Sources have approached Game Informer with an interesting bit of news from one of the world's largest retailers. Amazon is developing an Android based console for release by the end of this year, most likely by Black Friday.

According to those we spoke with who have knowledge of the in-development hardware, Amazon will be leveraging the titles already available on its platform. Each day, the company offers one productivity or game app for free and stocks a healthy library for its own devices, like the Kindle Fire. The console will also have its own, dedicated controller.

An Amazon representative replied to our request, indicating that the company does not comment on rumors or speculation.

Update (February 5, 2014): While the timing we were presented with when this story was originally published did not come to fruition, our multiple sources independently presented aligned details that give us confidence in the remainder of the piece.

Matt Bertz contributed to this report.





Our Take

Unlike the Ouya, which has meager capital and influence, Amazon could make a serious run at the affordable home gaming sector. It already has a bevy of titles at its disposal and relationships with key developers responsible for some of the biggest titles on the Android platform.

It's easy to write off Android consoles as novelties. That is, until an enormous player like Amazon enters the picture.

Amazon also moves a lot of televisions, and is a key player for those companies. Just ask home appliance retailers if they've heard the term "Amazon's Showroom." It wouldn't surprise me to see Amazon cut a deal to have their Android gaming technology integrated with key television manufacturers' products.