Check out these 9 new gaming-friendly gadgets from CES 2018

Every year, CES continues to not technically be a video game show, and yet there's always a bounty of gaming or gaming-adjacent gear to covet. This year's crop was especially bounteous, so much so that I couldn't just pick one favorite. Here are nine of the coolest, most fun, or just frankly ridiculous products from CES that you should definitely keep an eye on.

LG rolls an OLED TV up into your life

LG's prototype roll-up display.

Want the screen space and color of a huge OLED TV but don't want to fully commit an entire wall to the cause? This prototype display from LG lets you enjoy 65 inches of big-screen gaming bliss then roll it back down to show off your classy decor. The best of both worlds.

SteelSeries heard you like smooth mouse tracking

The SteelSeries Rival 600, showing both sensors.

The SteelSeries Rival 600, showing both sensors.

Are you an aggressive pointer? Do you find your cursor hitching during big, fast movements when you need precision the most? SteelSeries' new Rival 600 packs in a second optical sensor to track your motion even when you get a bit too excited and lift the mouse off the pad.

The Ultra Game Boy brings back dedicated portables

An expanded screenshot from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.

With Nintendo Switch blurring the line between home and handheld gaming, there's even more nostalgic appeal to the simple days of Game Boy… not so much for the super-dark screens though. Hyperkin plans to fix that wrinkle, among many others, with a new retro revival console it's codenamed Ultra Game Boy; built with an aluminum body, an RGB-spanning backlight, and more, it's like a deluxe roadtrip into your gaming memories.

Nvidia's building a team of 65-inch gaming-focused displays

One of Nvidia's Big Format Gaming Displays (BFGD).

Large, high-end screens are almost never built with gaming specifically in mind, and sometimes your play experience suffers as a result. Nvidia's Big Format Gaming Displays (yes, that acronym is BFGD) aim to rectify that with low latency, full 4K and HDR, and integrated G-Sync technology for optimal refresh rates. Those are some big gaming monitors.

Razer's Project Linda is a gaming laptop for your phone

The Project Linda laptop shell for Razer Phone.

First, Razer made some of the best gaming laptops. Then it made the Razer Phone, which turned out to be a pretty nice mobile device with ample specs and features for gaming. Now it's making Project Linda, an accessory for your Razer Phone that easily turns it into the trackpad and processor of a gaming laptop. Sometimes life is beautifully cyclical.

HTC Vive Pro brings VR into sharper focus

The HTC Vive Pro headset, looking bold and blue.

If you're shelling out for a VR experience, you might as well get a premium one. That's the idea behind HTC Vive Pro - it's like the original, but better in every way. The first difference you'll probably notice is its 78 percent increase in pixel density, but the integrated headphones could go a long way too. Hate being wired to a PC? Keep an eye on the Vive Wireless Adaptor.

Vortx gaming effects fan is hot (or cold)

The Vortx gaming device looks like a speaker, but it blows air instead of sound.

This is kind of a goofy one, but it's also just the sort of thing that makes CES fun. Whirlwind FX says its Vortx system analyzes on-screen action and sends out hot or cold blasts of air when appropriate - like a fiery explosion knocking you back or an arctic chill freezing you in place. I just wonder if it's subtle enough to know the difference between a bright, sunny day and an inferno.

Razer and Hue take RGB way beyond your keyboard

This color-coordinated room and gaming setup could be yours with Razer and Hue.

Razer puts color shifting lighting in all of its products these days, but it doesn't make home goods. Solution: partner up with Phillips and let Razer Chroma control the color of your Hue smart light bulbs too. Overwatch making my lights go ballistic? Brilliant!

Also, there's a really damn big TV

The Wall, a ridiculously large, modular prototype TV from Samsung.

It wouldn't be CES without absurdly large TVs that you could, like, theoretically play video games on (if you were super rich). The Wall by Samsung fulfills the prophecy with gusto, proudly sporting a 146-inch screen that's fully modular for attaching even more 146-inch screens.

All this new tech has you wishing you were in Las Vegas yourself? At least a little bit? Me too. At least our pals at GR+ sister site TechRadar are letting us live vicariously through their experiences - see how TechRadar went to CES in style.

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.