NEWS
NEWS
NEWS
Today is a big day for fans of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. as BlizzCon 2015 ramps up. Amid the announcements fans and players expect something to be revealed about Blizzard’s upcoming first person shooter (FPS) game Overwatch, which pits superheroes and supervillains against one another in a game style reminiscent of Team Fortress 2. Expecting a great deal of fanfare, gaming hardware maker Razer Inc. just revealed a lineup of its Overwatch branded hardware.
First thing that springs to mind: It’s extremely orange.
The lineup consists of three pieces of hardware: a gaming keyboard, the Overwatch BlackWidow Chroma; a gaming mouse, the Overwatch Razer DeathAdder Chroma; and a gaming mousepad, the OverWatch Goliathus Speed.
Most PC gamers will attest: a proper keyboard is a must-have.
The Overwatch branded BlackWidow Chroma is a gaming keyboard using Razer’s Chroma backlighting technology that enables users to choose between 16.8 million customizable color options. The key colors can be controlled via software from Razer and even enabled for games to modify the keyboard color settings (as some change colors according to player health or environmental effects).
Of course, the Overwatch branding means that the logo of the game appears in the upper right corner of the keyboard in bold, white letters.
The keyboard boasts 10 key roll-over anti-ghosting, so that those extremely rapid keystrokes don’t vanish into the ether when gaming, and fully-programmable on-the-fly macro recording for preparing a line-up of keystrokes for those intense moments. The keyboard itself uses the company’s own Razer Mechanical Switch keys for optimal distance and response. The keyboard is also rated for up to 60 million keystrokes making it durable enough for even most hardcore gaming sessions.
Razer has not announced a price yet, but looking at previous branded BlackWidow Chroma keyboards it may be in the range of $179.99.
(Note: Readers can maybe tell by now you don’t need to keep these items bright, pumpkin orange. But it’s a nice homage to Overwatch‘s Tracer–the Aussie accented teleporter from the game.)
The Razer DeathAdder has enough buttons to keep even the most intense gamer going.
The Overwatch branded DeathAdder Chroma presents what Razer calls “the ergonomic shape favored by top esports athletes.” It is a right-handed design with rubber side grips to make it easy to hold onto and control. As a gaming mouse, the DeathAdder also boasts a 10,000 dpi (dots per inch) optical sensor making it work well on most surfaces.
As for the gaming specs, the mouse has five independently programmable buttons, which contain sensors capable of 1000Hz polling, well beyond the rate at which even the quickest human can click. The mouse can also detect up to 300 inches per second/50g acceleration for those rapid need-to-turn now movements. And like most gaming mice, it possesses on-the-fly sensitivity adjustment for switching between broad movements and micro-fine sniping adjustments.
Of course, the DeathAdder Chroma also provides the same 16.8 million customizable colors via Razer software.
Pricing has not been announced yet, however previous branded DeathAdder Chroma have run $79.99.
It’s hard to beat a good mousepad — and it’s already where people like to have logos and pictures.
Finally, that mouse is going to need a mousepad to operate well (or at least to round out the swag). The Overwatch branded Goliathus Speed mousing surface is the only product that cannot change its colors—instead, it’s what-you-see-is-what-you-get.
The idea behind the Goliathus Speed surface is to provide a tight weave that can be “seen” easily by the optical sensor of any gaming mouse to provide increased precision. And it also promises a seamless surface that will allow the mouse to glide without hindrance or interruption.
The site also claims that the surface will work with most common mouse sensor setups–low sense, high sense, laser, optical or dual sensor system—while also remaining comfortable to the touch.
Pricing has not been announced yet, however, previous branded versions of the Goliathus Speed have been US$19.99.
Each of these products also has a normal version currently available on Razer’s site for those not interested in having Overwatch logos on their equipment.
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