It isn’t April first, but nobody told Razer when it announced its gaming “finger sleeves.” Yes, finger sleeves: They are literally little sleeves that cap off your fingers to supposedly enhance their grip, and these particular finger sleeves are pitched at the gamer market.
This isn’t the first time Razer announced a product that sounded too ridiculous to be real. But unlike Razer’s concept for an RGB-enabled Covid face mask, Project Hazel, this gaming finger sleeve is already available for purchase on its website.
These “non-slip” finger gloves are supposedly aimed at folks who play mobile games like Fortnite (or whatever the kids are playing these days) to help keep their phones securely in hand as they earn their latest victory royale. According to the website, the sleeves are made out of a “smooth, high-sensitivity fabric” (35% silver fiber fabric, 60% nylon, 5% spandex), are “lightweight and breathable,” and come in just one size. I have to commend the restraint Razer displayed not making them glow up. Sometimes less is more.
Razer isn’t the first company to come up with the idea to make finger sleeves for gaming, but unlike its new market competitors—fly-by-night Amazon sellers with names like Powstro, Flydigi, and Sameo—Razer already has real estate in gamer’s homes. So, Razer lifestylers: Go buy your little blinged-out finger rubbers. Go ahead, I’ll wait. It’s important to practice safe gaming, after all.
Although the gaming finger sleeve sounds like the punchline to a joke, PC Gamer pointed out that the finger sleeves do enjoy some level of market demand given that the mobile gaming industry is now estimated to be worth $15.1 billion. We might be laughing now, but…ok, we’re still laughing now. Good luck to Razer though.
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While I personally don’t plan on buying a pack of these finger sleeves for my mobile Tetris gaming pleasure, I wouldn’t be mad if Razer or some other org decided to create a new glove for fighting games with the same general approach. Heck, they can even light up for all I care. That one was free Razer, call me!