Amazon a No-Show @ Game Developers Conference in S.F.

KnightStar

Hey Folks -

I just got back from attending the Game Developers Conference in San Fransisco and while all the big players (Sony, NVidia, Microsoft, etc.) were there, Amazon only had a tiny little booth for their mobile-advertising service. There was no representation for their hardware nor any of their other services.

So as not to throw any water on the Fire (yes, pun intended), Devs should be mindful of rushing to put games, etc. on to the Fire TV platform. Amazon is relatively notorious for releasing hardware and then failing to support it for the long run.. It'd be really interesting to see actual numbers of the Fire TV user-base and how many of them are actually using the device for games and apps and not just for streaming Amazon Prime movies and video content. (And note, I'm not suggesting anyone shy away from developing for the hardware, just be aware that while it's awesome we have support for it and for Joysticks in general, there simply may not be a sufficient customer base nor hardware support to warrant some ventures)

As for the GDC show, there was a much MUCH bigger push towards the nVidia Shield (http://shield.nvidia.com/#utm_source=nv-mfg&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=M2G-promo) and VR Devices (Samsung Gear VR - https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/wearable-tech/SM-R320NPWSXAR, and the Oculus Rift https://www.oculus.com/rift/) than anything else (that and other Game SDKs being released for Free* - Unity, Unreal, Corona)..

That said, there are much more Apple TV users out there and it'd be much easier to make money on that platform should Apple update their hardware and software.

Just a Heads-Up..

-- J

gamestew

yeah, that runs android and can be used like a wiiU for Steam Games. They still haven't sorted out a mobile battery that can power that Nvidea for more than an hour or two.

jigglybean

Probably because their advertising service is a waste of time.

Armelline

The Fire TV is a really great bit of kit. Decent specs, good UI, smooth and easy experience. That said, the shop is awful. It's incredibly difficult to browse and explore. I haven't tried any games on my Fire TV yet pretty much entirely because they're so hard to find. There are so few though that if you release a good one there's a high chance it'll get featured, and if it's featured it's VERY easy for people to find.

The only thing stopping me making a Fire TV game is that GameSalad is so slow currently that I'm having to spend twice as long on my work and don't have time for personal projects

zzap64

on a side note, interesting to see how big a presence NIKE had at the show and they were a pleasure to talk to.