Razer tight-lipped on plans for mobile after Nextbit buy

by Dramelin 2:00 AM 0 comments

Razer, the U.
gaming hardware company, earlier this year acquired smartphone-maker Nextbit, but on Thursday, its chief executive officer was tight-lipped about plans to move into the mobile space.
Speaking to CNBC at the sideline of the Innovfest Unbound conference in Singapore, Razer co-founder and CEO, Min-Liang Tan, underscored the importance of the mobile platform to the company, and the gaming industry.
"The mobile category is incredibly important to Razer," he said.
"It`s one of the biggest segments, in terms of gaming at this point of time, but like with all Razer products, we`ll announce it when it`s ready.
" He added, "I`ve got no comments about our mobile ambitions at this point of time.
" While he was mum on mobile, he explained Razer plans to expand its reach into categories beyond gaming laptops and other peripherals.
Two years ago, the company introduced Razer Nabu, a smartwatch; virtual reality (VR) is also on Razer`s radar and Tan said the company is "investing a lot in the next generation of VR experiences.
" "We think there`s a huge amount of potential in VR, and of course, AR at the same time," he said, adding it was only a matter of time before a `killer app` was developed for VR, propelling the sector`s popularity even further.
To be sure, other gaming hardware providers, like Sony, have already made headway into VR — the PlayStation VR, with a massive, potential market of PlayStation users, is one of the top-selling high-end VR devices.
Another popular sector Razer has entered is the virtual currency and payments space by introducing zGold, a virtual currency for gamers.
Users top up their zGold using credit cards and then use the currency to purchase games and other products on Razer`s platform.
It goes in tandem with zSilver, the existing loyalty rewards point system by Razer.
"What we really want to do is to create a single currency that will allow gamers everywhere — our 35 million users — to go out and exchange it for virtual currencies of other games.
" With over 35 million active users, and valued at more than $1 billion, Razer remains a prominent name in the gaming hardware space and Tan explained the business was evenly spread across the U.
, Europe and Asia.