Razer's making a gaming 'micro-console' with Android TV, available this fall

[Dietrichw]

Source

Source2

 

not actual image of device, renders only for now

 

 

Razer's employing Google's Android TV initiative to create a game-focused "micro-console" and it's arriving this fall. So, what does it do? Razer's only offering a teensy bit of details, but what we know thus far sounds impressive. The micro-console can "stream movies, music and other apps for large-screen entertainment," says Razer, "with an emphasis on gaming." Sounds a lot like Amazon's Fire TV, no? The difference here is that Razer's also promising "hardcore" gaming, though we're not hearing exactly how it will pull that off just yet (we asked!).

 

 

we've got no idea just yet. Internal storage? No idea. Price? Same situation. Actually, what Razer's saying is, "In keeping with the spirit of Google I/O, we will not be discussing specific product details at this time." Pretty funny you guys!

 

 

we also don't know how you'll control games on the device. Bluetooth game controllers? A custom controller? While we expect it'll support Bluetooth, Razer's not saying just yet. As for interface navigation, that'll be handled by the Android TV app you heard about earlier today. There's also some form of voice control, which we expect depends on your phone's mic (though it's always possible one's built into a custom gamepad -- we've got a lot of questions!).

 

 

 Razer won't give any specs yet but at least says it will exist

[Guest Kloaked]

inb4 imminent Razer hate. 

[TheSLSAMG]

So, the OUYA wasn't successful in the long run, neither was the OnLive, anyone ever hear of the MadCatz M.O.J.O.? Is the NVIDIA Shield really all that adopted and popular? (I have one myself, and I love it, but I am trying to bring up a point.)

 

So what, in their right minds, do Razer think they are doing? They are setting themselves up for failure.

[TheSLSAMG]

inb4 imminent Razer hate. 

The only thing I can currently hate on them for is abandoning Cherry for Kailhua and their low budget, low quality switches when the Razer keyboards haven't moved in price.

[JAKEBAB]

Damn why cant they release the switchblade i couldnt care less about and android console

[Dietrichw]

So, the OUYA wasn't successful in the long run, neither was the OnLive, anyone ever hear of the MadCatz M.O.J.O.? Is the NVIDIA Shield really all that adopted and popular? (I have one myself, and I love it, but I am trying to bring up a point.)

 

So what, in their right minds, do Razer think they are doing? They are setting themselves up for failure.

It is Razer, they do what they want, people will buy it just because it has their logo on it. 

[TheSLSAMG]

It is Razer, they do what they want, people will buy it just because it has their logo on it. 

That's not an excuse. NVIDIA fanboys bought the Shield just because of the NVIDIA logo. But look at it, do you see lots of people using them? Don't get me wrong. I will probably buy one if the price is right and something like NVIDIA GameStream is implemented (or even if it itself is), but I see no reason that this should succeed. If Apple made one, yes, it would be successful. But Razer are catering to a much smaller audience. They don't have the market exposure to embark on such a project.

[Snickerzz]

So, the OUYA wasn't successful in the long run, neither was the OnLive, anyone ever hear of the MadCatz M.O.J.O.? Is the NVIDIA Shield really all that adopted and popular? (I have one myself, and I love it, but I am trying to bring up a point.)

 

So what, in their right minds, do Razer think they are doing? They are setting themselves up for failure.

onlive was interesting, i used it for abit

[Darkman]

*Puts Razer sticker on knock off Xbone 360* Makes millions.

Honestly, Razer what are you doing?

[TheSLSAMG]

onlive was interesting, i used it for abit

Yeah, it was definitely an interesting device, but the company laid off all it's employees due to the failure of the project, and the company was sold for a mere $4.8 Million, when at one point they were estimated to be worth $1.8 Billion.

[Dietrichw]

That's not an excuse. NVIDIA fanboys bought the Shield just because of the NVIDIA logo. But look at it, do you see lots of people using them? Don't get me wrong. I will probably buy one if the price is right and something like NVIDIA GameStream is implemented (or even if it itself is), but I see no reason that this should succeed. If Apple made one, yes, it would be successful. But Razer are catering to a much smaller audience. They don't have the market exposure to embark on such a project.

I agree, just got to give them a little bit of a hard time. Anyways with Razer's influence and popularity they can get people to look into this product category.

[Snickerzz]

Yeah, it was definitely an interesting device, but the company laid off all it's employees due to the failure of the project, and the company was sold for a mere $4.8 Million, when at one point they were estimated to be worth $1.8 Billion.

device? we are talking about the game streaming service right?

[TheSLSAMG]

device? we are talking about the game streaming service right?

 

There was a device too. This is what brought them to their knees.

[Snickerzz]

 

There was a device too. This is what brought them to their knees.

was it just a controller for your pc? or like an actual device for you tv? i guess i could see the point, its like a steambox 

[Dietrichw]

was it just a controller for your pc? or like an actual device for you tv? i guess i could see the point, its like a steambox 

it is more like the playstation TV where sony streams old games to the tiny tv box through the ISP rather than LAN like a steambox

[ShadowCaptain]

I dont understand "android consoles"
 

just pop your phone into the tv via hdmi and use a bluetooth controller..... basically the same experiance, you could even install some custom launcher for console mode (like how nvidia shield works)

[Xorbot]

So, the OUYA wasn't successful in the long run, neither was the OnLive, anyone ever hear of the MadCatz M.O.J.O.? Is the NVIDIA Shield really all that adopted and popular? (I have one myself, and I love it, but I am trying to bring up a point.)

 

So what, in their right minds, do Razer think they are doing? They are setting themselves up for failure.

 

Trying to bring up a point?  How about this point: how many consoles existed, had either moderate or poor success until the NES came out and made it all mainstream?  I honestly don't know the exact number, that is up for people in this thread to research.  But I can recall a couple: Colecovision and Atari.

 

One thing I can be certain of is that these Android or mini-consoles will not stop.  This isn't a statement out of fanboyism, it is based on the fact that these products are fiscally sound investment based on risk vs. reward.  This means that some companies may make little, or no money, but have the potential to become what NES was when it existed back in the day.

[Scheer]

I dont understand "android consoles"

 

just pop your phone into the tv via hdmi and use a bluetooth controller..... basically the same experiance, you could even install some custom launcher for console mode (like how nvidia shield works)

 

The consoles aren't all that expensive, so you get convenience out of not having to plug your phone in and they are much better cooled.

 

I don't own one, just my observation.

[Swndlr]

does anyone else think that this looks EXACTLY like the Mac Mini with a nice black paint job and a razer logo smacked on the top? I kinda do (no hate on razer I love their products )

[Dietrichw]

does anyone else think that this looks EXACTLY like the Mac Mini with a nice black paint job and a razer logo smacked on the top? I kinda do (no hate on razer I love their products )

I thought so too, didn't want to be too harsh and put in the main post. I have one under my monitor right now for anything that isn't games 

[Swndlr]

does it do things well? I haven't really gone into looking at them much. I only realized this since I was in the apple store a few days ago looking for an ipad case

[Dietrichw]

does it do things well? I haven't really gone into looking at them much. I only realized this since I was in the apple store a few days ago looking for an ipad case

 

it is the cheapest mac $600 with basicly laptop parts in a tiny aluminum box. I did use if for gaming for a bit (bad idea, intel integrated graphics are just bad) but the biggest part is the reliability. no hardware issues and a very clean and well programmed OS. I love it for school work since I am fully in the Apple ecosystem so I can access files and documents really easily.

[Swndlr]

actually seems like something I might look into down the road if I want an apple computer (since im not gonna lie, I love apple's os, theyre honestly ahead of the game with their designs) that I can use for media, browsing, and some document work

[bob345]

This may be awesome if implemented right. If we see alot of these things coming out with hopefully tegra k1, we could see some potentially awesome games from this thing. We already have half life 3 and portal on tegra 4. I would love to see what it could do

[Psykomantis00]

I'm probably going to get one, depending on price.