Some games, like first-person shooters, are just better with the mouse and keyboards you find on PCs. And now that consoles are basically just PCs with better quality control, why are gamers stuck with analog sticks? Why indeed, Razer asks.
As big games like Fortnite push for more and more cross-platform play, Microsoft has seen the light and elected to let at least some of them use PC-style control schemes. You can just plug a regular USB mouse and keyboard into your console, but if that’s not scratching your consumerism itch, Razer is making the first combo officially designed for this functionality. The Turret is a mouse and keyboard set that uses high-speed RF wireless and a slide-out mousepad to make controlling games on the couch as comfy as possible. It’s up for pre-order on the official Microsoft store right now, shipping in early 2019 for an eye-watering $250.
This is actually the second Razer product to carry the Turret name: the original used a laptop-style chiclet keyboard and a somewhat diminutive mouse, and was only compatible with conventional PCs and things like the NVIDIA SHIELD. That Turret left a lot to be desired, but the reboot uses Razer’s full-sized mechanical key switches, a mouse with buttons and ergonomics copied from its most expensive PC models, and of course, fully-programmable RGB lighting.
A neat trick to help with the somewhat awkward form factor: the mouse and mousepad use gentle magnets to keep the former from slipping off the latter. Since it uses a USB dongle, the set is compatible with PCs, too. Razer says the batteries can last for more than 40 hours of use, with lighting disabled.
Keep in mind that not every game will let you play with mouse and keyboard: Xbox developers have to enable it in Microsoft’s system. But the biggest multiplayer titles are on board, including the aforementioned Fortnite, Minecraft, Warframe, DayZ, and War Thunder. Is a competitive advantage worth an accessory as expensive as your Xbox itself? For a dedicated and free-spending subset of gamers, the answer will certainly be “yes.”
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