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5 great holiday gifts for World of Warcraft players
Ah, the Christmas Kwanzaa Hanukkah Winter Veil holiday -- a magical time of good cheer and giving gifts. WoW Insider has been in the holiday spirit ourselves with all the goodies we've been giving away for free in our 12 Days of Winter Veil promotion. But we know we're not the only ones out there itching to show how much we care -- you're looking to give gifts to the folks you love, too. But what's that, you say? You're stumped as to what to get your favorite World of Warcraft player for the holidays? There's not much time left to shop, but don't fret -- WoW Insider is here to help. We've thrown together a list of some great World of Warcraft gift ideas to get you started.
The WoW Insider Show LIVE! on Tuesday, June 28
The WoW Insider Show is going live on Tuesday, June 28, at 1 p.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Pacific time, so server downtime isn't as boring as it could be! Join host Mike Sacco and co-hosts Matt Rossi and Mathew McCurley as they talk about patch 4.2, patch 4.2, and more patch 4.2. The patch is totally happening that day (right?) so spend your downtime with us! Tune in this Tuesday, June 28, at 1 p.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Pacific time to ask questions, participate in the discussion with fellow readers and listeners, and have a lot of fun. The show will be made available later if you cannot make it for the live portions. See you all on Tuesday!
The WoW Insider Show LIVE! on Tuesday, May 31
The WoW Insider Show is going live on Tuesday, May 31, at 11 a.m. Eastern/8 a.m. Pacific time, so server downtime isn't as boring as it could be! Join host Mike Sacco and co-hosts Matt Rossi and Mathew McCurley as they entertain you for an hour of the biggest news of the week in WoW, reader emails, fun discussion, and prize giveaways. Yes, that's right -- prizes. You'll need to listen to the show live to get in on the prize fun, and while all prizes haven't been announced yet, we will be giving away one Razer Anansi MMO keyboard that was recently reviewed. Tune in this Tuesday, May 31, at 11 a.m. Eastern/8 a.m. Pacific time for your chance to win. The show will be made available later if you cannot make it for the live portions. See you all on Tuesday!
Reviewing the Razer Anansi MMO keyboard: A tricky little spider
Razer has very graciously sent me one of its Anansi MMO keyboards to review for you fine people. My previous experience with Razer products has been positive, mostly because its MMO-centric wares fit well into my own MMO-centric lifestyle. I face this simple fact every day -- I play a lot of games. In fact, I play a lot of World of Warcraft. When you play a game this much, you get the tools made for it. How about some features in convenient bullet point form? The Razer Anansi MMO-Gaming Keyboard: 7 thumb modifier keys 100+ programmable keys One-button profile switching (awesome for backlighting your Alliance characters blue and Horde characters red ...) Five additional macro buttons Media keys Gaming mode option
A hands-on with the Razer Anansi
When I first heard about the Razer Anansi, I was beyond excited. Razer had, after all, made the supremely excellent Naga specifically for MMOs, and the Naga is as close to a perfect peripheral as has ever been made. (The original wasn't wireless, which is a big deal for some people, but it doesn't bother me -- and there's a wireless version out now anyway.) I was pretty much certain that the same team working on a keyboard would produce the ultimate one-two punch for online gaming accessories. Sadly, the Anansi isn't the Naga. And therein lies its biggest fault -- you can't help but compare the two products, and the keyboard comes up short. It isn't a bad keyboard, but it lacks what made the Naga so excellent, and for the several things that it gets right it also manages to get a couple of things wrong. Without a doubt, it's going to serve better than the stock keyboard that comes with a new computer, but it's far from a must-have addition to your hardware.
Ask Massively: It's beginning to look a lot like I'm not getting a new keyboard just yet edition
I'm going to blame my guildmate Sindharin from World of Warcraft for this. She was the one who first gave me the push I needed to buy a Naga, and now I want the darn Anansi already, but I can't seem to order the bloody thing just yet. I just look at the pictures and it sits there, taunting me. Daring me with what I could do. And since I have to blame someone, I blame her. The other option involves personal responsibility. Leaving aside what I'm definitely not getting as a present on Saturday, it's time for Ask Massively, and that means questions are being asked, because what is coming with the holidays is the chance to sit down with friends and family, or even just the time to start thinking about what you want to see from the gaming world next year. So hop on past the break, and you can feel free to leave your own questions in the comment field or send them along to ask@massively.com.
Razer announces specialized MMO gaming keyboard
Looks like those folks over at Razer are having quite a busy year designing all sorts of cool peripherals, such as the licensed products such as TRON and StarCraft 2 gaming gear, and making recent announcements such as the upgrades to the MMO-centric Razer Naga. They aren't letting up, either, it turns out. Razer recently revealed plans to launch a keyboard designed specifically for MMO gamers, the Razer Anansi. The difference between this keyboard and other gaming keyboards is simple. There are seven configurable modifier keys below the space bar that can assigned to the common modifiers such as Alt, Ctrl and Shift, making all those keybinds and macros even more accessible. Designed by Razer to be paired with its MMO gaming mouse, the Razer Naga, the Anansi also sports features such as 100 programmable Hyperesponse keys, one-button profile switching (for up to 20 profiles with the built-in software driver), five additional gaming keys, and an option for those multi-colored lights that are becoming in vogue with most gaming peripherals lately. It also has an optimized key matrix that prevents the ghosting that typically happens when more than two keys are pressed simultaneously. The engineers at Razer have reconfigured the hardware to enable recognition of up to six simultaneous keystrokes, centered around the left-hand cluster generally used for gaming (the W, A, S, D keys). It's a cool feature that most MMO gamers probably won't need, but all you button-mashers can rejoice. There's a nifty gaming mode option that temporarily disables the Windows key so you can stay in the game without having to remap your Windows key for fear of hitting it the chaos of a raid or arena match. The Razer Anansi is compatible with Windows and Macs and will retail for $99. It is scheduled to ship in December, with pre-orders starting soon.
Razer debuts Anansi MMO gaming keyboard, dares you to ever leave your basement
And you thought you were set after procuring one of the many Naga mice on the market now. Think again. In a never-ending quest to milk the MMO market, Razer has just issued the planet's first (or so it says) MMO gaming keyboard. The Anansi is a jet black board with a rather standard layout, but those seven thumb modifier keys are bound to enhance gameplay in some way or another. You'll also get over 100 programmable Hyperesponse keys with on-the-fly macro recording, storage for up to 20 gaming profiles, five bonus gaming keys and 16 million color backlight illumination. Oh, and for those of you doubting Razer's attention to detail, you can totally deactivate the Windows key while in "gaming mode." Check it this December when it ships worldwide for $99.99 / €99.99. %Gallery-106008%
