One Small Step for Alienware, One Giant Leap for Gaming

Just as we have for nearly 20 years, Alienware is committed to driving innovation in gaming and we see VR as the next frontier.  We’ve been working for years to help develop the best technology to drive VR experiences, and inject the same innovative, iconic design that’s made us leaders for so many years.  This isn’t something we can do alone; we are working with other great hardware and software partner teams to enable a whole new ecosystem of immersive gaming. From the beginning Alienware was built on the premise of delivering solutions for gamers when no one else was; our hard work and great partnerships have helped to shape an environment where peak gaming performance and Virtual Reality are real.  

Dell and Alienware are deeply involved with one such leading partner in Oculus. We congratulate them on their Oculus Rift pre-orders and are excited that soon we’ll have some of the earliest systems approved as part of the “Oculus Ready” PC certification program. Together we hope this program can act as an “easy button” for VR hardware and guide consumers to the right configurations to get the most from their Oculus Rift headset. Not only do we want to guide our customers to the best systems for VR, but we also aim to offer the most platforms of any OEM currently testing for the Oculus Ready program.

Alienware and Dell have recently launched VR capable configurations that meet the published recommended spec for Oculus Rift; these systems are for sale today. Soon additional Alienware VR-ready configurations will be available to deliver unbelievable VR experiences to an even broader range of consumer. We are working with vendors across the board to validate our platforms and configurations to ensure the best possible VR experiences.  As other vendors across the globe start to roll out recommended specs we’ll work to ensure as many Alienware and Dell platforms as possible can meet those requirements.

Virtual Reality delivers incredible new possibilities. As we stand at the edge of this new frontier the consistency in performance, partnerships, and the unyielding pursuit of innovations for gamers guides us. It’s an awesome time to be a gamer and an ideal time to stand with leaders at the cutting edge of transformation – it’s time to take the next giant leap. 

About the Author: Frank Azor

Frank Azor, an Alienware co-founder, now oversees XPS, Dell’s premium consumer brand and Dell gaming, which includes Alienware and Inspiron Gaming. Celebrating 20 years as the leader in PC gaming systems, Alienware sets the standard for premium gaming PCs and innovation, and Inspiron Gaming provides high performance gaming systems at an affordable cost that give gamers a competitive advantage at every level of play. Under his leadership, Dell’s XPS brand has risen to the top in innovation, design and performance, while becoming the most-award winning product-line in Dell history. Frank joined Alienware as a quality engineer and later held executive roles in sales and marketing before creating the Alienware Product Group organization in 2003-after helping to pioneer the industry’s first high-performance gaming notebook, the Area-51M. Later that year, he was credited with the successful launch of Alienware’s first self-designed desktop case (Predator) which immediately made industry headlines and has defined the look of Alienware’s products ever since. Prior to Dell’s acquisition of Alienware in 2006, Frank held the positions of Senior Vice-President of Product Group and Marketing and Executive Vice-President managing the global executive leadership team and reporting directly to the President and CEO. Shortly after helping lead Alienware’s successful integration into Dell, Frank assumed the role of worldwide general manager for the Alienware business unit. Under Frank’s leadership, Alienware’s brand has become the worldwide leader in its industry and has earned hundreds of awards for its products including multiple best of CES product awards. As of 2017, Frank holds 16 patents granted under his name and has been named a milestone inventor by Dell. In 2014, Frank’s role was expanded to include global responsibility for Dell’s XPS business unit, one of the company’s most innovative and valued brands. Since assuming responsibility for the XPS business unit for Dell, Frank instituted a new product and business strategy that led to the successful introduction of the highly acclaimed XPS 13 notebook which has won more than 300 awards since its introduction at CES 2015 and has been deemed the best notebook on the market from numerous outlets including Forbes, Wall Street Journal and CNET. On top of the product accomplishments, Frank’s leadership has reinstated rapid growth for Dell’s XPS business. In 2017, Frank assumed responsibility for launching and managing Dell’s Inspiron Gaming line of powerful yet budget friendly gaming PCs. Inspiron Gaming systems have quickly become a favorite among players and reviewers desiring top graphics performance under $1000 USD. The systems have received many awards including a Computex d&i Gold winner and several Best Gaming PCs of CES awards. Frank sits on the advisory board for Miami Dade College’s MAGIC program where he has led the creation of a Dell-backed scholarship fund to help both high school and college students learn skills and earn degrees in computer graphics design, animation and game development. Frank has also served as a volunteer judge for the FIRST robotics south Florida regional competition since 2013 (www.usfirst.org) an organization founded by Dean Kamen that has provided students with more than $50 million in college scholarships in 2017 alone. Frank lives in Palmetto Bay, FL USA near Alienware’s headquarters with his wife, their 2 sons and their pet dachshund. Frank is currently playing Overwatch with his oldest son who is also an avid Minecraft player. Frank’s most anticipated games for 2017 exist in Virtual Reality where Frank has been immersed for years – and of course – powered by award-winning VR-ready PCs from Alienware and XPS.