Razer launches two new products

Posted by: John at 10/4/2007 4:44 PM - Comments (0)

More On: Razer

With names like the Lycosa and Piranha, Razer has a new keyboard and headset coming to a computer near you. The Lycosa is the new gaming keyboard with each key being fully programmable and you'll be able to save up to 10 different profiles for the various games you play. Something interesting included is the audio jacks that allow you to connect your headset or microphone to your keyboard instead of reaching to the back or front of the computer. The Piranha is a headset with an in-line remote and easy to reach microphone mute button. If you're interested, the headset is aimed for an October release for $80 while the keyboard is looking to come out in November at the same price.

RAZER™ LAUNCHES GAMING KEYBOARD AND HEADSET AT WORLD CYBER GAMES 2007 GRAND FINAL

The Razer Lycosa™ and Razer Piranha™ excel in professional gaming situations where superior communications is key

Seattle, Washington – October 04, 2007 – Razer™, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-end precision gaming and lifestyle electronics peripherals, unveiled the Razer Lycosa™ and the Razer Piranha™, a gaming keyboard and communications headset, at the World Cyber Games (WCG) 2007 Grand Final in Seattle, Washington.

“This year is particularly sweet as we have been selected for three years as the official mouse of the WCG Finals, and are also 2007’s official keyboard and headset at the Grand Final. Additionally, we are proud to announce the Razer Lycosa Keyboard and the Razer Piranha Headset in Seattle. These are both expected to be instant classic Razer products offering PC gamers a distinct advantage in their game of choice,” said Robert “Razerguy” Krakoff, president of Razer.

Razer Lycosa

The Razer Lycosa is designed for fast, efficient gameplay and superior actions-per-minute thanks to its 1000Hz Ultrapolling™/1ms response time. By offering illuminated, non-slip rubber keys and Hyperesponse™ technology; full control is in the gamers’ hands, empowering gamers to operate under any conditions and at professional gaming speed. Durable and ultra-portable, the Razer Lycosa is fit for the most heated LAN gaming sessions by offering immediately accessible USB, earphone and microphone jacks.

Each key on the Razer Lycosa is fully programmable to accept a myriad of complex gaming commands and button combinations. The TouchPanel™ ensures that gamers always have control over all functions of the chosen media player. With the ability to save up to 10 different profiles, gamers can customize thousands of keystrokes for their favorite Real Time Strategy, First Person Shooter, Massively Multiplayer Online or virtually any other genre defining game.

Razer Lycosa Technical Specifications

· Keytop with non-slip rubber finish

· Backlight illumination with WASD cluster lighting option

· Fully-programmable keys with macro capability

· Gaming cluster with anti-ghosting capability

· Slim keycap structure with Hyperesponse™ technology

· TouchPanel™ easy access media keys

· Gaming mode option for deactivation of the Windows key

· 10 customizable software profiles with on-the-fly switching

· 1000Hz Ultrapolling™ / 1ms response time

· Earphone-out and microphone-in jacks

· Detachable wrist rest

· One integrated USB extension port

· Approximate size:

469mm (length) x 168mm (width) x 15mm (height) – without wrist rest

469mm (length) x 221mm (width) x 15mm (height) – with wrist rest

Razer Piranha

The Razer Piranha delivers realistic in-game stereo audio with superior clarity and deep bass tones for discerning gamers requiring superior audio fidelity. Featuring plug-and-play functionality, the Razer Piranha also sports an adjustable noise-canceling microphone enabling gamers to communicate with teammates in the noisiest of gaming situations. The ergonomically designed and cushioned earphones also offer hours of comfort and functionality for extended gaming sessions.

With its in-line remote control, the volume on the Razer Piranha can be easily adjusted at a moment’s notice. A microphone mute button is also conveniently located on the remote, so gamers have the option to select which commands are sent out to those listening in. The Razer Piranha’s sleek design is further accented by the glowing Razer logos located on either side of the headset, ensuring that gamers are seen as well as heard at their next LAN party.

Razer Piranha Features:

· Stereo sound with true-to-life audio quality with superior clarity and bass

· Adjustable, noise-filtering microphone for clearer in-game communication

· Comfortable, ergonomic and adjustable earphones suitable for prolonged use

· In-line remote control with convenient volume and microphone muting adjustments

· Single-sided cable for hassle-free usage

· Durable braided fiber cable protection

· Compatible with VoIP communication applications like TeamSpeak, Ventrilo and Skype

· Compatible with most major operating systems

· Usable with CD, DVD and digital audio players (via 3.5mm minijack)

Specifications:

Headphones

Freq. response: 18 – 22,000 Hz

Impedance: 32 Ohms

SPL (@ 1 kHz, 1 Vrms): 114 dB

Cable: 3.0 meters

Microphone

Freq. response: 80 – 15,000 Hz

Sensitivity (@ 1 kHz, 1V/Pa): -38 dB

Impedance: Approximately 2 kOhms

Pick-up pattern: Uni-directional

As official sponsors of the WCG 2007 Grand Final in four categories, Razer will equip gamers with the Razer DeathAdder gaming mouse, the Razer Tarantula gaming keyboard and the Razer Barracuda HP-1 gaming headphones. To see the Razer Lycosa, the Razer Piranha and other Razer products at WCG Seattle, please visit the Razer booth, number 5.

The Razer Lycosa will retail globally in November 2007 at an MSRP of US$79.99. The Razer Piranha will be available in October 2007 at an MSRP of US$79.99. For more information, please visit www.razerzone.com.

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Classic Gaming Trivia for 9/8/08

by: John - posted: 9/8/2008 1:09 PM - Comments (0)

Ok, now that I have some things taken care of we should be back to regularly scheduled trivia. The last trivia was the horrendous Time Traveler. I tried it a few times in the arcade and just gave up because it didn't really look that good and played horribly. I mean check out the bad acting.

Today's game was one I played at home a lot back in the early days because there wasn't a good hockey game for the system.

EA pushes Harry Potter game to next year

by: Chuck - posted: 9/8/2008 12:43 PM - Comments (0)

One of the fun things about movie tie in games is that you're always tied to the release date of the movie. Normally that's not a problem but when Warner Brothers moved the release of the new Harry Potter movie to next year it forced EA to decide between releasing the game when it was ready (this year) and lose out on all the hype around the game or ship it with the movie and defer all the income generated from the game until 2009.

It looks like EA has decided to push the game back and now Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (i.e. the one where you know who kills that one guy) will hit stores when the movie is released next year. I don't know if this means they'll continue development of the game until the movie is released or just sit on copies of the game until next year but it's probably for the best. [READ MORE]

Gaming Gibs for 9/8/2008

by: Chuck - posted: 9/8/2008 12:31 PM - Comments (0)

Here are a few things I missed while learning to differentiate my Spocks:

Spore won't work on Macbooks made before 2007, take that Mac guy
Stephen Colbert latest person to shoot their DNA into space, this promotion is still a bit on the creepy side
Home impressions posted, still a lot of bare cupboards online
Check out the Rock Band 2 cymbals in their new ad, doesn't look too bad
Force Unleashed still not coming to the PC, may not be a bad thing as early reviews have not been kind
Chainsaw coming to Castle Crashers, hopefully a patch soon as well
Will Wright knows which side of the bread his toast is buttered
Chatpad hacked to work with the PSP, have to wonder if new Sony keyboard will do the same

Metallica Death Magnetic album hits GH III via DLC this week

by: Dan - posted: 9/8/2008 12:25 PM - Comments (0)

Pop in your Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock disk this Friday to download Metallica's Death Magnetic Album the same day it hits retailers. The album will feature two exclusive Guitar Hero versions of "Suicide & Redemption" (extended solos). In addition, the entire Death Magnetic album will be forward compatible with Guitar Hero World Tour when it launches later this fall at no additional charge. Death Magnetic will cost 1440 Microsoft Points for the Xbox 360 or $17.99 for the Playstation 3. [READ MORE]

Wiikly wiileases wiivealed

by: Chuck - posted: 9/8/2008 12:24 PM - Comments (0)

Another week, another trio of releases for Nintendo owners to think about purchasing. This week's WiiWare title is Groovin' Blocks (800 points), a new music game that will punish those of us with no inner rhythm. Retro fans are getting two TurboGrafx16 games with Cho Aniki(900 points ) and Final Soldier(700 points) now available on the service.

Be sure to check back on Friday for Cyril's take on the games. Until then here's the trailer for Groovin' Blocks

[READ MORE]

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Demo on Marketplace

by: Dan - posted: 9/8/2008 12:24 PM - Comments (0)

Those that know me are familiar with my distaste for Demos of games that have been released for weeks or months. And that is exactly what we are getting today from Activision, as they unleashed a demo for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith on Xbox Live Marketplace. We recently reviewed the game and gave it a mediocre C-, but if you really want to decide for yourself, then feel free to download and play the included songs “Sweet Emotion”, “Dream On”, “Walk this Way” and “I Hate Myself For Loving You”. Much like a movie trailer for a comedy that includes all the funny scenes, that's about it as far as recognizable songs go.

Spring Cleaning continues for Xbox Live Arcade

by: Dan - posted: 9/8/2008 12:10 PM - Comments (0)

Another week of stuff for Xbox Live Arcade that was stuck in the back of the closet, as RocketBowl (800 pts), Samurai Shodown 2 (400 pts), Shotest Shogi (800 Pts), Buku Sudoku Puzzle Pack (200 pts) and N+ Levelpack (200 pts) will hit the service this Wednesday at 5:00 a.m. EST. That's a lot of stuff with some high point values to be throwing our way all at once. Check out all the details on the next page.... [READ MORE]

Dead Space banned in three countries

by: Chuck - posted: 9/7/2008 6:30 PM - Comments (2)

Despite what GamePolitics thinks, it looks like Dead Space has been banned in China, Germany, and Japan according to the game's official blog. Germany isn't too much of a surprise but China and Japan are. It does look like the gruesomeness of the game combined with the "would be suicides" are what pushed the game into the land of the banned. Sucks for them as the game is looking to be one of the better games of the year.

Notes from the NHL 2K9 press call

by: Chuck - posted: 9/7/2008 3:50 PM - Comments (0)

For those too lazy to listen to Dan’s recording of the NHL 2K9 press call last week with Ben Bishop (Producer) and Jay Iwahashi (Online Producer) here my notes from the call:
-Virtual Concepts is replacing Kush this year
    -Felt like the first opportunity to rebuild the franchise, game had been extending old content for a while, chance to replace a lot of old code

-Fresh perspective to the game, try to bring the fun back to the game, The controls are really the focus, want people to be able to pick up and play right away
    -Lot of modern games are getting too complex, focus is on fun and making it easy to play
    -Old code base thrown out, completely re-worked
    -Simplified controls so that pass, shoot, check are all you need to know

-Zamboni and playoff beards coming to the game, along with custom Stanley cup celebrations
    -Can skate around the ice with the cup, can skate around, raise, kiss, and pass the cup to a teammate

-Some presentation content ported in from NBA 2K9 team, cross team sharing of resources
    -Game summary replays
        -Save and replay – make your own highlight reels
        -View all hits, goals, etc after game

-Should be a much different experience than last year
-Not concerned with being the underdog, the fans are the hardest audience to please
-Differences from NHL 09
    -Only Wii hockey game this year
    -Easier control scheme – bringing the fun back
    -Feels that the games are on a different path

-Had some issues with the Wii port, went from the 360 to the Wii
    -Trying to find memory and get the graphics to work

-Can switch between control schemes, can used advanced if you want to
    -Hybrid scheme
    -Pro-stick evolution – more focused on using right stick for shooting
    -Scheme from 2K8 not in the game
    -Cannot customize controls

More on the online modes and other changes after the break.

Here's the final teaser video for the game

[READ MORE]

Mount & Blade goes Gold

by: Elliot - posted: 9/7/2008 2:46 PM - Comments (0)

Get your saddles and riding boots all cleaned up because Mount & Blade for the PC just went gold. Look for the game online plus on store shelves September 16th for North America and September 19th for Europe. More information after the jump. [READ MORE]

New DS color launches today

by: Sean Colleli - posted: 9/7/2008 1:35 PM - Comments (0)

September 7th marks the release of the Metallic Silver DS Lite, so if you still don't have Nintendo's strangely popular portable this is another excuse to finally get one. The silver DS joins a host of other colors already on the market, including a very limited edition gold Legend of Zelda DS. I can imagine the lucky collectors with that piece of swag are comparing their DS bling to the new silver model. Personally, I'll stick with my jet black DS, at least until Trauma Center makes me wear out the touch screen. [READ MORE]

New Puzzle Quest website launches

by: Sean Colleli - posted: 9/7/2008 1:30 PM - Comments (0)

D3 Publisher is gearing up to release the latest game in their popular Puzzle Quest series, Galactrix. To get the fans excited and keep them informed, D3 has relaunched the Puzzle Quest website. There is now comprehensive info for all the games in the series and preview material for Galactrix as well. There is also a section dedicated to strategies for the XBLA expansion pack. It's nice to see D3 supporting their fan base this much, and I know I'm looking forward to the new release even more. [READ MORE]

Dean Takahashi details the RROD problem

by: Chuck - posted: 9/6/2008 3:55 PM - Comments (0)

Dean Takahashi has published a long, in depth article that details the reasons behind the RROD problem that caused so many Xbox 360's to fail. It's a long read (6 pages) but it's worth it just to get a look inside what went on and why there are so many defects. There's some new information but the core reason of why the device failed was because Microsoft rushed it to market to beat Sony, even though they knew there were problems with the Xbox 360 when it shipped.

While it certainly makes Microsoft look bad it's worth noting that the strategy seems to have worked as Microsoft is currently leading the PS3 right now. The real question now is will people still line up to buy the next Microsoft gaming system when it comes out or will they wait until Microsoft fixes all the issues (real or perceived).

Sierra demonstrates l33t Gin Rummy skills in new video

by: Chuck - posted: 9/6/2008 1:19 PM - Comments (2)

Gin Rummy was released on Xbox Live last week and the folks at Sierra have put together a little video showing off some tips and tricks for how to play the game. Personally I'm not much of a card game guy (no guns, not enough explosions) but the video does provide some sound strategies for the game if you're into that kind of thing.

What we're playing this weekend

by: Chuck - posted: 9/6/2008 12:21 PM - Comments (0)

Ben Berry
Seeing as my fiance already downloaded it, I am going to give Pirates of the Caribbean Online a try. A little Rock Band will probably be mixed in as i anxiously await the two NHL titles due on Tuesday.

Elliot Bonnie
Not much time for gaming this weekend, but what time I do have will be spent blowing up stuff in Mercenaries 2.

Dave Gamble
I'm reliving the Summer Olympics with Summer Athletics for the Wii. Between events, I'm racing Dodge Vipers around famous European race tracks with Simbin's new racer, GTR Evolution.

Charles Husemann
It's going to be a quiet weekend of gaming for me as I get revved up for Spore and the NHL games next week. I'm hoping to get in a little more Pixel Junk Eden this weekend and maybe a little Rock Band.

Randy Kalista
There are over 3.3 million creatures and vehicles uploaded into Spore's online Sporepedia. I wish I was kidding. I'm entirely too lazy to sift through all that player-created content to find just the right creations to import into my own world. So I'll be spending a little more time with the Spore Creature Creator myself. Plus, on Sunday, I'll try and help everyone crash the GOG.com server by rushing in for a download of Fallout 2.

Dan Keener
Looks like I can get my 360 back from Sean Cahill, so that means I can finally download Castle Crashers and the Rock Band Rush masters. Toss in some more Oblivion, and time to do some serious testing with the Polk Audio iSonic.

Matt Mirkovich
I've gone back to Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow on the Nintendo DS. I've also picked up Infinite Undiscovery for the 360. It's RPG-mayhem at my place as I've also got Disgaea 3, and the Tales of Vesperia limited edition begging to be played. I've also got to get practiced up for my Forza Racing League, our final race is Monday and I'm looking to finish in solid 5th.

Nathan Murray
I have been playing Gutiar Hero III in preparation for the festivities