CES 2015: Razer rolls out VR headset and Android box

Gaming accessories company Razer is preparing a new suite of peripherals for 2015, led by a Virtual Reality headset, an Android microconsole, and platform agnostic software that permits streaming from a PC to any Android-powered set-top box.

With the OSVR headset and Cortex: Stream app, Razer is associating itself with principles of open development.

The headset might not be as powerful as the Samsung and Oculus equivalents, but instead it boasts compatibility with a wide variety of programs and controllers, positioning itself as a developer and hobbyist alternative.

With a proposed release date of June 2015, specs for the headset will be made available for free allowing enthusiasts to source or fabricate their own parts, while the finished retail kit has a budget-friendly price tag of $199, equal to that of the Samsung Gear VR.

Similarly, Razer's new Android-powered box, the Forge TV, comes in at $99 and enters a niche well populated by the Kindle Fire TV, Nexus Player, and Snail Games' CES 2015 showing named OBox.

But it makes use of the company's previous experience by way of an associated Xbox-style games controller, the Serval ($79, or $149 with the Forge), and a new app called the Razer Cortex: Stream.

The app comes bundled with the Forge, the Serval, or a brand new wireless keyboard and magnetic mouse combo called the Razer Turret, or as a standalone for $39.

It lets users stream games from a more powerful PC to the Forge -- or any other Android microconsole -- and onto their TV screens.

That allows it to combine elements from Steam's In-Home Streaming, which requires a second computer to display images from the first, and Nvidia's Shield handheld and Gamestream tech, which depends on the use of an Nvidia graphics card in the host machine.