Interest in the Fire TV’s gaming capabilities is seemingly high as the controller is on backorder until the end of April. Perhaps Amazon underestimated the demand—or maybe the online retailer just couldn’t quite manufacture enough units to keep up with the set-top box itself. Either way, the $40 add-on, which looks like an Xbox controller, isn’t expected to ship until April 24 at the earliest.
While the UI, design and specs are the Fire TV’s main draw, Amazon made a big fuss about the new gadget’s gaming capabilities. The Fire Game Controller has a full set of controls, can connect to the Fire TV wirelessly, and allows users to play a ton of games, including Minecraft: Pocket Edition, NBA 2K14, and more. And since it uses batteries, it promises up to 55 hours of play time—take that DualShock 4 and Xbox One controllers.
We’re currently in the process of reviewing the Fire TV, and the Fire gaming controller is definitely part of that. I personally had the opportunity to briefly use the controller last week, and it certainly felt comfortably and easy to use. However, we’ll have our final impressions on the accessory (and Fire TV) soon.
