Amazon To Launch New Game Console Alongside PlayStation 4, Xbox One

First

was expected to add apps (and most notably games) to Apple TV.

Then

was rumored to be developing its

as a counterattack to Apple's efforts. Now

is rumored to be getting into the market as well. According to

, unnamed sources recently approached the publication with information about the upcoming console.

In short, Amazon's gaming machine will be based on Android and arrive before Black Friday (November 29 -- the day after Thanksgiving). It will ship with a controller that's being designed specifically for the console, allowing consumers to play without the need for other devices. By comparison, many Apple enthusiasts expect the Mac maker to turn the iPhone and iPad into Apple TV game controllers. Users may not be able to buy a separate controller to play games. According to

, Amazon's console will not contain a processor from

or

. The graphics engine will be powered by

instead -- a first for the game industry. Nothing is known about which games may or may not be available at launch. It is also not yet known if Amazon will opt for the online-only restrictions that

Xbox One. Amazon

likely to build a console exclusively for small downloadable games (think megabytes, not gigabytes), so don't be surprised if it cannot play the next

. As a cheaper device, it may not be powerful enough to handle a game of that magnitude anyway. Instead, the device will reportedly rely on the existing slate of Android games that have already been brought into the Amazon marketplace. While this unit will face stiff competition from Xbox One,

PlayStation 4 and

Wii U, Amazon is expected to compete on price. Game Informer's Mike Futter speculated that Amazon will also use its position (as a major player in TV sales) to heavily promote the new console to millions of existing customers this fall. Disclosure: