soviet prince
Member
I doubt nintendo is for sale
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
RUMOR: Amazons Android console to launch this year priced below $300
- Thread starter chadskin
- Start date
There is nothing stopping Amazon to create strong ARM-based console that has latest Radeon GPU in it. AMD's HSA Foundation allows mixing of modules from many famous manufacturers, including ARM. Amazon can take octacore A-15 at 2.5GHz, latest Radeon gpu, and create a nice APU from it. No battery concerns = going wild on the power requirements.
The only problem may be high Android OS overhead, which would prevent developers from taking full advantage of that hardware.
This thing is going to brick so hard.... They are going to be pushing it like CRAZY on their site, the same way they do Kindle Fires.
Bundling it, half page ads everywhere. Suggested items and shit. And then in the end they wont give any numbers for its sales (again....just like Kindle Fires) and will only speak on it when they can trot out some "Its sales increased 200% this week" hokey thats meaningless because they never give a solid figure to begin with.
Bundling it, half page ads everywhere. Suggested items and shit. And then in the end they wont give any numbers for its sales (again....just like Kindle Fires) and will only speak on it when they can trot out some "Its sales increased 200% this week" hokey thats meaningless because they never give a solid figure to begin with.
Android is an operating system. Doesn't mean it has to run phone games, any more than the Xbox One running the Windows Kernel means it mostly runs spreadsheets. Android is ultimately a Linux fork, not that dissimilar to SteamOS.
Of course, that also doesn't mean any devs are interested in it either - Amazon haven't bought enough to do a major first party effort, and there aren't many rumours about third party devs porting mainstream titles, which a $300 box needs.
I'm really surprised they've gone that high end. I expected a much, much cheaper subsidised box to push the Chromecast and support Amazon Prime streaming video, that might have also played some games. A $300 box ain't gonna do that.
MrCookiepants
Member
I'm sure the 3 people who bought an Ouya are looking to upgrade.
TAJ
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
There is nothing stopping Amazon to create strong ARM-based console that has latest Radeon GPU in it. AMD's HSA Foundation allows mixing of modules from many famous manufacturers, including ARM. Amazon can take octacore A-15 at 2.5GHz, latest Radeon gpu, and create a nice APU from it. No battery concerns = going wild on the power requirements.
The only problem may be high Android OS overhead, which would prevent developers from taking full advantage of that hardware.
It's the size of a PSOne. Don't kid yourself.
Oni Link 666
Member
Fixed.
It is very dissimilar to SteamOS.
The whole userland is completely different on Android compared to GNU/Linux.
SolidSnakex
Member
Has that Mad Catz console been released yet? I haven't heard anything about it since its original announcement.
pinsomniac
Member
Is there anything that would justify why this would hit a $299 price point? What specs (besides the rumored Snapdragon) could this box have?
Even if you threw in a free year of Primeafter all, this is also a vehicle to boost subscriptions and further encourage customers toward their ecosystemthat wouldn't be enough to offset such a high entry fee. Neither will a spattering of first-party content, strong as their recruited talent may be. I don't know that there's enough additional third-party Android content that is hardware-intensive and have high production values to make a high-end set-top box worthwhile.
That said, it's Amazon. They have considerable resources and have always been willing to take a short-term loss to build out their vision. I don't see what that vision is, but I'll hesitantly reserve judgement.
Even if you threw in a free year of Primeafter all, this is also a vehicle to boost subscriptions and further encourage customers toward their ecosystemthat wouldn't be enough to offset such a high entry fee. Neither will a spattering of first-party content, strong as their recruited talent may be. I don't know that there's enough additional third-party Android content that is hardware-intensive and have high production values to make a high-end set-top box worthwhile.
That said, it's Amazon. They have considerable resources and have always been willing to take a short-term loss to build out their vision. I don't see what that vision is, but I'll hesitantly reserve judgement.
None. But, article mentions direct competition against Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.
cookie-monster
Member
Builtin LTE whispernet game delivery. Zero setup knowledge required.
Well it surely should be more powerful than the Wii U for that price.
Which is against the latest rumors we heard from this thing. Like is that direct competition part.
Graphics Horse
Member
Maybe it has a touchscreen controller!
VicDaMoan03
Member
If Amazon is building a competitor to Xbone/PS4, why did Sony partner with them on the PS Store thing?
Because they're also a huge retailer.
Apple is Sony's direct competition in more way than one too but they also have a heavy presence on their various platforms.
As it is in SteamOS. I'm not trying to say that they're identical, just that they are both forks, and they are ultimately just a base for whatever either company goes and builds with it.
The version of Android used for the Kindle Fire doesn't have much to do with ASOP nowadays either, and their graphics subsystem in particular is entirely proprietary (which is one of the reasons that secure video streaming on the Fire is such a mess).
James Coote
Neo Member
You guys need to get over yourselves when it comes to Android and gaming.
Increasingly, games are being made using cross-platform tools like Unity3d. That means if the developer clicks one button, it spits out a PS4 version, and another button, an Android version.
The PS4 version doesn't somehow magically turn into a "shitty mobile game" just because an Android version now exists. Materially, they are the same game, just that they run on different operating systems.
Right now, most games on Android suck, but not because of Android, but rather the way Google Play is set up to allow anyone to make and publish their games, regardless of quality.
In terms of hardware, it's only going to be two or three years time before mobile devices start knocking on the door of PS4 and Xbox One performance wise. There will be Android devices more powerful than Xbox360 coming out this year.
Increasingly, games are being made using cross-platform tools like Unity3d. That means if the developer clicks one button, it spits out a PS4 version, and another button, an Android version.
The PS4 version doesn't somehow magically turn into a "shitty mobile game" just because an Android version now exists. Materially, they are the same game, just that they run on different operating systems.
Right now, most games on Android suck, but not because of Android, but rather the way Google Play is set up to allow anyone to make and publish their games, regardless of quality.
In terms of hardware, it's only going to be two or three years time before mobile devices start knocking on the door of PS4 and Xbox One performance wise. There will be Android devices more powerful than Xbox360 coming out this year.
maquiladora
Member
Nobody asked for this.
Can't see any space for it alongside Ouya and the three big fishes. I was a backer for Ouya and sold it after a few months, because most of the time it sucked. There were a few fun (temp) exclusives, but the thing isn't worth the space beside your fully fledged consoles. Just use a tablet/phone for those type of games.
Bboy AJ
My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Now everyone can enjoy all these awful games!
Just like good apps don't port from phone to tablet, good games won't port from handheld to console. It's OK to do console to console, though. I've been OK with using Android as a console OS. The game will be what you make it. But that takes effort and who wants to put effort into a more expensive OUYA?
I suspect Amazon isn't making a console but rather an entertainment box that includes the ability to play games.
That's only with GPUs, which went through large scale optimization and scaling down of power requirements in the past 5 years.
Mobile CPUs are still way behind what PS3/X360 can do. That's why, all nice looking mobile games are incredibly barren, number of characters on screen is very low, animations are very simplified, physics calculations are from 10 years ago, etc. All those tasks are driven by the CPU.
Its gonna be a long time until ARM catches up in CPU space, plus, memory also needs to get a nice boost. Current DDR2 solutions are not enough.
No,
The userland in SteamOS is based off Debian and is thus is a GNU (and freedesktop based) userland (and thus it is a version of GNU/Linux)!
Android on the other hand uses a version of Libc based off (by the look of it) the FreeBSD and NetBSD versions of Libc, it runs programs in the Dalvik VM and has it's own IPC and program control system bolted onto the kernel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL_YPG25Zws Why wouldn't this use Snapdragon 805 with Adreno 420?
A 4 core 2.5GHz CPU (A15 class) /w 500MHz adreno 420 seen in the link above + 25.6GB/s LPDDR3 memory, should be a very compelling product and considering those above clocks are limited by battery/form factor, we could be looking at something firmly between Wii U and XB1.
Considering all the developers wanting to make mobile games, I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up supporting this millions+ selling console (I expect heavy Amazon marketing) as a way to port their games with less risk to mobile.
If this comes with a decent controller and Amazon releases their own games, it could be a decent console IMO.
A 4 core 2.5GHz CPU (A15 class) /w 500MHz adreno 420 seen in the link above + 25.6GB/s LPDDR3 memory, should be a very compelling product and considering those above clocks are limited by battery/form factor, we could be looking at something firmly between Wii U and XB1.
Considering all the developers wanting to make mobile games, I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up supporting this millions+ selling console (I expect heavy Amazon marketing) as a way to port their games with less risk to mobile.
If this comes with a decent controller and Amazon releases their own games, it could be a decent console IMO.
James Coote
Neo Member
The real issue is that you usually can't translate a game from having a touch-based interface to one designed around use with a console controller. (In the same way an RTS designed for PC keyboard and mouse just doesn't work with a console controller)
But say you designed a game to use a console controller from the start, in something like Unity3d.
If you then made a PS4 build, as well as an Amazon Console and OUYA build, that would be fine, since all 3 use a controller.
If you then produced a general Android build, and stuck it on Google Play to be downloaded on phones and tablets, that's where the problem comes.
I made this handy picture guide a while back to illustrate the point: http://i.imgur.com/OJMe8EZ.png
That's certainly what they should be doing, and maybe it's just because we're getting this news from the gaming press that it is being made out to be a games console first and foremost. But I still maintain $300 is too much for a netflix box with games.
A core oriented home console by a new player is not going to do well, especially at that price point.
If it was Nintendo presenting a series of DS-Android mobile devices and a DS-Androit Tv at 200$ or less, maybe it could have had a chance.
If you're targeting casual gamers, I think that 150$ is the max you can ask for it.
If it was Nintendo presenting a series of DS-Android mobile devices and a DS-Androit Tv at 200$ or less, maybe it could have had a chance.
If you're targeting casual gamers, I think that 150$ is the max you can ask for it.
enanogrande
Member
Considering Amazon's allergies towards profits, at least when they first enter a market & are on their way to driving everyone else out of it, $300 might get them parity with PS4 specs wise.
(I'm obviously ignoring the 'PSone size' & 'Snapdragon chip' rumors with this, but it's the inly way in hell I can see this being more than $200.)
(I'm obviously ignoring the 'PSone size' & 'Snapdragon chip' rumors with this, but it's the inly way in hell I can see this being more than $200.)
Bboy AJ
My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
James, I agree with you. $300 is way too much. Who doesn't have a solution for Netflix on TV these days? A simple $30 Chromecast would do it, if the already existing Rokus of the world aren't enough. Not sure where Amazon could be going with this box. But hey, I'm interested, even though it likely won't benefit me.
Graphics Horse
Member
Nirolak's assumption came from when it was rumoured to be coming out last year. I'd expect it to use whatever is most powerful from what's available.
rudieboy77
Member
Noticed this in Target the other day. Looked cool if you're in to Android gaming.
http://www.techradar.com/us/reviews/pc-mac/tablets/archos-gamepad-2-1194557/review
http://www.techradar.com/us/reviews/pc-mac/tablets/archos-gamepad-2-1194557/review
aspiegamer
Member
Bezos is renowned for being insanely stingy... That's part of the model that got Amazon to where it is now. I'm frankly shocked that anyone was able to give a solid enough sales pitch to get a green light on something like this. Conceptually and financially this has been a complete disaster for anyone who has tried it thusfar. There'd better be something mind-blowing or honest-to-god game-changing at play here. Even if it's high-spec we're generally still in the mobile space (one must think), meaning it might not already be outdated at launch if we're lucky. Surely a huge leap forward that would be sustainable for severalish years would be a pretty expensive machine.
Perhaps we're just hearing "console" because it has the ability to play games at all and Amazon is actually releasing a streaming/DVR/etc box. Being able to play Android games on something like that would at least be a little different.
Could it be possible that Amazon has really pushed design on Android so far that it can compete in terms of the output that comes with "console OSes"? That would be incredible, but I'll believe it when I see it.
Perhaps we're just hearing "console" because it has the ability to play games at all and Amazon is actually releasing a streaming/DVR/etc box. Being able to play Android games on something like that would at least be a little different.
Could it be possible that Amazon has really pushed design on Android so far that it can compete in terms of the output that comes with "console OSes"? That would be incredible, but I'll believe it when I see it.
Because they already have a large portfolio and storefront (plus hardware solutions) based around Android.
What space is Ouya filling, pretty sure one of the NPD threads mentions it was like 16k sold beyond the initial backers after like 3-4 months.
Amazon has more resources, still cant see this making a meaningful indent
pinsomniac
Member
That's the thing. Amazon knows how to price a service or product and has a ton of their own sales data to back that up. I have to imagine they know this won't fly at $299, and would sooner sell at a loss than release at that price point.
If it actually is $299, there's probably something else very compelling going on.
It doesn't. It is an appletv competitor.
*Headdesk*
Talk about not seeing the wood for the trees.
Because Amazon have a propretary graphics subsystem for Android that has a number of internal benefits to them and they don't want to have to build it from scratch.
Yes, if its 299 USD they will offer some kind of special services to back it up - maybe a PSN+ situation where they offer you "higher-end" optimized Android games for free every week or so.
Similar threads
- Poll
- Poll