Razer CEO: No PS3 Accessories Because I Barely Play Mine

[Steven Bogos]

Never heard of this company. And The Escapist, yet again, fails to provide any links or explanations

Razer is a videogame peripheral company that makes controllers, headphones, fight sticks, mice and keyboards for the PC and Xbox 360.

Is this not an explanation of what this company does? It's literally in the first line of the article. What more do you want, man?

OT: I have friends that swear by razor products. On the other hand, I have friends that have had super bad experiences. I've always been a logitech kind of guy (i've had this G15 keyboard and G9 mouse for like 5 years with no problems) so I can't really comment on the quality personally.

 

[lacktheknack]

Never heard of this company. And The Escapist, yet again, fails to provide any links or explanations in either this article, or previous Razor articles to explain who they are. However, the name of the person quoted looks Chinese; and if that's the case, leads me to presume they don't make very good quality products anyway.

Perhaps it's a good thing the PS3 isn't littered with more, cheap, knock-off crap.

If you've never heard of Razer*, maybe Google should be your friend if the Escapist feels that they're important enough to talk about.

It's kind of astonishing that you've never heard of them, seeing how they're basically the Alienware of gaming peripherals.

Their Diamondback 7-button mouse has lasted me for over seven years, that should tell you everything you need to know about their cheap, knock-off crap.

 

[major_chaos]

It's funny because in the PC gaming world Razer is overpriced junk.

For the price of their cheapest Keyboards you could easily get a mechanical keyboard from a company like coolermaster. At least that's the case in NZ.

Coolermaster is the very picture of overpriced junk. The tooless case I bought from them frustrates me on a constant basis and based on my limited experience their mice and keyboards are marginally better than the crap you can buy at office max.

OT: I really don't see why people are so bothered by this. Isn't everyone always wishing devs would make the games they want to make, not what they think will make the most money? well this is that concept but with accessories instead of games.

There is not a single damn thing the 360 has over the PS3,

Except a controller that isn't a miserable pile of horrible ideas and failure. (dem horrid shoulder buttons, dem convex control sticks ect.) And I say this as someone who vastly prefers the PS3 to the 360 for the most part.

 

[MorphingDragon]

It's funny because in the PC gaming world Razer is overpriced junk.

For the price of their cheapest Keyboards you could easily get a mechanical keyboard from a company like coolermaster. At least that's the case in NZ.

Coolermaster is the very picture of overpriced junk. The tooless case I bought from them frustrates me on a constant basis and based on my limited experience their mice and keyboards are marginally better than the crap you can buy at office max.

Coolermaster is one example. Logitech has a keyboard with the same features as the Lycosa at half the price and still cheaper than the Arctosa. Roccat has similarly priced gear to Razer but with far better build quality. Of course there a companies like Ducky that make very solid keyboards which offer features like Hardware Interrupts that legitimately improve gaming instead of fancy auxiliary features. There are more and more companies entering the peripherals market as companies expand their base like Corsair.

It's also very very impressive that OfficeMax sell mechanical keyboards with Cherry switches. Project harder man.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Didn't know these guys made console accessory's, well, learn something new. As for the CEO, he's an idiot, no really, he's an idiot. He's NOT dipping into a market because 'he doesn't want to'. As entitled as he is to his opinion of the PS3, he's still an idiot for not trying to tap that market and trying to get a foot hold there.

Hell I hate the 360 but if I was in his position I'd still make a product for it.

 

[DjinnFor]

Makes sense to me, He doesn't have experience with PS3's so he doesn't try and do shit in an area where he he's clueless.

Makes zero sense at all if you have the slightest clue about his company. It's not like he's personally designing the goddamn products in his basement.

He is actually saying "I play more Xbox than PS3, I am only comfortable making products for stuff I have more experience with and/or passion for" which should earn him respect.

No, he's actually saying "I never dust of my PS3 but for a handful of exclusives", which, to anyone who can read between the lines, means "I think the 360 would be strictly superior to the PS3 but for a small number of PS3 exclusives I'm interested in playing", which, if you can further still read between the lines, means "my 300+ employee business will only develop hardware when it helps Microsoft, not Sony, because presumably they're paying me a lot of money to paint their products up as the second coming of Christ".

The claim that "I don't know enough about the PS3 to develop products for it" makes no sense coming from a CEO's mouth. He's responsible for strategic direction, not quality control or research and development. He's a rampant M$ fanboy taking the opportunity to slag a Sony product, that's all there is to it.

 

[UltimatheChosen]

No, he's actually saying "I never dust of my PS3 but for a handful of exclusives", which, to anyone who can read between the lines, means "I think the 360 would be strictly superior to the PS3 but for a small number of PS3 exclusives I'm interested in playing"

Or it means "I like to consolidate stuff on one console, because that's where my friends list is".

If you have both consoles, it's much less hassle to play all of the multiplatform releases on one of them and only dust off the other for exclusives, simply because there's no incentive to do otherwise.

 

[Grabehn]

I have NEVER understood people like this. There is not a single damn thing the 360 has over the PS3, except for a handful of (subpar) exclusives. Even if you disagree on that part, the PS3 has everything the 360 has, but with MORE exclusives. the only real reason why I've seen people choose a 360 over a PS3 is because their friends have it. Which is arguably a testament to the 360's "stellar" online functions, but I disagree with this assessment. Instead, I think Microsoft has a MUCH MUCH better marketing campaign, especially for American audiences (and perhaps more shrewed business practices).

I never understand the point of this comments. The guy doesn't play the console, therefore he doesn't care about making peripherals for it. I've seen people that really like the Headsets/Controllers Razer makes for 360. I don't see what that has to do with the games the console has, he said "he likes the exlusives" other than that, nothing. I can't really stand controllers, especially the PS3 ones that cramp my hands due to the stick's position.

I personally don't really care about Razer thou, I've always felt their Mouses are too small.

 

[major_chaos]

Corsair.

I love Corsair. I use their RAM, their speakers, their power supplies, and they have all been great, but their most basic mechanical keyboard actually costs more than the basic version of the Blackwidow and doesn't look all that feature rich.

It's also very very impressive that OfficeMax sell mechanical keyboards with Cherry switches.

What exactly makes those damn things worth so much? I swear just having them puts a keyboard in the 100+ USD price range for no good reason.

Seeing as you are apparently some kind of keyboard expert, whats a good Arctosa alternative? keep in mind, my Deathadder hes yet to disappoint me.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Perhaps it's a good thing the PS3 isn't littered with more, cheap, knock-off crap.

Use some of their gear and make that statement as a pissed of user; that way everyone will stop calling you a racist.

Long story short, Razor gear is largely okay but not amazing. I prefer Logitech but both companies have created some really bitching gear and some fucking awful missteps.

What exactly makes those damn things worth so much? I swear just having them puts a keyboard in the 100+ USD price range for no good reason.

Mechanical ones are really good for typing because they give great tactile feedback, and a friend of mine who was a gaming fiend in days gone by liked his old IBM Model-M because the damn thing just would not die, not matter how rough he was with it.

 

[J Tyran]

Makes sense to me, He doesn't have experience with PS3's so he doesn't try and do shit in an area where he he's clueless.

Makes zero sense at all if you have the slightest clue about his company. It's not like he's personally designing the goddamn products in his basement.

He is actually saying "I play more Xbox than PS3, I am only comfortable making products for stuff I have more experience with and/or passion for" which should earn him respect.

No, he's actually saying "I never dust of my PS3 but for a handful of exclusives", which, to anyone who can read between the lines, means "I think the 360 would be strictly superior to the PS3 but for a small number of PS3 exclusives I'm interested in playing", which, if you can further still read between the lines, means "my 300+ employee business will only develop hardware when it helps Microsoft, not Sony, because presumably they're paying me a lot of money to paint their products up as the second coming of Christ".

The claim that "I don't know enough about the PS3 to develop products for it" makes no sense coming from a CEO's mouth. He's responsible for strategic direction, not quality control or research and development. He's a rampant M$ fanboy taking the opportunity to slag a Sony product, that's all there is to it.

I was going to tick off the fallacies and contradictions in this post, I shouldnt have too but lets do some of them at least.

It's not like he's personally designing the goddamn products in his basement.

In the next breath:-

He's a rampant M$ fanboy taking the opportunity to slag a Sony product, that's all there is to it.

Which is it? He either has little to do with the direction and design of his products or hes such a rampant fanboy that he cuts his companies nose off to spite its face? Thats the most obvious one.

One of the other fallacies here is that choosing to play most multiplatform titles on one platform or the other makes someone a fanboy, can you explain this? Surely a fanboy/fangirl wouldn't buy a console from anyone apart from their chosen champion? Most of them are like you and are pretty bitter about competitors, dont try to deny it getting all /sadface because a CEO of a company that makes crappy peripherals likes the other platform is exactly the kind of behavior you see from fanboys. Maybe more of their friends own one platform or the other, maybe the online stores or retail boxes are cheaper or maybe because they like a particular service. There are any number of reasons apart from problems with the console itself and there are some of those too, XBLG has cross game chat and generally most multiplatform games run better on the 360. The you have all the timed exclusive DLC and other issues. Those are perfectly valid reasons for preferring the 360, the PS3 has its own perfectly valid reasons for choosing it too. Its a matter of taste which floats someones boat and which they prefer, none of which make someone a fanboy.

Finally you should drop the "reading between the lines" shtick, either accept it as wrong or admit its code for "making stuff up to suit my perceptions". You can either continue "reading between the lines" or actually read what he said, taking what he says at face value makes sense. You making stuff up to suit your perceptions/reading between the lines does not, its pretty ridiculous claiming someone is a fanboy because they play most of their multiplatfrom titles on a particular console. Claiming that and claiming they are such a fanboy they deny themselves and their company millions is bordering on absurdity.

 

[WanderingFool]

Razer's products, in particular its Xbox 360 fight sticks, are often regarded by gamers as being of very high quality and some of the best third party peripherals on the market.

Which gamers say that? Cause I want to know where they buy their shit. I baught one Razer gamepad for my 360 and it broke a month later from mere casual use. No raging throws, no 24+ hour gaming sessions, just regular, 2-3 hours a day gaming. I mean, shit, I have a MadCat controller for my old XBox that still fucking works.

I just see Razer as all flash, no substance... maybe PS3 gamers should be thankful than...

 

[MorphingDragon]

Corsair.

I love Corsair. I use their RAM, their speakers, their power supplies, and they have all been great, but their most basic mechanical keyboard actually costs more than the basic version of the Blackwidow and doesn't look all that feature rich.

It's also very very impressive that OfficeMax sell mechanical keyboards with Cherry switches.

What exactly makes those damn things worth so much? I swear just having them puts a keyboard in the 100+ USD price range for no good reason.

Cherry switches are expensive because companies can still get away with charging that much. Typists preferred Cherry switches as they made different types with different "feels" so the inflexible mechanical types died out and there hasn't been proper competition in that space since IBM still made beige PCs. There's not really anything else to it, it's still considered a premium feature by the peripheral manufacturers and Cherry pretty much have a monopoly over the mechanical switch market.

Seeing as you are apparently some kind of keyboard expert, whats a good Arctosa alternative? keep in mind, my Deathadder hes yet to disappoint me.

You spent ~$140US on a mechanical keybaord? You got ripped off mate. Buy from the right place. Next time buy direct from Taiwan or Hong Kong, it's so much cheaper.
http://global.pchome.com.tw/english/?mod=area&func=style_show&RG_NO=SBAE&tm=e

Going off the prices in NZ.
Well if you're patient you can get equipment shipped from Hong Kong/Taiwan and get stuff that is infinitely better. Otherwise the Logitech G105 is pretty much identical apart from the key coatings and about $20NZD cheaper. The Roccat Arvo is the same price. It does have less macro buttons but is has thumb buttons below the space that can be reprogrammed. A cheap $10 keyboard that doesn't have stiff keys will perform just as well for gaming.

My main advice is that most gaming peripherals are not actually better quality. They usually have the same core hardware as the cheap stuff but with auxiliary features such as LED's or macro buttons. An el cheapo $10 "gaming" keyboard will perform about the same Arctosa sans the pretty lights.

The truly superior keyboards are the ones like the Ducky DK 9008S, Das Keybaord Model S or the old IBM Model M. When you have proper hardware driving the keyboard behind a PS/2 hardware interrupt there's no need for "features" like anti-ghosting, n-key rollover or fast polling rates as it's already there in your computer like it used to be.

USB has absolutely killed latency for peripherals as it has to go through the operating system. Since a lot of Razer's features are software based I don't see them changing any time soon either.

 

[zalithar]

Which is it? He either has little to do with the direction and design of his products or hes such a rampant fanboy that he cuts his companies nose off to spite its face? Thats the most obvious one.

Do you not understand what you are saying? He controls the direction not the design. He would not be the one to make the peripheral but he is the one saying not to make it.

Min-liang Tan seems to favor PCs more anyways. Razor makes more PC accessories than Xbox accessories; so calling him an Xbox fan boy rings hollow.

 

[major_chaos]

You spent ~$140US on a mechanical keybaord?

No I have a cheap 20$ Microsoft keyboard that pisses me off consistently and I want to replace it. The Deathadder is a 60$ mouse that I love.
As for the rest, I don't like the Arvo's compressed design, but the G105 actually does look nice. I guess I just never considered looking at logitech for gaming equipment.

 

[J Tyran]

Which is it? He either has little to do with the direction and design of his products or hes such a rampant fanboy that he cuts his companies nose off to spite its face? Thats the most obvious one.

Do you not understand what you are saying? He controls the direction not the design. He would not be the one to make the peripheral but he is the one saying not to make it.

Min-liang Tan seems to favor PCs more anyways. Razor makes more PC accessories than Xbox accessories; so calling him an Xbox fan boy rings hollow.

If you are going to quote please don't cherry pick, I wasn't one the one claiming any of those things.

 

[Haakmed]

I have NEVER understood people like this. There is not a single damn thing the 360 has over the PS3, except for a handful of (subpar) exclusives. Even if you disagree on that part, the PS3 has everything the 360 has, but with MORE exclusives. the only real reason why I've seen people choose a 360 over a PS3 is because their friends have it. Which is arguably a testament to the 360's "stellar" online functions, but I disagree with this assessment. Instead, I think Microsoft has a MUCH MUCH better marketing campaign, especially for American audiences (and perhaps more shrewed business practices).

The Load times on my PS3 are killer. literally make me hate the thing ever time I turn it on to patch something it takes me hours. I really doubt that its just me as all my friends ps3s do the same thing. I will say however that after my 3rd (yes I gave up quickly) 360 I was never going back to those things again.

 

[Thurston]

A company has limited resources. It can't do everything for everybody. The folks in charge have to pick and choose where you put your efforts, for best results.

Sure, there is a market for PS3 peripherals. But, he's decided that it doesn't interest him. If he decided to go after it, it MAY pay off in profits, but it WILL divert resources from existing products lines. Passion counts. If the CEO doesn't give a damn about a particular product line, it may be a good reason to keep it a theoretical.

 

[Something Amyss]

I have NEVER understood people like this. There is not a single damn thing the 360 has over the PS3, except for a handful of (subpar) exclusives. Even if you disagree on that part, the PS3 has everything the 360 has, but with MORE exclusives. the only real reason why I've seen people choose a 360 over a PS3 is because their friends have it. Which is arguably a testament to the 360's "stellar" online functions, but I disagree with this assessment. Instead, I think Microsoft has a MUCH MUCH better marketing campaign, especially for American audiences (and perhaps more shrewed business practices).

Honestly, I think this misses the point. He makes the statement he's not doing this to make a buck. GREAT. but you can still make products you would want for consoles you don't like.

I mean, I don't get his dislike for the PS3, but it is what it is. A lot of people do things I don't understand. Wear socks and sandals, for example. but still, this seems like a bad reason to preclude a market.