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- Razer was smart to realize the market potential and the rising subculture and decided to risk their reputation with their Razer Kitty Headphones.
- Razer has now practically owned the space of the ‘cat ears’ headphones because no other big brands have their variant in this niche.
- Now, despite many cat-ear knock-offs, people willingly pay a premium for the quality, software, and brand credibility that Razer has to offer.
When you think of gaming headsets, you often get images of thick earcups, RGB lighting, and premium sound quality. While Razer does all of that already, it has also decided to tap into a niche that no one dared to touch: kitty headphones.
Razer’s Market Dominance
Razer Kraken BT Kitty Edition isn’t just a standout headset with cat ears, but it also integrates all of the premium features Razer’s headsets are known for. And while you might think it is a popular niche, now, so many brands must have their own version of it, but that’s far from the truth.
You see, Razer is the only big brand that has tapped into this space. While brands like Corsair, Logitech, and HyperX have great headsets, they still fail to catch up to this trend. But why is that the case?
Razer’s Understanding Of The Market
First, we need to see how Razer understands the value of branding and segmentation of the community. While other brands focus on the gaming and esports side of the market, to get sponsorship and expand that way, Razer understands identity and style.
They found that there is an untapped demographic, such as anime lovers, Vtubers, cosplay streamers, and young gamers who want something more expressive, and they’re simply not afraid to go all in on it.
They understood that while most people want to have matte black sleek-looking peripherals, there were still many people who didn’t want to resort to that aesthetic. Some simply want to look like a catgirl and reach Twitch subs.
Taking Bold Moves While Others Don’t Even Try
While this might seem like a joke, Razer had done its market research and found that the cat ear phenomenon was becoming massive, and still, no brand had recognized its rising potential. So they decided to invest in the Kitty headphones.
Now, up until this point, Razer had already had an arsenal of peripherals that were being catered to the masses, so appealing to yet another niche wouldn’t be much of a risk, but since it’s a big company that has to produce before people purchase, there was still a lot of risk involved.
But all of the risk was worth it because it paid off tremendously. Right after its release on September 27, 2019, it became a hit, and the cat ears became synonymous with Razer’s branding.
Massive Success
These feline-theme headsets became instantly recognizable and were often featured in viral videos, cosplays, and VTuber Streams. Even people who weren’t a fan of this subculture knew them as the ‘cat ears headphones’ and were interested in buying them for the hype they had created.
Rise Of The Rip-offs
While they’re still quite popular even after years of their release, no brand has yet touched this niche. Instead, you’ll find dozens of $20-$50 kitty headphones from random names like SOMIC, ZIUMIER, or ONIKUMA, Axent Wear on sites like Amazon.
Razer Owns This Space
Despite being the obvious replicas, these knock-offs don’t come close to the build & sound quality, software, and brand credibility that Razer’s Kitty headphones have. Since no other brand is in this space, Razer can maximise profitability, and they are.
Despite the dozens of knock-offs, Razer still rakes in a lot of money from it because people are willing to pay a premium because it is from Razer. One of the reasons why people choose to pay for these instead of others is that Razer practically now owns this category.
You see, people who want to purchase ‘cat ear headphones’ often don’t browse around but go straight to Razer’s website or online retailers selling Razer’s version. That is how much Razer has practically captured this area of the market.
Already Built Ecosystem
Another main reason is how this headset works with Razer’s ecosystem. People who want to get a Kitty headphone and who already use Razer’s products can seamlessly connect it via Razer’s Synapse and Chroma RGB to sync all the devices together. This way, they don’t have to second-guess buying cheap knock-offs because there isn’t much value they’re gonna get anyway.
Would Other Brands Benefit If They Jump On?
Now, other big brands might’ve considered the possibility of making their own Kitty headphones and decided not to do it because then they have to compete with Razer, who owns this space, so they don’t see any reason to do it.
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[Comparisons Expert]
Shehryar Khan, a seasoned PC hardware expert, brings over three years of extensive experience and a deep passion for the world of technology. With a love for building PCs and a genuine enthusiasm for exploring the latest advancements in components, his expertise shines through his work and dedication towards this field. Currently, Shehryar is rocking a custom loop setup for his built.
Get In Touch: shehryar@tech4gamers.com
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