Earlier this year, news of start-up Nextbit being purchased by gaming company Razer raised eyebrows. Not only had Nextbit’s first and only smartphone been on the market for less than a year, but Razer hadn’t outwardly expressed any interest in the smartphone industry until news broke of the unusual purchase. 6 months later, it would appear that Razer has specific plans in mind for a smartphone, in this case one designed for “hardcore gamers”.
“Hardcore gaming” and “mobile” aren’t typically two topics that people take seriously, at least not like you would with “hardcore gaming” and “consoles” or “hardcore gaming” and “PC”, but as smartphones become more powerful and mobile games become more complicated and graphic-intensive, it’s not hard to believe that a “hardcore gaming” community has developed on mobile platforms; it isn’t just about Snake or Candy Crush anymore.
Razer also wouldn’t be the first company to design a phone with gaming in mind. One phone that I highly admired in its day, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, was another device that was developed specifically for gamers. Instead of a slide-out physical keyboard, which many smartphones featured at the time, the Xperia Play featured a slide-out controller and a list of 71 games at launch that were optimized for the Play’s unique controller. Ultimately, the Play flopped and never received a second generation, likely due to a combination of factors such as low demand for a smartphone/handheld console hybrid, technical limitations of a smartphone in 2011, and carrier exclusivity for AT&T in the States. The smartphone industry has yet to see anything quite like it since. The closest comparison might be the Moto GamePad Mod for the Moto Z line of smartphones.
As for Razer, it’s anybody’s guess what a smartphone optimized for “hardcore gamers” really means. The report from Bloomberg states that the company has an interest in creating a smartphone but has yet to secure the funds, so the phone is likely in very early development, if anything. Still, I think the idea is one that could pay off at this point in time considering just how far both smartphones and mobile gaming has come since 2011.
On the other hand, there’s one more thing to consider, and that’s pricing. Ironically, a “gaming phone” is one that I would expect to come with a high price. As somebody who was previously quite invested in PC gaming, I’m all-too-familiar with the premium price tags that come with gaming desktops and laptops – sometimes too premium of a price. So, if a smartphone targeted towards gamers is something that interests you, expect to pay a pretty penny for one in the future. And since it’s coming from Razer, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s decked out with some sort of crazy RGB options somewhere on the device.
While I don’t think I would personally pick one up for myself, I am interested to see (should this device come to fruition) if Razer’s vision for a gamer-centric device would fare any better than the Xperia Play did. I’ve always thought it was a unique idea, but perhaps an idea released ahead of its time.
Readers, what are your thoughts on this report? Would you be interested in a device made specifically with gamers in mind? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
