For those following closely on the actions of Razer these past few months, we can see that the company seems to be moving to areas of gaming where such companies fear to tread. However, behind all the pomp and grandeur their innovations have been, Razer is still all about the promotion of the pro-gaming circuit.
Since 2012 has started, we have been wondering what’s in store for Razer this year. Thankfully, we have been given the opportunityรย to talk to Christopher Mitchell, the global e-sports manager for Razer and here’s what he had to say about Razer this 2012.
Haoson (B2G): What plans does Razer have for the current Team Razer line up this year?
Chris (Razer): There is a lot of cool things weรขโฌ™re preparing for internally. Basically weรขโฌ™re looking at supporting more levels of gaming, from professional to semi-professional and amateurs. Obviously each tier comes with a different kind of support, but in regards to teams we want to be able to help new aspiring teams to rise to the top and have a shot at turning professional, while supporting those that made it to fully focus on their gaming and really pursue it on a professional full-time basis.
Haoson (B2G): Do you plan on increasing the number players/teams that they will support this year? Why or why not?
Chris (Razer): We definitely will increase the number of players & teams further. From expanding vertically in regards to skill level/professionalism to expanding it horizontally in terms of regions and genres, youรขโฌ™ll see more additions to Team Razer over the course of 2012. We want to make sure we support e-Sports in every region in the world, whether thatรขโฌ™s the e-Sports Mecca of Korea or more nascent e-Sports regions and with the ever changing landscape of e-Sports when it comes to the games that are played competitively, we also have to keep up with the change. Right now weรขโฌ™re especially looking at CS:GO and Dota 2 as titles that weรขโฌ™ll be eyeing closely in 2012.
Haoson (B2G): Will we see Team Razer getting more professionalized this year?
Chris (Razer): Iรขโฌ™d say that comes down to the definition of professionalism, but I would like to say yes. With our increased support and dedication we help teams to be able to focus more on their gaming, how to interact with media, the doรขโฌ™s and donรขโฌ™ts, etc. With the (still young) addition of a content team, weรขโฌ™re also trying to get everyone a closer look at the pros in Team Razer, how they got into gaming and their thoughts on the game they play and e-Sports in general. Weรขโฌ™re hoping to make e-Sports more accessible to those unfamiliar with it and give the fans a รขโฌลbehind-the-curtainรขโฌย-view to the professional gaming elite.
Haoson (B2G): How dedicated are your internal e-sports teams? Do you have a set amount of trophies and achievements that you guys want to have once 2012 ends?
Chris (Razer): We have clear goals and objectives for 2012 and everyone in the team is working hard to achieve that. Podium placements is certainly one of them and from picking the right players, enabling them to practice in the best possible environment to covering travel expenses to events, weรขโฌ™re doing our best to achieve those goals. Obviously trophies and achievements arenรขโฌ™t the only things weรขโฌ™re looking for. Growing a teamรขโฌ™s fanbase and engaging it, providing news and info about the players & tournaments, giving insights on their games are some of the other more visible factors of how teams are measured. The feedback for our product development and validation also plays a great role in a teamรขโฌ™s value, although thatรขโฌ™s mostly happening behind the curtain and not visible to the average gamer.
Haoson (B2G): As shown on your website, currently you are selling team-branded peripherals in the form of mats bearing the logo of team Serious Gaming, Mousesports and MeetYourMakers. Will Razer be adding more this year?
Chris (Razer): Yes, there are more team branded mats in the making. Some of them have already been spotted in the wild being tested by the players of the respective teams. One of our team mat prototypes was already part of the setup winning Dreamhack Winter in 2011.
Haoson (B2G): Aside from the mats, what other team-branded peripherals will you guys be releasing? Will we get team logos on the existing Razer mice keyboards?
Chris (Razer): First one will be a mouse in a Counter Logic Gaming design. CLG just won the Team Razer team of the year 2011 contest and will be rewarded with our first team branded mouse this year. After that weรขโฌ™ll certainly look at our other top teams and potentially other peripherals, so stay tuned for that.
2 Comments
Gotta give it up to companies like these that make gaming so much more than just a past time or hobby.
I know right