Everybody and his brother are supposedly making high-tech TVs - Apple, Amazon and now, Google. Recently, Google acquired Green Throttle Games, fueling speculation that Google plans to introduce its own Nexus TV this year.
2014 is certainly the year of the set-top box. Apple announced that its Apple TV business became its fastest-growing business last year with $1 billion worth of sales. Rumors emerged that Amazon was working intensely on Amazon TV, which the company will supposedly launch this month.
Google already has a lot of the infrastructure it needs to get into the TV business. Like Apple's iTunes, Google Play is the ultimate place to buy music, movies and TV shows for Android users. All of Google's media offerings could easily translate into a set-top box Nexus TV, which would be similar to Apple TV. Google Chromecast offered a mere glimpse into what Google is capable of in the entertainment industry.
Essentially, all Google really needed to push its TV plans over the edge was a gaming startup. Hence the acquisition of Green Throttle Games.
The company started as yet another manufacturer of Android-based smartphone game controllers and grew from there. Green Throttle Games' first controller connected to Amazon Kindle Fire tablets via Bluetooth. Users could then connect their tablet to their TV via HDMI and use it like a game console, playing the game on the big screen with a real, Xbox-like, full-size controller.
At this point, it is unknown what part of Green Throttle Games Google acquired, but it's well known who Google hired from the company. Two of the company's co-founders, Matt Crowley and Karl Townsend, will now work for Google as part of the deal, while the third co-founder, Charles Huang, will stay on at Green Throttle Games, which continues to sell its controllers.
Both of Google's new-hires previously worked in hardware and have a lot of experience in building as well as designing attractive products. Overall, it looks like Google is trying to add some meat to its hardware team, as it's software expertise is already at its zenith.
Google's Nexus devices have done very well for themselves in the past few years. The company has learned a lot about what customers want and how much they will pay for it. When Google decides to release the Nexus TV, it is almost sure to be a success.
