MT: I'm pretty sure they are. I think it's great. Back in the day, like two years ago when we first started this, people were saying, You're nuts. Now we're seeing a lot of copycats come out of Taiwan. People will ask me - at Computex, and even over here - is that something I get mad at? Absolutely not.
I think it's a good sign. I think the great thing about PC is it's all about choice. I have a pretty active Facebook page where I talk to the community and I tell them, Look, get a Razer, don't get a Razer, go get an Alienware, or don't get an Alienware. Go build your own rig. The great thing about PC is that it's all about choice. And that's what I love about it.
If we can push the industry in a certain direction, I think that's great. It's like, back in the day when I first started gaming peripherals, everybody said, Min, You're nuts. But when I was at Computex and even here, we're seeing stuff like gaming mice. We started this entire industry, which is insanely cool.
TR: [An E3 attendee came over to thank Tan for his Facebook posts and to keep it up.] Like that gentleman just said, you're really active on Facebook. Why do you think it's important to keep that dialogue open between you and your customers?
MT: I like these shows because I get the chance to meet up with gamers and chat with them. It's what we do this for. I'll be candid, I can remember somebody's name or a gamer that I've met. I probably can't tell you what the sales results were last month. So I mean we do this...it's fun. I only do it because it's fun. I hope I don't have to do it when it's not fun anymore.
Facebook is a great way for me to connect. All these messages come through, with people writing, 'I know you're an admin or the admin team, can you send this to Min?' And I'm looking at all these posts myself, and I don't know how to respond.
If I respond, and I'm doing it myself, is this guy going to think I'm unprofessional or something like that But yeah, I run it all myself.
TR: Is there any technology - gaming or not, that you're really excited about right now? Anything we could see in future Razer products?
MT: Lots of people always ask why we don't bring our tech to the military or medical fields and stuff like that, so that's one thing that I'd really like to do.
On top of that, things like Google Glass, augmented reality, virtual reality, biofeedback, I'm excited about all of that.
Now, whether it's going to be relevant for Razer or otherwise…I'm a tech guy at heart. Anything that's cool, I'm all for it.
I'm pretty active on Kickstarter actually. I find a lot of stuff there, even things I sometimes shouldn't fund.
TR: What do you invest in on Kickstarter?
MT: It all started with Wasteland. I used to pirate the game, and when Brian Fargo did the follow-up, I felt so guilty I did a big backing behind it. And since then I've been backing a lot of games. So mainly games, but every time I see little cool stuff I do that, too.
TR: You were a lawyer before you started Razer. How did you transition from the courtroom to the board room?
MT: I like being a lawyer. I like drafting and stuff like that. But I've been playing games for a very long time.
