VGCulture - Razer's Portable PC gaming peripheral

Official Site: http://www.razerzone.com/projectfiona

Source: Youtube Channel cultofrazer

Razer talked about the Razer SwitchBlade, and then the Razer Blade for portable PC gaming.  Today, the Consumer Electronics Show began and Razer revealed a new concept in the making: Project Fiona.  Project Fiona is a Tablet with "ergonomic" controllers made for true gamers with the ability to play PC games.  In the past decade, the rise of casual gaming on touch screen portables such as palms, phones, and tablets has inevitably strayed many game developers to creating games for the casual audiences.  Touch screen controls are unruly and obstruct the view of the player.  So Razer decided to jump onto the bandwagon of touch screen tablets by creating one with a strong enough processor to play the latest PC titles as well as adding tactile peripheral controllers.

Now that you know what it is, I can start yammering about what I think.  Tablets are a new trend, even though they've been around for quite a while.  A lot of games on tablets mimic those on PC or consoles and end up with clunky controls and poor game design.  The most successful games on touch screen consoles are ones that require very little controls, buttons and such (such as Angry Birds).  They're also made so that a player can jump in and out at any given moment while on the go.  PC games were developed under the impression that the player will be sitting down with enough time to play for a while.  The idea for Project Fiona is really cool in that you can bring your PC games around with you and play with tactile controls and not touch screen ones; however, it just doesn't seem very practical for the average PC gamer.  It'd be nice to bring it along and play it at a hotel during a business trip (or if you're younger to a relatives house), but it doesn't exactly look that portable compared to a 3DS, PSP, or even a regular tablet.  The thing that makes it easier to play PC games on a tablet is what makes it not portable (the two side controllers).  Also, to hold something that large up to play a PC game for long durations can't be comfortable.  The most practical form of PC on the go from Razer right now is the Razer Blade ($2799.99, yikes) as most PC gamers will want a familiar form of PC gaming to play with where they can bring it along anywhere.  Most PC gamers won't want to whip out their games in the bus or in line because they'll surely need more than 5-10 minutes to finish one match of League of Legends.  Most gamers will still want a portable system that allows them to play anywhere from 2 minutes up to an hour at any given moment, not a larger system system that will take long durations to play.  And if it ever goes back to my previous statement of bringing it to a hotel or relatives, why get this with unfamiliar controls and clunky transportation when one can just play on their laptop?

I'm a bit doubtful for the Razer Switchblade, but I think it's more viable for portable PC gaming than Project Fiona is.  It'd be a fun novelty gadget to be able to lug around and play, but it's not as practical as bringing a laptop around with an actual keyboard and mouse.