Technology giant Amazon has launched a set-top TV box to compete with Apple TV and Google Chromecast.



Called Amazon FireTV, the new hardware allows users to stream TV shows and movies from Amazon as well as other services such as Netflix directly to their TVs, but uniquely for a set-top box it also comes with a game controller, allowing users to play video games without a console, instead using the box to stream the game to their TV.



Amazon announced that a large number of the games available will be free to download, but this will cost an additional $40 to have alongside the set-top box, which started shipping from yesterday for $99.



At the launch in New York, Amazon's Peter Larsen said, "We need to invent and simplify on behalf of customers. State of the art power in the service of simplicity. This thing's tiny, it's incredibly powerful and it's unbelievably simple."



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