Amazon's controller revealed in Brazilian FCC photos

Six images of an Amazon-branded video game controller have been published in a document on ANATEL, Brazil's equivalent to the Federal Communications Commission.

The images show hardware that resembles the Xbox One controller, with offset analog sticks, A, B, X and Y buttons in a diamond pattern as well as shoulder buttons and triggers. The controller also sports dedicated play/pause, forward and reverse buttons, presumably for controlling media through services like Amazon Instant Video and Netflix. According to ANATEL documentation, the controller, which was certified last November, is Bluetooth enabled. It runs on two AA batteries and has a hardware battery indicator.

Amazon has long been rumored to release a set-top box that would include a video game component. A report in late February citing Amazon partners pegged a March 2014 release. Previous reports suggested a fall 2013 release.

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The unannounced, unconfirmed set-top box is rumored to run a forked version of Google's Android operating system, just as Amazon's Kindle tablets do. The controller image above includes back, home and menu buttons much like the software buttons built into Android.

If the rumors come to fruition, it would be the latest step in the online retailer's entry into gaming. Amazon Game Studios released its first game, Living Classics, in August 2012. Halo novelist Eric Nylund joined Amazon Game Studios as director of narrative design last year. Amazon recently acquired Double Helix Games, developer of the Xbox One Killer Instinct reboot and the multiplatform Strider reboot.

Earlier this week, Amazon made its AppStream cloud streaming service available for all developers. The technology uses Amazon Web Services to stream apps, including games, from the cloud to devices. Eve Online developer CCP games has used the system, and its chief technology officer believes it could upturn the traditional download model.