire TV at launch are:
- Amazon Instant Video
- Amazon Prime Instant Video
- Aol On
- Bloomberg TV
- Crackle
- DailyBurn
- Flixster
- Frequency
- Huffpost Live
- Hulu Plus
- iHeart Radio
- NBA Game Time
- Netflix
- NowThis News
- Pandora
- Plex
- Qello Concerts
- RedBull TV
- Showtime Anytime
- Tastytrade
- TuneIn
- Vevo
- Vimeo
- WatchESPN
- YouTube
The games that are available on the Fire TV are starting at a measly 99 cents, leading one to believe that the device is Android based, or at least functions similarly in terms of game content and pricing go. The games that are already available for the system are as follows:
- Anomaly 2 (11 bit studios)
- Asphalt 8: Airborne (Gameloft)
- Badland (Frogmind)
- Buddy & Me (Sunbreak Games)
- The Cave (Double Fine Productions)
- Deus Ex; The Fall (Square Enix)
- The Game of Life (EA)
- Minecraft: Pocket Edition (Mojang)
- NBA 2K14 (2K Sports)
- Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame (Ubisoft)
- Rayman Fiesta Run (Ubisoft)
- Riptide GP 2 (Vector Unit)
- Sev Zero (Amazon Game Studios) – The first exclusive game for Amazon’s Fire TV. It’ll cost you $6.99 by itself, or totally free when you buy a Fire TV game controller. It’s described as a hybrid third-person shooter mixed with tower defense mechanics.
- Sonic CD (Sega)
- Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (Sega)
- Terraria (Chucklefish)
- The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
You can find (and even buy) games here, via the full list on Amazon’s website. A trailer was shown that will give you an idea of what future games developed in house at the Amazon Game Studios will be like.
Things are really interesting with the Fire TV, as it seems like the console has built in, system wide achievements, much like Xbox Live and the Playstation Network:
The integrated GameCircle button gives you instant access to leaderboards, achievements and friends with a simple touch of a button from any GameCircle enabled game.
Lastly, for all of you enthusiasts who are dying to know the nitty gritty behind the machine’s insides, the technical specifications are as follows:
- Size: 4.5″ x 4.5″ x 0.7″ (115 mm x 115 mm x 17.5 mm)
- Weight: 9.9 oz (281 grams)
- SOC Platform: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8064
- Processor: Qualcomm Krait 300, quad-core to 1.7 Ghz
- GPU: Qualcomm Adreno 320
- Storage: 8 GB internal
- Memory: 2 GB LPDDR2 @ 533 MHZ
- Wi-Fi Connectivity: Dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi (MIMO) for faster streaming and fewer dropped connections than standard Wi-Fi. Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks that use the 802.11a/b/g/n standard with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0 with support for the following profiles: HID, HFP 1.6, SPP
- Cloud Storage: Free cloud storage for all Amazon content
- Ports: 5.5 mm DC Jack
- Type A HDMI 1.4b output, w/HDCP
- Optical Audio (TOSLINK)
- 10/100 Ethernet
- USB 2.0 Type A
- Audio: Support for Dolby Digital Plus, 5.1 surround sound, 2ch Stereo and HDMI audio pass through up to 7.1
- Content Formats Supported: Video: H.263, H.264, MPEG4-SP, VC1
- Audio: AAC, AC-3, E-AC-3, HE-A, PCM, MP3
- Photo: JPG, PNG
- Output Resolution Supported: 720p and 1080p up to 60fps
- System Requirements: High-definition television, HDMI cable
The Fire TV is available now for $99 dollars on Amazon.com. Also, if you’re looking to get some co-op action going, controller costs an additional $39, and that can be ordered here.
