Razer plans to launch its own game console this fall, and it’ll be based on Google’s Android TV platform.

The company unveiled the micro-console today during the Google IO developer conference, but details are scarce at the moment.

razer android tv

Razer is best known for making PC gaming accessories, but in recent years the company has been branching out with its own gaming laptops and tablets (and even fitness trackers).

The micro-console will be the team’s first Android device, and it’ll go up against existing options such as the Ouya and Mad Catz M.O.J.O. But it might make more sense to compare the Razer box with the Amazon Fire TV.

Like the Fire TV operating system, Android TV isn’t just a platform for playing Android games on your TV… although it’ll help you do that. It’s also a way of bringing internet video from Netflix, YouTube, Google Play and other sources to your TV and Google is offering new APIs that will let Android developers bring a variety of apps to the big screen.

This isn’t the first time Google has attempted to bring Android to televisions. But unlike Google TV, the upcoming Android TV software will run on a variety of different devices including smart TVs and set-top-boxes form Razer, Asus, and others.

It supports x86 and ARM-based chips, and Google says we can expect to see Android TV devices with processors for NVIDIA, MediaTek, Marvell, Intel, and others, and showcased a new set of graphics features that developers and chip makers including NVIDIA are already tapping into in an effort to bring PC-quality games to Android.

Razer isn’t saying what kind of hardware its box will feature, but the idea of an Android-based game system for the living room doesn’t seem as crazy these days as it did when the Ouya team kickstarted the space two years ago.

via Engadget and Recode

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5 replies on “Razer will launch an Android TV game console this fall”

  1. Here’s hoping the MiiPC people (remember those?) see the writing on the wall and whip up an Android TV OS image for the cute little machine.

  2. The dead wood needs to be cleared out of the Android-based games/media console market. Yes, I’m talking about Ouya. It’s been quite clear for a while that their situation is not going to get any better and until they do go out of business their product will remain mostly forgotten but not gone. Turning their fortunes around at this late stage would be like stopping the Titanic from sinking after it hit the iceberg.

    1. There’s barely enough wood to be worth clearing out. Having an official Android TV platform on which to base new living room consoles will be a big boost to the marketplace. The vast majority of potential customers for an ATV device will never have heard of Ouya, so its troubles will not be a factor.

      1. True enough, but the Ouya is viewed as a joke and its failure has poisoned the market. People may not know this but the media won’t forget and will be happy to inform them. This is why Ouya need to go ASAP. BTW, I agree with you about Android TV.

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