The success of games on mobile devices has begun to significantly affect the video game industry. Free-to-play format in mobile devices has begun to invade both PC gaming and console gaming, and nearly all developers and gaming publishers are now putting out games for Android and iOS devices.

The success of Oculus Rift and the Ouya Kickstarter and the recently released Nvidia Shield console has shown that there is still some demand for more casual video games on a larger screen. While the two giants of the video game, Microsoft and Sony, will boost the console wars at the end of the year (with the PS4 and Xbox One), some do enjoy the excitement to move their own pawns.

According to Game Informer, Amazon is currently developing its own gaming console and a joystick powered by Android, which would compete with Ouya and Nvidia Shield consoles incorporating the same operating system. According to the report, the console will be released by the end of 2013 – perhaps as soon as Black Friday.

Although few details have been revealed so far, the Game Informer reported that Amazon will be leveraging the titles already available on its platform for the rumored console, which will have its own dedicated controller. Remember that Amazon uses a derivative for its Android tablets, so this console might not be running Google Play games.

The year of rumors

If the rumor turns out, Amazon will become another player supplying the video game market, which generated average revenues of approximately $20 billion per year in the US alone.

GamesBeat also notes it has source from an inside developer source that Amazon is serious about bringing the console to market and it actively soliciting content for the hardware, with an emphasis on casual games.

Amazon has impressive firepower in terms of visibility and distribution that will provide it with an advantageous starting point. As a distributor, the company has a very strong brand globally, and  will propose the gaming devices at a very low cost to the public as it has done with Kindle and Kindle Fire tablets, thus attracting the interest of those who want an entertainment system at home.

The move could also stick with the recent announcement of porting HTML5 web and gaming applications on Amazon Appstore, which could potentially make it easier for developers to switch to the new machine. However, the Android console market is already a crowded field. Rumors that Google is developing its own gaming console, while OUYA, Nvidia Shield and Gamepop already have consoles available in the market and GameStick’s will debut later this month.