Razer, makers of PC accessories revealed a flashy new Xbox 360 controller today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and for a first foray into a new demographic, this controller looks spot on.

Called the Orza, this controller has customizable buttons and sticks and is said to be a true upgrade to the first-party offering Microsoft is selling.

So very nice looking!

Destructoid, who had hands-on time with the gadget, said the best part was its fully adjustable analog sticks. In its report it is said that the tension can be altered to your preferred play-style, which is always a good thing.

Additionally, the D-Pad, always a finicky little bugger on the official controller, is said to do away with the problems and may look and feel something like the pad on Sony’s Dualshock line.

The CES pre-production models shown on the floor of CES are not yet finalized but when they do release sometime in 2010, they’ll sell for $49, the same price Microsoft sells its for. War!

Source: Destructoid

High-end gaming hardware and social networking software have taken a big step towards perfect integration. On Thursday, Razer, the high-end PC-gaming hardware company, announced a partnership with Raptr, the high-end gamer networking software company. This partnership of course brings us ever closer to a universal gamer-run computer network, which will eventually become the Matrix/Skynet and enslave humanity, but in the interim should be pretty sweet.

Raptr is a social networking program specifically for gamers, integrated with all those social networking sites for everybody else. It can be hooked into your PC, Xbox, etc. to alert your friends via Facebook or Twitter that you are online, there is epic gaming afoot, and they should join in. Razer, the manufacturer behind mice and keyboards intended for hardcore gaming, is hoping to use Raptr to tap into the general vibe of the gaming community and get a better feel for user preferences. Razer can then tailor its production to consumer needs and desires, and Raptr in turn will have a wider pool of gamers on its network.

Raptr will now come bundled with Razer’s better selling products, and the networking site will host gaming contests to promote Razer gear. So hopefully, until it becomes sentient and destroys us all, the Raptr/Razer union should allow gamers to enjoy a new accessibility to both hardware and other gamers.

From Razer:

RAZER AND RAPTR PARTNER TO ENHANCE MILLIONS OF GAMERS’ EXPERIENCE

Leading Gaming Peripheral Company Razer Leverages Raptr’s Social Platform For Deeper User Connection

Carlsbad, California – Jan. 29, 2009 – Razer^TM, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-end precision gaming and lifestyle peripherals, today announced a new partnership with Raptr, the first social platform that allows users to know, in real-time, what games they and their friends are playing across multiple platforms. When combined with Razer’s precision keyboards and mice, the joint offering provides Razer’s millions of customers the opportunity to seamlessly join Raptr’s community and build friendships, compete and connect while gaming.

The partnership will also enable Razer to communicate directly with its fan base and better understand their gaming habits with Raptr’s innovative unique social network integrations. Razer will be able to reach their fans wherever they are and forge a deeper user connection. With Raptr, users can also automatically broadcast this information via the Internet’s most popular social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, thus extending users’ ability to reach their friends.

In addition, Raptr and Razer plan to hold contests that give Raptr users the chance to show off their gaming skills and win special Razer gear. Raptr will be bundled with three of Razer’s most popular products: the Razer DeathAdder mouse, the Razer Lachesis mouse, and the Razer Lycosa keyboard, with more products to be added over the coming months.

“Razer’s products have traditionally been created and marketed for hardcore gamers and with this new partnership, Raptr is providing us with the best way to build a deeper connection with our existing gamers as well as reach new gamers in a consumer-friendly and innovative way,” said Razer president Robert “Razerguy” Krakoff. “We feel incredible synergy with Raptr, specifically in our goal to continuously engage new gamers and introduce them to the very best gaming products and services available.”

“With this partnership both companies are embarking on an exciting new growth opportunity. By making Raptr accessible through Razer’s products we’re able to reach additional gamers who may not yet be members of Raptr,” said Dennis Fong, CEO of Raptr.

About the Razer Group

Razer^TM is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-end precision gaming products and peripherals that are designed “For Gamers. By Gamers^TM“. Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, Razer’s award-winning lineup of products includes desktop speakers, headsets, keyboards, mice, software, and gaming surfaces. Since 1998, Razer has collaborated with leading professional gamers to develop, manufacture and market cutting-edge gaming peripherals using proprietary technologies that give gamers the competitive edge. Razer products offer the best in precision, sensitivity, usability and distinctive product design and have a reputation for being leaders in gaming peripheral technology. For more information, please visit www.razerzone.com.

About Raptr

Raptr is a free service that helps connect people who like to play and discover games and is available at http://raptr.com. Our goal is to make playing games more fun and social by letting

you:

* Know when your friends are playing

* Share your achievements automatically

* Discover new games you might like

* Update your games automatically

* Display your gaming identities in one place

Raptr is the first service to automatically let you know when your friends are playing games in real-time across multiple platforms and the first service to automatically allow you to share your gaming activity with your friends on Raptr and other popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Additionally, the Raptr client software is distributed through a variety of channels in the gaming industry that include Activision’s Call of Duty: World at War, Lighthouse Interactive, NHN USA, and Razer. Raptr was founded in 2007 by Xfire co-founder and world champion gamer Dennis Fong. The company is made up of people who love to play games and has raised over $12 million dollars in funding from investors that include Accel Partners and The Founders Fund. For more information, please go to http://raptr.com.

This one surprised us.

We’ve spent the last month reviewing all sorts of mice: big mice, small mice, weird mice, but mostly expensive mice. And lo and behold, we’re having some fun with one of the cheapest of the bunch.

The Razer Salmosa mouse is not a decked out super gaming mouse. In fact, a lot of gamers are going to be turned off by it. It has two buttons plus a wheel/wheel button — which almost makes it seem like a normal mouse.

Then we get under the hood and find out that things aren’t nearly as they seem. Below the mouse are the two switches to control precision and response time. We preferred the default 800 dpi and 125 khz resolution/response but you can switch up to 1800 dpi and 1000 khz when you’re gaming and need the extra juice.

Speaking of games, the mouse does perform admirably in most game settings where you don’t need 10 buttons. The biggest boost for the mouse is that it’s accurate. Whether you’re editing a photo, shooting a guy in the head, or just browsing your email, you move your hand, and the cursor goes where you want it.

The Teflon non-stick feet also made sure the mouse performed as well on a desk or counter top as it would on one of Razer’s super mousing surfaces.

Even the wheel, a little fatter than usual, seemed to know where I wanted the page to scroll.

Lastly, the two buttons the mouse does have are comfortable and responsive.

The only complaint is that the matte surface of the mouse doesn’t respond well to oily hands, raising concerns of sweaty gamers’ hands ruining the look of the product.

Because we know gamers sweat.

With Microsoft and Razer joining forces to produce their Habu mouse, that really leaves two major companies fighting it out in the world of computer mice, specifically hardcore gaming mouses.

The Logitech G5 Laser is regarded by many as the best pure gaming mouse on the market, so we decided to take a look at the G9 to see if it’s the next evolution or just a bunch of cheese.

The first thing we noticed about the G9 Laser Mouse was how different it was compared to the G5. It’s a different size and shape, the buttons are different, heck, even the wheel is different.

The second thing we noticed was that it was very impressive in its own right.

The mouse has all the standard gaming bells and whistles including nine buttons, a 4-way tilt wheel, on board adjustable sensitivity and weight and that Logitech hyperscrolling where you flick a finger and the wheel spins and spins and spins.

The wheel lock/unlock button has been moved to below/the feet side of the mouse, which we don’t necessarily mind as long as the laser is off.

The G9 is a corded mouse. Many gamers, this one included, haven’t made up their minds about cords versus cordless. On one hand you have a wire to worry about, and on the other, batteries. We’ll leave that one alone.

The mouse tracks very well, saves gaming profiles via on board memory, and has decent drivers that let you customize all the buttons. Overall, it’s a great mouse and a solid option for PC gamers.