Riotoro Shocks CES by Expanding Into Gaming Monitor and Earbuds Market

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Not your usual product line progression for a PC gaming company, but who are we to judge?

Riotoro is one of those brands you’ll either know a lot about, or nothing about. Predominantly specializing in budget/value keyboards, mice, power supplies, cases and some cooling on the side, it’s kind of where Corsair was at, about 15-20 years ago. That’s not to say they have bad products, just that it’s a fledgling brand just starting out (2014 to be exact), most predominantly in the world of peripherals, or at least we thought. 

At CES 2020 however, the company has just announced some rather unusual additions to its product stack. In fact arguably the largest unveiling we’ve seen from any company. We’re talking monitors, headsets, gaming desks and chairs, and new components, and even more gaming peripherals. That’s one serious commitment, and a big gamble entering so many areas that already have very well established brands inhabiting them. 

 Stingray Gaming Monitors 

(Image credit: Riotoro)

First up we have Riotoro’s first ever gaming displays. According to the press release, these 16:9 27" curved 1440p screens deliver an impressively sharp 1ms response on a VA panel and come complete with a 144 Hz refresh rate and FreeSync as standard (so likely G-Sync as well). As for ports, you get one HDMI 2.0, one DisplayPort 1.4 and one USB Type-C inputs. 

We’re not too sure who’s manufacturing the panel itself, however those are specs that seem very similar to some of the models that MSI has had for the last year or so. If that's true and the panels are top notch, If Riotoro can bring the price down whilst retaining the same level of quality in a similar manner to what HyperX did with its original Cloud headsets, this could be a brand to watch. 

No word on just when exactly we’re expecting to see these screens other than some time in 2020, but more competition in this market space means cheaper products for us and that’s definitely something to be happy about.

rPods Earbuds

(Image credit: Riotoro)

Next up, and rather confusingly for us, the company has also announced its own line of wireless earbuds. Including 6.0mm drivers, producing “high-fidelity sound”, and with onboard controls, a charging pod that extends the battery life up to 16 hours, these Bluetooth 5.0 compatible headphones are well, not really something we’d associate with a gaming brand such as Riotoro, but still if they're good, who cares what the brand is? We'll just have to wait and see.

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Zak Storey
Zak Storey

As Associate Editor of Tom's Hardware's prestigous British division, Zak specializes in system building, case reviews and peripherals, and has a particular penchant for liquid-cooling. He's also a lover of all things Viking/Scandinavian (thus the poor attempt at a beard).

5 Comments Comment from the forums
  • PBme
    "SHOCKS!" Sum total of nobody was "Shocked". A PC parts company that few people have even heard of adds their brand to some 3rd party earbuds and monitors. Get making click-bait headlines but let's not get absurd.
    Reply
  • Ke+
    Way to go Riotoro!!! I have the CR500 and its a true beauty, very cool clean case I just love to product! The fact that a new brand is coming all out like this is pretty exacting! If their new products maintain the quality of what they already have out without a doubt in a few years. We will have more people that know alot about Riotoro instead of those that don´t.

    Once again thumbs up for the brand! and keep the new products coming!
    Reply
  • NightHawkRMX
    Riotoro makes some good PSUs, basing designs of of industry leaders like SeaSonic and Corsair.

    My friends Enigma 850w 80+ Gold seems to be working well powering a 2080 super and 9900k, even though this PSU was only $85 which is way cheaper than a comparable model from another brand.

    Riotoro has some ok looking cases aswell.

    Glad to see they are in another market.
    Reply
  • PBme
    louis99us said:
    It is a real shocker... usually gaming brands stick to the usual (cases, keyboards, mice) the basics... don’t be a hater.... it’s a young upcoming brand, let them grow and continue to disrupt all the market segments that need a heads up! RIOTOTO team keep it up! Great job on your quality products, don’t listen to haters and internet trolls...
    I wasn't criticizing the company for releasing whatever products. Good for them for whatever they want to do. I was an still will criticism the absurd headline that CES was SHOCKED! It is interesting, at most, that a smaller tech company is releasing some other tech products. The clickbait headline from Tom's Hardware is what is absurd.
    Reply
  • PZig1
    I love my Riotoro CR1080 case because my apartment is small and i can fit an ATX MoBo, powered by a RTX2080.... It caught my attention the post from Yingyang200 on what his friend said about Corsair doing unethical business practices in The Netherlands, funny enough since I was told the same by a friend, I live in Nordics and here the rumor is that Corsair threatened Gandalf Distribution AB, if they open Riotoro they would cut them including marketing funds, I guess they are SCARED of Riotoro because you can see they have passion for their products, Riotoro are DISRUPTING the market with cool products that perform great at the right price....... Again, in Europe we dont like when big companies try to monopolize the market, not allowing others to compete in a fair market, subsequently, benefiting end users with innovation and better prices.... not cool from a brand like Corsair, not fair to do that stuff to a company that is adding value to the industry as a whole and DISRUPT the Gaming Market.



    I dont want to make this very long, but Riotoro you guys keep pushing and keep making cool products.



    To Corsair on those unethical business practices, only because you guys dominate the market doesnt give you the right to bully other..... including extortion to their Distributors if they open with Riotoro or any other account , I will never support a company like Corsair, i really thought they would have much more class, and I am sure many more people will agree with me.
    Reply