Google Is Developing an Android-Based Game Console? OUYA Should Start Sweating

Google is looking to disrupt yet another market by developing an Android-based game console. Citing “people familiar with the matter”, the Wall Street Journal said that this might be a tactical move by Google--an effort to get the jump on Apple, which may also be planning to build some sort of game console with its next Apple TV update.

What such a console from Google might look like is anyone’s guess, but the most obvious comparison would be the OUYA console, which runs on Android and has been met with a groundswell of support since it became a Kickstarter darling last summer. It’s far more likely that Google would try and develop something similar to OUYA rather than higher-end next-gen consoles like the Xbox One and PS4.

OUYA game console, possible Google competitor

The game console will be developed and marketed by Google itself, most likely by the Android and Google X lab wings of the company.

Ill-fated Google Nexus Q media player

The report also mentioned that Google is planning an Android-powered watch, which is nothing new, but the company may also be bringing back the ill-fated Nexus Q media player, at a price point that doesn’t make the stomach turn--$299 was way too much for the thing.

Possible Android-based Google smartwatch

This development portends a near future where Android starts popping up all over, from cars to refrigerators, creating a new class of smart products. An Android-based game console, smartwatch, and media player appear to be the first devices to get the treatment.