Razer’s President Robert Krakoff talks mice, keyboards and other gaming goodness
By Michael Lafferty

“We create products that better meets the needs of our customers and by doing so we create a base of wildly loyal and even fanatical users”

Mouse pads … mice … keyboards … audio … when it comes to the nuances that make PC gaming  exciting, and a sleek experience, Razer is one of the first names that pops to mind. The company is responsible for quality peripherals like the Copperhead gaming mouse, which features 32 kilobytes of onboard memory and a 2,000 dpi laser engine; keyboards like the Tarantula, billed as the “definitive keyboard created for gamers by gamers;” and the Barracuda AC-1 gaming audio card, which has Dolby Pro-Logic IIx surround processors, Dolby headphone technology (the power of 5.1 surround sound in headphones), and Dolby Digital Live (5.1 real-time encoding).

The mouse pads are oversized and geared for gamers and other users who need room to wield their mice like the destroyers or creators they are in the virtual space.

Razer is a top-drawer company that always seems to be meeting the needs of gamers before gamers may be aware of what those needs are. So what is the process in staying ahead of the business? GameZone recently talked with Robert Krakoff, President, Razer USA Ltd., about the company and its products.

Question: A company like Razer needs to anticipate the next trends in gaming and then supply a need that gamers may not know exists. Generally speaking, how do you do that?

Robert: More often than not our avid fans tell us what these are. The ability to innovate keeps a company like ours on the top. We continue to win by engaging our smartest customers. We create products that better meets the needs of our customers and by doing so we create a base of wildly loyal and even fanatical users. So what happens with every product is a very collaborative effort between our engineers, designers and the gamers who play the games the best.

Q: What determines if a hardware peripheral is viable or not?

Robert: A product must be needed first, then it must be developed and during that process there are several user validation points. We take the product back to our innovative user team to determine if we are actually delivering on the promise. If so we move forward; if not we adapt the necessary changes or drop the project entirely. We have several products (e.g., Mamba and Raptor) that were announced, developed and placed on a shelf so to speak years ago. They just didn’t make the grade with our testers and were shelved.

Q: You have an "all-in-one-suite" for hardcore gamers. What does that entail?

Robert: When we talk about a suite of products we refer to the four products that can enhance competitive play and provide the player with a distinct advantage … these are in order of importance the mouse, the mousing surface, the audio solution and the keyboard.

Q: You have recently entered into a partnership with Microsoft. Tell us about that.

Robert: We both recognized the same need at the same time and decided to band together to make the product that gamers had been requesting. The old Microsoft IE 3.0 was the mouse of choice from gamers playing action games like Counter Strike due to their unusual low sensitivity mouse settings. Players kept asking us to copy the shape and add our engineering capabilities in order to create an ultimate mouse for their specific needs. Rather than copy the Microsoft shape we got together and co-branded the Habu.

Q: Razer is coming out with a new keyboard - the Tarantula. What will set this apart from other keyboards? What customizable features will be included?

Robert: Our goal with the Tarantula was to make a true gaming keyboard; one that was intelligent, highly programmable, low latency keys and portable through onboard memory. The Tarantula is the culmination of our goals and over two years of development. It is now available in select stores around the world.

Q: Keyboards and the mouse are oft overlooked but likely the most necessary of all hardware peripherals. Still these are items that have basically gone unchanged for a long time. How do you educate consumers to changes that may be taking place?

Robert: We do the engineering and development work and then trust in the press to deliver the message in the form of in-depth product reviews. Gamers don’t rely much on the hype created by the company; they prefer to get their information from friends and trusted sources. We spend a great deal of time educating users with facts and technical specifications and white papers on our site, www.razerzone.com. There is a great deal of downloadable info there on the Tarantula in very straight-forward form. We don’t believe that we have to overtly “sell” our products to gamers. We prefer that they do the selling as advocates for our product as the real experts.

Q: If there was one device you would like to see sooner rather than later, what would it be?

Robert: A true wireless gaming mouse … one that even a pro gamer would use in competition.

Q: What do you consider to be the optimum hardware configuration for both gamers and those who are casual gamers?

Robert: Since we only focus our energy on hardware my reply will not cover other important configurations such as processors, video, etc. A lot depends on the user’s game genre of choice. At Razer we think in terms of game genre when we design a product. We realize that not every mouse or mousing surface fits the needs of every game and every game genre. We have recently coined a marketing saying, “the right mouse for the right hand.” This philosophy also applies to all the product categories we play in. So if I were recommending a Razer suite for avid gamers playing Quake it would be Copperhead, eXactMat, Tarantula and Barracuda IAS. If I were recommending a Razer product suite to Counter Strike players it would be the Habu, Mantis Control pad, Tarantula and Barracuda IAS. Naturally I would have a different product configuration for RTS and MMOG gamers as well.

Q: When it comes to responsiveness, do you prefer corded or wireless devices? What are the advantages of each?

Robert: Today there is really still no comparison to wired input devices when it comes to competitive gaming or having an edge in performance. Latency is a killer and any gamer worth their salt eschews wireless mice, keyboards and headsets. The time will come when wireless technology is on a par but that time is not here today. Besides latency the added weight and battery life is still a challenge and in a setting where there might be a large number of gamers competing with wireless device interference and bandwidth issues are not yet resolved.

Q: If you could have any gaming device under your Christmas tree this year, what would it be?

Robert: My own personal favorite mouse ever, the Boomslang II, brought up to date with the next generation sensor. My eyes would well up with tears of joy.

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