Gaming gadgets to get your hands on this year

The Virtuix Omni makes you feel like you are inside the game.

Get your wallets ready. Gaming is going high-tech this year with some fancy-pants new gadgets. Siobhan Keogh checks out some of the necessities coming your way.

Unless you're exclusively a PC gamer you're not likely to have much in the way of gaming gadgets. You have your console, your controllers, maybe a headset and one or two other bits and pieces.

But there are plenty of gadgets out there to appeal to all variety of gamers, from those who play on mobile devices to those who spend thousands of dollars on gaming rigs.

Companies are coming up with some of the craziest and coolest devices I've ever seen. Here are a few I'm looking forward to trying out this year.

1. MadCatz LYNX 9 Mobile

This is a controller for your Android device and was featured at the Consumer Electronics Show this year. It's already on sale - for the steep price of US$300 (NZ$392).

Although I can't imagine too many people paying that to play mobile games, I also can't deny how cool this gadget looks. The controller folds up small enough to fit in your pocket but can expand into several different configurations, including a classic game controller, a keyboard, and, well, something that resembles an Autobot. I'd love to try it out but I don't love mobile gaming anywhere near enough to buy it.

2. Razer Forge TV

Razer Forge TV.

This is another Android gaming device but it's a miniature console - and TV streaming device - for your living room and designed to support the latest, full HD Android games.

The bonus with Forge TV is that you'll be able to switch between playing in your living room on your console and playing on your mobile phone while you're on the go. I'd probably rather have that functionality on my Xbox, but I'll take what I can get.

The problem is that Razer hasn't said if it will be available here.

3. Virtuix Omni

We already have high-definition graphics designed to make games as immersive as possible. We have virtual reality headsets with head-tracking capability so when we look around in real life we look around in-game.

Virtuix Omni blurs the lines between the real and the virtual even further. It features a multi-directional treadmill that connects to your PC games - those with virtual reality capability, whether new or old. You run in real life, you run in the game. A belt straps around your waist so you can't fall over - something I'd be prone to doing. And when you consider the LYNX 9 Mobile controller costs $392, the Virtuix Omni's price of US$500 (NZ$654) seems reasonable. The Omni comes out in April and can be bought online and shipped to New Zealand - although you'll have to add an extra US$200 in shipping costs to get it here. Hopefully local distributors will pick this one up.

4. Oculus Rift

The Oculus Rift.

After years of hype, this virtual reality headset is available this year, with the consumer version reportedly "months away". Many people already have developer kits.

The Oculus Rift has been so popular because it delivers virtual reality without the motion sickness.

It takes a little bit of getting used to, but by and large it's a very smooth and highly immersive gaming experience. You feel like you're inside the game world rather than separated from it. The Oculus Rift has been delayed before, but I'd be surprised if it didn't come out about the middle of this year.

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