After months of rumors and speculation Amazon has announced it’s a long-anticipated gaming console. Not only will the device play games, but will also act as a TV set-top box, ala the Xbox One. For many gamers with multiple consoles, they might be researching for either a viasat internet provider or they might be currently contacting their current internet provider to see if they have an option of increasing their broadband capacity to potentially cope with an increase in usage. Although if this was not possible they might look into creative options for how to potentially improve their game experience when playing with this console. Alongside this, PC gamers will already be trying to work out if the best VPN for gaming is compatible with the new console. However, don’t think that the device is just “another android gaming console”, that’s simply not the case. Upon reveal gamers had mixed feelings about the device with some feeling it was just another cheap piece of hardware, with others giving it the benefit of the doubt, but there’s a number of reasons why you shouldn’t view the new console as “shovel ware” compared to the likes of the Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

1: It does what the Xbox One is attempting to do:

Meet the Amazon Fire TV, more than a set -top box, and far more than what the price suggests.

When the Xbox One was first announced Microsoft made it clear of its intentions to treat the console as a cable top box as well as a high-class gaming console. This is exactly what Amazon is attempting to do with the Amazon Fire TV. Alongside the announcement was that major gaming publishers such as EA, Ubisoft, 2K, Telltale Games, and others would be working alongside Amazon to not only port their AAA titles over to the device, but possibly even release exclusive gaming content for it as well. The fact that this little $99 console can run AAA titles already puts it in the running with the Playstation 4, Xbox One, and Wii U. Confirmed AAAs set for it’s May launch include NBA 2K14, Telltale’s The Walking Dead, Minecraft and others. Amazon will be publishing it’s own exclusives for the console as well thanks to their own game studio Amazon Games Studio. Voice control (another Xbox One ability) was also confirmed for the device.

2: Amazon Prime Will Be A Major System Seller:

Those looking for alternatives to Netflix and Hulu have Amazon Prime Instant, the online retailer’s in-house streaming service, which will be one of the main functions of the Amazon Fire TV. Not only does Amazon stream TV series not available on Hulu or Netflix, but they also stream exclusives including Amazon owned Alpha House and have syndicated 24 for exclusive streaming rights ahead of it’s anticipated return on FOX. Prime Instant had been available on Playstation 4 and other consoles previously, but it will be interesting to see what they do with this now with the Amazon Fire TV coming. One would think they’d discontinue the service on other devices in order to give the Fire TV a major boost in sales due to exclusivity.

3: Amazon Will Be Developing Real AAAs for Fire TV:

Introducing Amazon’s first exclusive for the Fire TV; Sev Zero.

Thus far, Amazon has two in-house gaming studios under their wings, Amazon Games Studios and Double Helix. Double Helix are best known for the Killer Instinct (which just recently got rebooted on Xbox One, developed by the aforementioned team) & Silent Hill: Homecoming. Alongside Double Helix, Amazon Games Studio has been at this point developing mobile games, however today the studio announced Sev Zero, the first title to come to Fire TV for a mere $7 USD.

4: It’s Price Will Win Gamers Over

The gaming controller, ugly? Yes, but that doesn’t mean it should be ignored.

The price is what’s going to be perhaps it’s greatest attribute to the gaming audience. At $99 the only thing you get out of box is the Fire TV and the remote that controls the device, however for $39.99 more you can pick up a controller which will also grant you a free copy of Sev Zero., which retails for $7 USD stand alone. Another thing that will be a factor is the supposed cheap cost for games that run on Fire TV, pricing for these titles according to Amazon start at $1.85 with a number of free titles being available as well. The controller and console together will total in at a mere $140.

These factors put the Amazon Fire TV above other android consoles and set top boxes such as the Ouya, it’ll be interesting to see what AAAs will be available on it in the future, as a number of titles have already been confirmed to be getting ported over. The price of both the console and the controller alongside the confirmed specs makes it an interesting new piece of hardware. TV & streaming options from Amazon themselves, Showtime, and others is also going to be a plus for the system. While it remains to be seen if the Fire TV has the power to shift gaming audiences completely, the things it can do out of box are certainly promising indeed. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the Amazon Fire TV within the next few months, or even years.