There is not a single third-party brand that I associate more with gaming than Razer.
The range of products and initiatives covered by them is absolutely staggering. As I think about these brand awards and the various companies we have talked about, and will talk about, something very important strikes me. A lot of these brands specialize and do something exceptionally well, possibly even as the best in their class of products, but Razer is especially notable as they do a little of everything with consistently impressive results.
Now, Razer has been in the game for quite a while at this point, so it’s easy to ignore just how many places they might show up. The thing is, you could probably live your whole gaming life using nothing but Razer products. You could listen to Razer headsets, play on Razer computers using a Razer mouse and keyboard, even a Razer game pad, when necessary, while sitting on your Razer chair.
You could even stream your Razer life out to all of your fans with a Razer webcam, lit by a Razer ring light while speaking into your Razer microphone, and when you’re off stream you can go out into the real world, even in the midst of a global pandemic thanks to the upcoming Project Hazel, or just stay at home with Razer’s Sneki Snek on various stuffed and adorable things to cuddle with so you don’t feel so alone. Incidentally, that last one helps save the environment, so it’s not quite as sad as it sounds.
“Sneki Snek is adorable and I want the best for that little monster.”
I need to emphasize that you probably should not do that; at least not unless you had a great deal of money to burn and were confident that the constant barrage of rainbow chroma lighting wouldn’t affect your psyche in any abnormal ways. If that’s the case, then go ahead. Razer’s products tend to run a bit expensive, but they are certainly worth the investment. Also, Sneki Snek is adorable and I want the best for that little monster.
Razer is generally thought of as being a fine purveyor of PC peripherals, and that is largely true, but that’s not to say they don’t provide support for those of us who get our kicks on a console. Funky looking controls aside, Razer generally wants to pleasantly rattle your head bones no matter where you get your gaming in.
The recently released Barracuda X sounds great, looks great, and comes in at a fairly acceptable price point, plus it’s compatible with just about everything under the sun. We really like it and it’s just the latest in what feels like an avalanche of effective audio solutions that will give you the good sounds wherever you need them and won’t absolutely destroy your bank account.
Of course, if consoles aren’t your thing, then Razer has definitely got your back. If you need something to play on then 2020’s Razer Blade Stealth models (the 13 and the 15) are both excellent and their newest model, the advanced 14 boasts some fantastic specs that can only be improvements. If you already have a laptop but it just doesn’t quite cut the mustard tech wise for you any more than the GPU enclosures, such as the Core X – Mercury can wipe away those tears and ease your woes without buying a whole new system.
You might not even be sold on the whole laptop thing, though, so Razer’s modular Tomahawk gaming desktop provides a great solution right out of the box that will continue to be upgradable for years and years to come. Razer has also announced an upcoming monitor release so you won’t have to sully your eyes on some other company’s subpar display in the future. All of this can, of course, be done from the stylish comfort of your Razer Iskur X gaming chair with a Sneki Snek neck pillow.
In other words, Razer has a whole litany of impressive gaming gear from this year, but the same could really be said about all the other brands we are discussing with this segment, though I doubt the others are so all encompassing. What Razer does have going for them, the thing that really tells me that they are the brand of the year, is what Razer’s been doing to keep you alive.
It may have originally been an April Fool’s joke, and it hasn’t released quite yet, but Razer’s Project Hazel is a smart mask with a sanitizing charging case. There’s a pretty good chance that, by the time it releases, there won’t be any need for it, but with Corona variants and people actively opposing vaccines, there’s also a chance that it will. Even if Project Hazel never comes to fruition, it is still a symbol of Razer’s values as a company.
While other companies were continuing business as usual and the numbers of COVID deaths kept going higher and higher Razer didn’t just stay neutral for fear of alienating a vocal percentage of their customers. That alone is pretty impressive, but that’s not all. Razer has also announced their green and sustainability projections for the future. They are looking to have every one of their products be completely recyclable by 2025 and to have the whole company as carbon neutral by 2030. Plus, money spent on Sneki Snek merchandise, that cute mascot that I keep bringing up, goes toward saving forests with Conservation International.
Razer has a lot of products, and a lot—probably most—of those products are wonderful. They also are doing a lot of work to save the planet and even their customers. It’s really easy to get cynical when we’re talking about any big company, especially in tech, but when one actually does some good in the world, it’s nice to see. You should keep an eye on them to see if they fulfill their promises, but for now maybe CGM’s Brand of the Year might be good.
