Google says players can use their Android phones or tablets as controllers, but the company is also launching a unique game controller exclusive to Android TV - and now we know what it looks like.
According to Google I/O 2014 attendee Artem Russakovskii, who posted images of the Android TV game controller to his Google+ account, every Android TV box will ship with the game controller, which comes with two thumbsticks, a directional pad, four face buttons, shoulder buttons, four LEDs, a home button and two navigation buttons.
Basically, it's an Xbox controller with a little bit of Android button flair (scroll down to see the controller in greater detail).
The images on Google+ seem to confirm a set of Android TV game controller renderings previously posted to Reddit a few days ago. The renders were apparently found buried within the official developer preview for Google's new Android L software.
We've reached out to Google to learn more about the controller - whether it will also be sold separately from the Android TV and work with other peripherals - and we'll update this story when we learn more. However, Google did have the controllers available for testing at its I/O developers conference last week.
Games aside, the Android TV is Google's second attempt at creating TV software, after Google TV flopped back in 2010. Android TV offers similar features to most TV set-top boxes, including the ability to search and stream movies and TV shows from video apps like YouTube, Netflix and HBO GO. And thanks to advanced voice search and its deep Knowledge Graph, Android TV can also answer complex queries like, "Who plays Johnny Blaze in 'Ghost Rider'?" or "Oscar-nominated movies from 2005."
Android TV will also offer full support for Chromecast, Google's $35 TV streaming stick, and the Google Cast platform, which lets smartphone users beam their content to the Chromecast over the Wi-Fi network.
Here's another look at the Android TV game controller (via Reddit):
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