New device would pose more of a threat to Ouya, GameStick and other Android consoles than to Xbox One and PS4

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

Google's range of Nexus smartphones and tablets has established it as a seller of own-brand Android hardware, even if it gets other companies to make the devices. Now it may be planning to enter the games console market.

At least, that's what the Wall Street Journal is claiming, with an unequivocal statement in a report on Google's plans to match Apple unannounced-product for unannounced-product in the coming years.

"Google Inc. is developing a videogame console and wristwatch powered by its Android operating system, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Internet company seeks to spread the software beyond smartphones and tablets," claims the report, which also predicts a new version of Google's never-commercially-released Nexus Q media streamer.

"The Internet giant hopes to design and market the devices itself and release at least one of them this fall, they added."

Google would certainly be on-trend with an Android-based games console in 2013. Kickstarter-funded Ouya's $99 device has just gone on sale in the US, Canada and UK, with rivals GameStick, Gamepop and Project M.O.J.O. on the way, and Nvidia's Project Shield handheld also due for release this summer.

An official Android console may be bad news for these devices – although it's possible one of their manufacturers will be brought in to make it – but it's Apple that appears to be the real target in Google's crosshairs.

"The people briefed on the matter said Google is reacting in part to expectations that rival Apple will launch a videogame console as part of its next Apple TV product release," suggests the WSJ.

Currently, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners can play games on their televisions via Apple TV using the AirPlay wireless streaming feature, but Apple TV itself doesn't run games or sell them in an app store.

Google has been involved in the games industry for some time already, and not just through its stewardship of Android's Google Play store.

The company launched a games section for its Google+ social network in August 2011, working with developers including Rovio, Zynga, Kabam, PopCap and Wooga to port their social games to the service.

However, Google+ Games is shutting down on 30 June, as Google concentrates on its Google Play game services project: a software development kit (SDK) for developers to add social features and Google+ sign-ins to their games on Android, iOS and the Web.

A number of browser-based games are also available through Google's Chrome Web Store, including Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Plants vs Zombies, Bejeweled and Need for Speed World.

In April, Google hired games industry veteran Noah Falstein for a role as chief game designer, with TechCrunch reporting in May that an earlier version of his LinkedIn profile listed him as "chief game designer at Android Play Studio".

First-party games may be an important element in a Google games console. Google has made its own games before too, such as location-based Android game Ingress and the recently-launched browser game Cube Slam.

If the company does have ambitions in the hardware space, it's unlikely to be targeting core gamers. An official Android console wouldn't be threatening Microsoft's Xbox One, Sony's PlayStation 4 or Nintendo's Wii-U in that sense.

It's more interesting to think about a Google games console in the context of its existing Google TV business: the smart-TV platform that has appeared in TVs by Sony and LG among other manufacturers, as well as set-top boxes from Logitech and Vizio.

There is little evidence of Google TV taking off so far, but games have been a part of it. A smattering of games including Canabalt and Zynga Poker have been optimised for the platform, while cloud-gaming services OnLive and Ubitus have both supported Google TV too.

In May 2013, Google updated Google TV to the latest version of Android at the time – 4.2.2 Jelly Bean – including support for Android's Native Development Kit (NDK) to create richer, better-looking games.

Put all these pieces together: Native Android games, HTML5 titles running in the Chrome browser, cloud-streaming games from the console/PC space and an in-house development team, and you can see how a Google games console could be an intriguing prospect.

The question is whether Google really is putting all those pieces together, and just as importantly, whether the result will be a device where people spend enough money on (and within) games to persuade lots of developers to get behind it, compared to whatever Apple has planned for Apple TV.