Many companies have been trying to put gaming PCs in the living room ever since Valve made the idea popular with the announcement of its Steam Machines. Razer is taking a more unique approach than most companies, however, by releasing an Android-powered micro-console that won’t be able to play games by itself. Instead, the device will stream the games over the internet.
You’ve seen the rest of the Android micro-consoles, now see the best. That’s Razer’s message, at any rate. Co-founder and CEO Min-Liang Tan knows very well that there’s a crowded market for tiny boxes that stream Internet content straight to your TV, but the company’s Forge TV aims for the same audience that Razer products have always aimed for: serious gamers. That’s why it’s a games-first device. The diminutive Android micro-console box supports the expected big-screen mobile gaming, but that’s hardly the marquee feature. Razer’s big hook with Forge TV is the ability to stream gameplay from a networked PC at home directly into your living room. It’s not anything new at first glance. Nvidia’s Shield offers much the same thing, provided you’re using a specific segment of the company’s newer graphics cards. Forge TV differentiates by anchoring PC streaming to software rather than hardware.
