The Razer Edge may very well be a game changer for playing games. At a time when smart phones and tablets are starting to take a serious chunk out of the businesses of consoles, like the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii, the Edge looks to be a bridge of sorts, one device for people who like both mobile and console gaming. Adam Balkin has more.

  To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

Developed by high-end video game peripheral company Razer, critics have hailed the Edge as so cutting edge that it was awarded the overall Best in Show at the Giant Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year.

Razer’s Heathcliff Hatcher says, “Think of it as a really powerful 14-inch gaming notebook, you just chop the keyboard right off. So, it allows you to have a form factor to do anything you want to do. So it's a PC, it's a tablet, it's a console.”

It’s able to be all those things because of several docks it fits into. What may make this most appealing to hardcore through to casual gamers, is that it’s a real PC.

Hatcher says, “It will run apps through Windows and the Windows store; but it runs full applications. It runs full Photoshop, it runs full Office, it runs the full copy of Dirt Showdown, it runs the full copy of Dishonored.”

Razer, may be the first, but it will not be alone in this new space come year's end. Nvidia will be coming out with a similar type of device on the Android operating system called the Shield.

So, does this new middle ground for gaming make sense? Will it survive alongside traditional mobile devices and consoles? Does something have to give?

Dan Ackerman of CNET.com says, “I think if you're trying to put out just a gaming device, you may be out of luck. The time might be over for that, but if you make it multifunction, but very game friendly, then you can really capture people.”

If you're already captured by the thought of the Edge, here's what it'll set you back. It costs around $1000 to $1600, depending on the configuration. The gamepad controller dock costs around $250, the TV dock around $100. They're all scheduled to launch within the next several weeks. The mouse and keyboard setup will be out later in the year. Price on that has not yet been set.