Razer recently launched their Kickstarter campaign for a Razer Naga Trinity (read our review to see why it was a Top Pick of 2018) left-handed gaming mouse. “Wait, why is Razer using Kickstarter?” you might be asking yourself. As Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan tweeted last week, the reason for hitting up Kickstarter for their latest gaming mouse is due to the fact that they have been operating left-handed products at a loss.
We’ve been the only company shipping left handed gaming mice for the past few years and have been doing so at a loss. When we stopped the line we had a huge outcry from the LH community to do a Kickstarter for a LH Naga Trinity. Well – we are delivering on it now!
— Min-Liang Tan (@minliangtan) August 2, 2018
As mentioned on the Kickstarter page as well, it’s not as simple as flipping the mouse design from the current Razer Naga Trinity gaming mouse. In addition, the company states that even fully funded, they would still be making a loss on the mouse.
So why Kickstarter? Does Razer really need the money this early? No, we do not. We chose to take the Kickstarter route to measure the demand and plan for production, rally left-handers around this and make it a reality.
Not many hardware companies create left-handed mice because it’s not profitable. There is significant cost involved in engineering and producing the mouse. It’s not just flipping the design.
Even fully funded, we would still be making a loss.
I had a chance to touch base with Razer PR on the phone as well, and while Razer has made left-handed versions of the Naga Hex and DeathAdder mice in the past, the fact that Razer is now a public company makes it a bit more difficult to dive into R&D and production of another left-handed product. Razer PR also reiterated that this isn’t a money grab by any means but something Razer really wants to do for left-handed gamers.
The left-handed edition of our flagship esports gaming mouse, the Razer DeathAdder, was a result of many fans asking for support. Over the past 6 years, we’ve shipped thousands of left-handed Naga mice—the amount we ship for right-handed mice in a day. This has caused us to significantly dial back on the production of left-handed mice due to the low demand and high costs involved.
Of course, comments are varied around the internet with regards to Razer’s Kickstarter. Some negative, mentioning that a company the size of Razer shouldn’t need to head to Kickstarter (which, hopefully, has been explained above) and others overwhelmingly positive, mostly from the left-handed gaming community. Of course, those positive comments also wonder to an extent why Razer isn’t bringing more awareness to the campaign such as posting information about it on their website, either on the Razer Naga Trinity product page or even a slider on the home page.
The left-handed edition of the Razer Naga Trinity will mirror the original with an ergonomic left-hand design, 3 interchangeable side plates with 2, 7 and 12-button configurations strategically positioned on the right of the mouse body. As per the original Razer Naga Trinity, it will feature classic Razer™ Mechanical Switches, our acclaimed Razer 5G Advanced Optical Sensor with 16,000 DPI, and Razer Chroma™.
The Razer Naga Trinity Left-Handed Edition gaming mouse Kickstarter is currently sitting at just under $40,000 of their $990,000 USD all-or-nothing goal. If you are interested in backing it, you’ll have to do so before September 1st. With 24 days to go, there are still a few Early Bird tier rewards left at $89USD for a Razer Naga Trinity Left-Handed Edition, as well as some smaller $1 and $10 backing options as well. Once the Early Bird pricing is filled, the cost goes up $10 to $99, or you can back the Kickstarter for $120 and snag a limited edition artwork Goliath Speed mouse pad along with the mouse.
If you think this is a great idea, or have already backed it, you can definitely help out further by spreading the word and, hopefully, Razer can find more ways to do so as well.
What do you think about Razer hitting up Kickstarter to fund a left-handed gaming mouse? Are you planning on backing the project? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
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