Razer总裁Robert专访(1)
PChome记者：Hi Robert, I’m from PC Home, and it’s an honor to have this opportunity to interview you. Through this interview, we hope that more consumers in China will know about Razer’s products, and understand the brand that is Razer. （Robert ,您好!我是PChome(http://www.pchome.net)硬件中心主编—推土机.非常荣幸能有这次机会对您进行专访.希望通过这次专访,能让更多的中国网友了解Razer的产品,了解Razer这个品牌.）
For consumers to know even more about Razer, could you please explain how Razer came about, to what it is today. （为了让广大的消费者更进一步了解Razer,首先想请您向所有关心Razer的中国网友简单介绍一下Razer的前世今生.）
Robert：First I’d like to say thank you for the opportunity to speak to your readers. The history of Razer goes back some ten years to the days when computer peripherals were developed primarily for home and office use. We noticed that a graphics company, 3DFX was successfully making video cards targeted at the gaming segment and at that time we had some very interesting technology that could enhance the gaming experience via a mouse through increased precision and accuracy. We created what was to be the Razer Boomslang mouse as the first gaming mouse.
首先我想谢谢你们给我这个机会同网友们进行交流，Razer的历史可回溯至大约十年前，当时电脑部件主要针对家庭及办公用途进行开发。我们注意到3DFX这家平面设计公司为游戏部门成功开发了显卡，那时我们拥有一些有趣的技术，通过增加鼠标的精确性来提升游戏体验。我们设计了一款叫做Razer Boomslang的产品，这是第一款游戏鼠标。
Today Razer is the leading maker of PC gaming hardware around the world. We are known for innovations in mice, mousing surfaces, keyboards and audio products. Our focus is as it was in 1997, to enhance the gamer’s experience through unique technology and human design factors.
现在Razer是全球领先的PC游戏硬件制造商。我们因鼠标、鼠标垫、键盘以及声卡产品上的各种创新而知名。1997年我们更以独特的技术和人性化设计来提升玩家的游戏体验而得到极大的关注。
PChome记者：Regardless the industry, entering the China market is fraught with certain obstacles. To make it, companies need to understand what’s unique to China. So we’d like to ask your thoughts on China PC companies marketing themselves overseas. （无论什么产业,进入中国市场后免不了会经历一场恶战,要生存下来,就必须了解中国的一些市场特色,所以请问您对中国PC外设行业有什么看法？）
Robert：Much of Razer’s success is due to listening to the needs of gamers all around the globe. Over time we have noticed that these needs change based on specialized and unique demands on a geographical basis. For example, we now have offices based in Korea, North America, Singapore, Germany and Taiwan. Each office is staffed with “regional” sales, marketing and most importantly product analysts whose job is to interact with the cultural and unique needs of their geography.
Razer的成功主要在于听取全球玩家的诉求。长久以来，我们注意到这些诉求会随着特定的地区需求而有所不同。举例来说，我们现在有驻韩国、北美、新加坡、德国以及中国台湾的办公室，每个办公室都聘请了“本地”销售人员、市场人员以及最为重要的产品分析人员，他们的任务就是根据地域特定的需求以及文化上的需求作出应对。
While we often encounter local PC hardware competitors who have an established base it doesn’t take much time for Razer to evaluate local market needs and make the proper adjustments. These can be as simple as changing packaging and documentation to developing specific and unique products for your country.
我们常遇到一些当地的PC硬件竞争对手，他们有着扎实的根基，但Razer不用花太多时间来评估当地的市场并作出适当调整。要做的工作很简单，把针对当地开发的特定产品的包装和说明书稍作改变即可。
PChome记者：DeathAdder, Copperhead, Diamondback, etc, each of these names leave an indelible impression on China’s gamers. Through this, we can tell that aesthetically and through the naming convention, Razer is unique. Is there any reason behind this? （“炼狱蝰蛇”,”铜斑蛇”,”响尾蛇”等等,一个个响当当的产品名字在国内的鼠标爱好者留下了不可磨灭的印象,由此可见,Razer无论在外观设计以及命名上都相当特色，这样做有什么特别意义吗？）
Robert：There are several reasons for our naming conventions. One is simply to be cool and have names that are uniquely memorable. The main reason is that product names in the PC hardware business require a longer shelf life than other consumer products. When we launched the original Boomslang our marketing department wanted to sub-brand it “Razer 1”. I was worried that when “Razer 2” came out that Razer 1 would become obsolete. We needed a branding convention that would allow us to have multiple mice available to satisfy varying customer needs and that wouldn’t become obsolete with every new mouse introduction. Some of our people wanted to use some kind of an alpha-numerical model numbering system, but I held out for something cooler and easier to remember. Finally we selected predatory animals as our theme and picked snakes as the category for mice. Now we use spiders for keyboards, insects for mouse pads and fish for audio products and so on.
我们在给产品命名时会遵循一些惯例，其一就是名字要够酷且独特好记。主要原因在于，PC硬件业务中，产品名称所需要的货架寿命要长于其他消费产品。当我们发布最早版本的Boomslang时，我们的市场部想将其命名为“Razer 1”。我担心当“Razer 2”面世后，Razer 1会被淘汰。我们需要一个品牌塑造的方法，让多种鼠标产品并存于同一个市场，以满足不同消费者的不同需求，而不是每当新鼠标问世的时候就有其它产品被淘汰。有些员工想采用字母和数字组合的命名系统，但我主张用更酷更好记的名称。最终，我们选择猛兽作为产品主题，用各种各样蛇的名称来对鼠标产品进行分类。现在我们用蜘蛛的名称来命名键盘、用昆虫的名称来命名鼠标垫、用鱼的名称来命名声卡产品。
Razer总裁Robert专访(2)
PChome记者：On July 25, Razer just announced the Diamondback 3G. This is not an entirely new mouse, but an upgrade of the 2004 Diamondback. Why did Razer upgrade a mouse which was already three years old, and not announce a new mouse instead? （在7月25日,Razer刚刚发布了一款新鼠标—3G版本的光电响尾蛇(Diamondback 3G).这并非是一款全新的鼠标,而是对在2004年便成名的光电响尾蛇在光学引擎和鼠标外观方面进行了升级.请问,为什么Razer会对成名三年之久的光电响尾蛇进行升级,而不是推出一款全新的鼠标?）
Robert：The Diamondback is truly a legacy product for Razer. It was our first mouse to sell over a million units ever and is today still in great demand. We look at this reintroduction as a facelift to a proven winner. The smaller shape of this mouse and the lighter weight appeals to a number of users throughout the Asian market. Other mice such as the Razer DeathAdder are bigger, heavier and not always comfortable to a large number of your readers. If anything what we have learned is that there is no one perfect mouse shape, design, weight or configuration for every player.
Diamondback绝对是Razer的一款经典产品。这是我们第一款超越百万销量的鼠标，至今仍受到热烈追捧。我们认为推出这款改良版产品是个实实在在的成功。鼠标形状的变小以及重量的减轻吸引了亚洲市场的众多用户。其它像Razer DeathAdder之类的鼠标较大较重，对于多数用户而言并不舒适。我们从而了解到，适合所有人的完美鼠标规格（形状、设计、重量或是配置）是不存在的。
The other reason was simply because with the release of the 3G Infrared Sensor in the DeathAdder, we had south-paws and others who so loved the original Diamondback wanting to use the 3G Infrared technology present only then in the DeathAdder. We took their feedback into consideration, and came up with the Diamondback 3G.
另一个原因在于，随着DeathAdder的3G红外感应器的发布，那些惯用左手的用户以及其他喜爱Diamondback原版的用户都想在其它产品上感受3G红外技术。我们听取了他们的反馈意见并加以考虑，于是就有了Diamondback 3G。
PChome记者：Many people know Razer as a renowned brand for gaming input devices. What was the impetus behind Razer’s foray into gaming? （众所周知Razer在游戏专业电子竞技方面做得很出色，请问当初Razer定位于这方面而发展的初衷是什么？ ）
Robert：Well, since we all played PC games it was a pretty easy choice. I have to also say that we were pretty lucky and happened to be at the right place at the right time. We had no idea of how large the world of gaming would grow ten years ago. We looked at the size of the gaming market in the US in 1997 at roughly 2.4 million gamers and thought that we could capture a small share of that market due to our advanced technology. Today there are 100’s of millions of gamers throughout the world and it doesn’t appear that this market has yet to peak.
既然我们都玩PC游戏，所以这是非常简单的选择。我得说，我们非常幸运，在一个合适的时间处于一个合适的位置。十年前我们并不了解游戏世界会发展到多么庞大。1997年，美国的游戏市场大约有2400万玩家，我们认为凭借我们先进的技术可以占领这个市场中的一小部分分额。如今，全球玩家的数量数以亿计，且这个市场仍在继续扩大。
PChome记者：As far as we know, Razer made a name for yourselves producing premium, professional, unique peripherals. The product lines include mice, keyboards, mouse mats, headphones, sound systems and soundcards. What’s the next step for Razer? Will you have new lines or new products? （据我所知,Razer主要以生产高端的、专业的、极具个性的游戏外设而闻名,涉及的产品类型包括:鼠标、键盘、鼠标垫、耳机、音箱、声卡等。不知道下一步，Razer是否会新的举动,推出其他类型的产品?）
Robert：Fortunately Razer products have been well received by our customers and critically acclaimed by the press. What is important for us today is to continue to dominate the four key categories of mice, surfaces, audio and keyboards before we expand too far from our core businesses. There is still much to be done even in the area of mice, plus we always must remind ourselves that our reason for existing is to continue to enhance the gamers’ experience through improved technologies.
很幸运的是，Razer的产品已经广为我们的顾客所接受，也得到了媒体的高度评价。现在我们的重要任务是在大幅扩张至远离核心业务之前，继续让4类产品保持主导地位：鼠标、鼠标垫、声卡和键盘。在鼠标领域，还有很多工作要做，另外我们一直提醒自己：我们存在的理由是通过不断改进的技术为玩家带来更好的体验。
Razer总裁Robert专访(3)
PChome记者：We believe that Razer’s sales volume in US and Europe is pretty high. But Razer did not stop progressing. We heard that you intend to aggressively penetrate China, could you reveal more on your plans in this area? （根据资料显示,Razer在欧洲和美洲的销量都相当优异,但是Raze并没有因此而停止前进的步伐,最近有传闻说Razer要正式进军中国大陆市场,能不能在这里先透露一下相关情况?）
Robert：Gaming in China is the fastest growing cultural phenomenon in the world and Razer is working today to assemble a team for key focus on China, much like we did in Europe, the US and most recently in Korea. We have already assigned product managers to focus on the needs and the cultural demands of China. The next steps are offices located in mainland China to handle sales, marketing, community relations, PR, etc. We will dedicate the necessary resources to this vast and growing nation to ensure great customer products, world-class support and gamer relations.
中国的游戏市场在全球发展最为迅猛，Razer现在组成了一个团队，重点就是中国市场，就像我们曾在欧洲、美国以及最近在韩国的部署一样。我们已经任命了几位产品经理着重应对中国的产品需求和文化需求。接下来，位于中国大陆的办公室将处理销售、市场、社区关系、公关等事务。我们将集中必要的资源至这个广大而又迅速发展的国家，用以保证提供优质的消费产品、世界级的支持以及良好的玩家关系。
PChome记者：China’s market is huge, consumers’ needs and spending power in each state differs. As such, to be successful in China, one needs to have a tiered pricing scheme. But Razer only focuses on high end gaming at a premium price. Have you thought of the middle / lower end consumer? Any plans for products for this market? （中国的市场非常大,每个城市的需求和消费能力都不一样,因此如果要在中国市场取得成功,必须在每个价格层面上都有相对应的产品,但是Razer目前的产品基本针对高端游戏玩家设计，请问将来是否考虑过多样化发展，特别是其他种类的用户?）
Robert：While Razer has always been known as the Ferrari of gaming peripherals, we have in the past tiered down to the middle market pricing. Our first priority is building great products that support the gamers’ needs and we do not have a minimum or maximum price point in mind during the development process.
虽然Razer一直被认为是游戏部件业界的法拉利，我们长久以来仍坚持中端的市场定价。我们的第一要务是制造优质的产品来满足玩家的需求，同时，我们在开发过程中，并不考虑最低价和最高价会是多少。
PChome记者：Could you please elaborate on Razer’s general developmental direction, and is there a clear ‘target’ for the company? （最后请问Razer在将来一段时间内，具体的发展方向是什么?会不会有一个明确的数字化目标?）
Robert：We believe that we have been very consistent over the years with our target. We only make products for gamers (by gamers). We focus on the elite, professional and competitive amateurs. We believe that human factors are equally important in the development of gaming hardware and we believe that we should develop the “right mouse for the right hand”.
我们相信，我们多年来始终如一地追求着自己的目标。我们只为玩家开发产品（也让玩家参与开发）。我们关注优秀的、专业的、能干的业余人士。我们相信人力资源因素在开发游戏硬件产品中也相当重要，同时我们也相信我们应该为不同的手掌开发适合它们的鼠标。
Our technology should always provide the end user gamer with an edge … ergo enhancing the gaming experience.
我们的尖端技术将始终面向终端玩家用户，进而提高游戏体验。
And while many of our products can be successfully used by “prosumers” such as audiophiles, engineers, animators, architects and graphic artists, we still intentionally focus all creativity directly on the gamers themselves first and foremost.
我们有很多产品为各类参与产品制造的消费者所使用，例如音响发烧友、工程师、动画设计师、建筑师、以及平面设计师等。对于直接来自玩家本身的创意，我们也始终会保持最优先的关注
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