Razer helped shape modern PC gaming. From the legendary DeathAdder mouse to the rise of mechanical gaming keyboards, the company built a reputation for making some of the most iconic gaming gear ever created. But somewhere along the way, things got strange. In this video, we dive into the surprising story of Razer. A company that went from pushing the gaming industry forward to launching fintech products, gamer credit cards, energy drinks, luxury collaborations, smartphones, gaming desks, and even AI holograms. Along the way, Razer became one of the biggest gaming brands in the world, went public in a massive IPO, and then unexpectedly took itself private. So what happened? We break down Razer's rise, the products that made it famous, the unusual decisions that followed, and why many longtime fans believe the company lost sight of what made it special in the first place. We also look at the business challenges facing Razer today, including slowing growth, tariffs, rising component costs, and increasing competition from brands like Logitech, Corsair, ASUS, and Keychron. The story of Razer isn't really about a company that failed. It's about what happens when a brand known for doing one thing extremely well starts chasing everything else instead. Timestamps: 0:00 - Razer 0:35 - Innovation 5:07 - The “Lifestyle Brand” 8:13 - The Fall Sources: https://pastebin.com/QcskfEuQ
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The biggest enemy of modern corporations: promise of eternal growth. The stock is not going up? Uh oh the company is in crisis! Sales are the same as last year? Uh oh the company is falling off. Somebody needs to tell them that the world is finite, the societies are getting older and the population of the whole planet will start dropping so you cannot grow forever. Just do what you're good at, 20-30 million profit a year is not bad at all. Good video as always :)
And here I am, being old. not even knowing they were in trouble. Heh.
Razer tried to position themselves as the Apple of gaming, with the premium pricing, but not the support/customer service to match.
I've had multiple Razer products over the years, of all of them I'm satisfied with exactly one of them and that is a mousepad.
So.. Basically after the IPO it started crashing. I think I've heard this story before....
Epic, can't wait to see this. Their product quality has been on the downhill for ages.
Bought 2 Razer cameras, and a microphone. One of the cameras stopped working after a year, the software is abysmal. When i was looking for a new gaming computer looking at the reviews found horror stories of bulging batteries and remembered my own experiences, never again.
Optical switches used in Razer were created and made by DMET (Dongguan Mingjian Electronic Technology Co., Ltd.), the same ones were used in A4/Bloody keyboards back in the days when optical switches (and Razer) were a thing. And that's the problem with Razer: they don't own and R&D their own tech, there's no innovation, they are just a brand run by marketing department.
The brand that spend way more on marketing and hyping up it's brand and products than actually designing and manufacturing quality products.
My first Razer mouse from 2010 lasted like 12 years. When it finally died i replaced it with a similar one which died before it was 2 years old, i also bought one for work at the same time and it also died within 2 years 😢
I remember winning an ebay auction for a brand new blackmamba (first wireless deathadder with a super fancy box, was like $150msrp) for like $20. First gaming mouse. later In college a dude gave me a two year old razer blade for $100 (the battery was toast) cool laptop, like a gaming macbook pro (with far worse quality) back when everyone made gaming laptops that looked like space ships
The Word Shareholder is Poisonous, business need to learn that
The devices are great? They moved the industry forward? What??? All their mice I've owned were expensive, but made of cheap plastic. Even the plastic in their packaging was often better.
heard about sertexity under a different video, ended up skimming the docs and it actually seems pretty technical
I remember purchasing the Copperhead, Lachesis, original Imperator; and multiple versions of the DeathAdder mouse. This company lost their way a long time ago.
I've never been a huge fan of Razor. Their products just for me. The headphones never fit my fat head, their keyboards are the only ones that be broken for me, and I was never a huge fan of their aesthetics. It's weird to see their decline from the sidelines. On one hand, I was always indifferent to them. On the other, they were EVERYWHERE back when I was in school. Weird to see something that's been around me for well over a decade slowly disappear.
I had the Blackwidow and Death Adder in 2013, both failed pretty quickly compared to all the other peripherals I had ever bought. Got them replaced under warranty and the new replacement pieces all failed pretty quickly too. Haven't bothered with Razer since. I liked the products while they worked, but considering every other mouse that had ever failed on me lasted several years longer than the Razer stuff, I decided to spend elsewhere.
If you are in love with OVER-PRICED junk.... You own razor products 😬
How razer managed to get on with such bad qc for so long is beyond me. I owned several products over the years and they ALL stopped working sooner than later. At least I wasn’t dumb enough to buy one of their laptops 😅
They sell garbage for ridiculously expensive price.