Technology company Razer debuted its Android-based gaming console at CES 2015, reports TechCrunch. The Razer Forge TV is a micro-console measuring 4×4 inches. The high-end gaming company intends for the console to be used as a platform for PC gaming, Android gaming and Android-based entertainment services through Google Play.

The Razer Forge TV is due out in the first quarter of 2015 with a retail price of $99.99, or consumers can pay $149.99 for the Forge TV and Serval Controller bundle.

Razer Forge TV Gaming Features

The console is full of features serious gamers want: quad-core processing (Qualcomm Snapdragon 805; Quad-Core Krait 450 CPU - 2.5 GHz per core); a cutting-edge graphics engine Adreno 420 GPU; wireless and network connectivity; 16 GB of onboard storage and 2 GB of RAM. It's also designed for up to four simultaneous players.

A key component is in its software. The Forge TV will operate on Razer's Cortex: Stream (to be released in spring 2015). The device's low-latency and HD resolution will cut down on the lags and flubs that have plagued other streaming services. Cortex: Stream will work with DirectX9 games and up.

Razer Forge TV Entertainment Features

The Forge TV is about more than just gaming. The device enables users to stream videos, music, photos and apps to their televisions. When it comes to apps, users can control the console using Android, iOS, Windows and ChromeBook devices. It may be possible for users to send Android TV games and media back to their Android devices through cloud save.

Razer OSVR Virtual Reality Headset

In addition to Forge TV, Razer introduced a new virtual reality headset and "Android-inspired" Open Source Virtual Reality (OSVR) platform at CES 2015, reports The Verge. Razer and professional virtual reality display company Sensics are spearheading an effort to standardize virtual reality development.

OSVR is a development system with the purpose of transplanting virtual reality on many types of hardware.

Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan calls the system the "Android of virtual reality," an open-source software platform that includes a variety of game engines, head-mounted displays and control schemes. It does the work of optimizing games made in Unity, for example, for each device.

Virtuix, Leap Motion and the International Game Developers Association are listed as supporters of the project, and plugins are being developed for Unreal Engine 4 and the Unity 3D Engine.

The centerpiece of the project is the OSVR Hacker Development Kit, a new head-mounted display that will be open source. The kit has a 1920 x 1080 screen and approximately 100-degree field of view -- similar to the Oculus Rift DK2. This device is specifically designed for testing games and peripherals. Design files will be posted online for everyone to use.

The hacker development kit will be released in June 2015 at the retail price of $199.99.

Tan told TechCrunch he hopes OSVR will become "the new standard" on which virtual reality devices and games are built.

Currently, there is not a high-end consumer virtual reality headset on the market.

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