I'll admit, I had no idea Razer operated a small (but apparently) growing chain of retail stores. In my defense, I live thousands of miles away from its San Francisco shop, which will be one of just two US Razer store locations when a second (and larger) one opens in Las Vegas next month.
The new Las Vegas store will also be bigger than either of its Hong Kong and Taipei stores, the two other places it has a retail location.
"It was totally natural for us to build our next retail presence in Las Vegas, where so many of our fans would be able to experience and enjoy our entire gaming ecosystem," says Christine Cherel, global director of RazerStores. "Together with Caesars Entertainment, we have been scouting for the perfect spot for over a year— and now we have found it, right at the heart of one of the best places for entertainment in the world."
Razer's new store will open at the street-level space at The LINQ Promenade on Las Vegas Blvd. Called RazerStore LV, it will host esports and gaming events on a weekly basis, Razer says.
It's a two-level location spanning 2,400 square feet, including both the gallery and retail section. A massive display consisting of 16 HD panels will form the centerpiece, and will be used to broadcast interactive livestreams and tournaments, with full surround sound. There's no mention of gambling, but c'mon, it's Las Vegas.
"PC gamers can set new records playing the latest blockbuster titles on the award-winning Razer Blade gaming laptops, while console gamers can compete head-to-head in fighting games on Panthera Evo arcade sticks or Wolverine controllers. Mobile gamers can also relish in their gaming prowess on the 120-Hz display-powered Razer Phone 2," Razer says.
The lower section will be home to 10 "battle stations" capable of hosting 5v5 gaming tournaments. It will also have a Quartz Pink section to show off Razer's pink-colored gear, and of course there will be a Chroma room, in case you need your RGB fix.
My, how Razer has grown. Whether you're a fan of Razer products are not, it's impressive to think that it's gone from trying to make a name for itself two decades ago with its Boomslang mouse, to owning THX and opening a string of retail stores.
It will be interesting to see how it performs now that so much shopping is done online. Las Vegas certainly has the foot traffic, though, so we'll see.
Razer's Las Vegas store will open its doors in just a couple of weeks, on September 7.
