ZAM was invited to a behind-the-scenes look at Razer's upcoming product line up for 2010 while at CES 2010. What should you expect to see? Keep reading to find out!

In many MMO gaming households, the word “peripheral” has become synonymous with the name “Razer.” Since the mid 1990s, Razer has been pushing the envelope in gaming peripheral technology, introducing the first 2000 dpi mouse (the Boomslang) in 1999 and continually innovating and revolutionizing the industry since then. On top of all hardware notoriety, Razer has retained an immense amount of support from their users; a simple look at Razer’s Facebook page and their 73,336 fans can attest to a dedication to their fan base.

So when ZAM was invited to take a behind-the-scenes glimpse at their hardware during the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, we weren’t going to take that opportunity lightly. In previous years, Razer has garnered some of the most prestigious awards doled out by the show and its corresponding press, so a chance to see what’s on the docket for Razer in the coming year couldn’t be missed.

After walking the show floors and examining loads of TVs, speakers and gimmicky gadgets, the Razer suite was a blast back into the realm of gaming. Xbox controllers, mice and keyboards were divided among the Left 4 Dead 2 stations for users to test and try out. While some previously released products were on display, there were also a number of new items being shown off that are still in development at Razer’s facilities.

One of the most innovative products that we saw during our entire CES experience was also the first product that we got our hands on at the Razer suite, a brand new motion sensing controller that uses electromagnetic fields to track precise movements of game players. In an announcement Razer made while at the Consumer Electronics Show, they explained that they’d be teaming up with Sixense Entertainment to create the controller, and Razer has already been assisting in the process at their San Francisco and Singapore studios. Software developer Valve, makers of the Half-Life and Left 4 Dead series, is also participating in the development of these controllers and will be creating their games with the product in mind.

Operating the Sixense controllers is actually somewhat of a surreal experience. The controllers themselves are used in a nunchuck configuration (one in each hand) similar to what you might find on the Wii, but with four buttons and a control stick on each controller rather than different configuration on each. Also unlike the Wiimote, every movement using the Sixense controllers is matched perfectly on the screen. Although the actions had a small delay due to the preliminary state of the controllers – something that Razer is actively working on with Sixense to alleviate – gamers were still able to run through Left 4 Dead missions without too much difficulty (other than the skill of the gamer, of course).

Probably the most satisfying moment using the Sixense controller occurred when I picked up the samurai sword in L4D2. In many ways, the control precision on the Sixense controller makes the Wiimote feel rather clunky in comparison, and swinging, stabbing and hacking with the sword only proved that point over and over again. According to Razer, the Sixense controller will be released at a later date in 2010.