Google enters the microconsole market with $99 Nexus Player

Back in June, Google debuted Android TV in an effort to push its operating system into the living room. Today it quietly revealed the box it'll come in: Google's Nexus Player, a $99 Android TV microconsole built in partnership with Asus that launches November 3rd. This isn't the first Android TV microconsole we've seen -- Razer unveiled plans to launch its own game-focused hardware shortly after Google's Android TV announcement -- but it is material evidence of Google's commitment to supporting Android as a player in the sub-$100 set-top box market. It also represents a potential new audience for Android game developers, as Google will be separately selling a $39 gamepad for the Nexus Player. The microconsole itself is a circular black box with a 1.8GHz quad-core Intel CPU, Wi-Fi connectivity and a voice-sensitive remote. It's expected to run Android 5.0 and support the company's Google Cast video streaming technology, placing it in direct competition with established entertainment devices like the Roku family of streaming set-top boxes and the Apple TV.