Razer expands into U.S. retail with brick-and-mortar SF storefront

Video game hardware maker Razer is expanding its retail storefront business to the United States this month by opening a new two-story store in the Westfield San Francisco Centre mall, not far from its San Francisco office.

The fact that Razer is opening a storefront in the biggest mall in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. suggests the company is optimistic about its ability to sell its products to Americans at retail.

The company has already opened three storefronts in Asia since launching its retail program last year, and The Verge reports the new S.F. location will feature "gaming stations" as well as regular tournaments and events. 

Game developers may know the company best for its lineup of performance-oriented desktop and laptop PCs. Performance-focused laptops (whether made by Razer or not) have always been useful to developers seeking to showcase their work on the road, and are especially notable these days as devs seek more powerful machines to demo VR games and experiences.

Razer unveiled its own VR headset at CES last year, based on the Open Source Virtual Reality (OSVR) platform, and the company will presumably be looking to pepper its retail operations with VR hardware. Fellow brick-and-mortar business GameStop has previously laid plans to become a "destination for VR", and many of its storefronts will have dedicated VR sections featuring a plethora of different headsets by the end of the year.