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Amazon Android games console due this year, report says

Fresh rumours concerning the book-seller's gaming plans say a console will be here within months.

Luke Westaway Senior editor
Luke Westaway is a senior editor at CNET and writer/ presenter of Adventures in Tech, a thrilling gadget show produced in our London office. Luke's focus is on keeping you in the loop with a mix of video, features, expert opinion and analysis.
Luke Westaway

Amazon is plotting an Android-powered games console that could be with us by the end of the year, according to fresh rumours concerning the online retailer's gaming plans.

The new system will likely be constructed in time for US shopping-fest Black Friday, Game Informer reports, citing sources with 'knowledge of the in-development hardware'.

Black Friday follows Thanksgiving, and this year rolls around on 28 November.

The console is said to have its own, dedicated controller, while Amazon will reportedly be offering the titles already available through its own app store, which currently offers a free app every day.

Amazon wouldn't be the first to bolt together an Android-based gaming machine, with the crowd-funded Ouya console grabbing headlines with its low price and cheap games. You can check out a video tour of another example -- the Android-powered GameStick -- in the video embedded below.

If Amazon does build an Android games console I'd expect it to be cheap, like the company's current Kindle Fire HD tablet, which costs £159.

That's because Amazon makes cash when it sells you digital goodies like games, movies, TV shows or e-books. If enough people buy the console, then flogging even cheap mobile-style games could potentially make Amazon a lot of dosh.

Would you buy an Amazon games console, or would you rather see the PS4 or Xbox One squatting underneath your telly? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.