Opera GX's Anger Controllers are a fake product to address gamer rage

Many in the gaming world have been grappling with anger management issues for a while now. There are multiple factors, especially poor latency, that can cause you to rage-quit or vent your emotions at whatever's in your reach at the time, usually a gaming peripheral. Similar to road rage behind the wheel, "gamer rage" is also alarmingly common, with a recent survey suggesting that over two-thirds of gamers - 65% in the UK and 67% in the US - experience anger and irritation that usually gets taken out on their gear.

This displaced anger on your innocent gear has led to Opera GX launching Anger Controllers to shed some light on the pressing issue of gamer rage. Anger Controllers don't actually exist, but are an "imaginary set of controllers designed to be super durable, and withstand even the worst bouts of gamer rage."

Opera GX's head Maciej Kocemba stated:

Anger Controllers are our tongue-in-cheek way of highlighting the very real issue of rage and anger management amongst gamers, which impacts many individuals including those they play with.

Anger Controllers have debuted in a fake promo, narrated by the voice actor behind Halo's Master Chief, Jeff Steitzer, that takes the audience through the journey of typical gamer rage while making product promises. The description for the product ad states:

Introducing: Anger Controllers, powered by Opera GX! The world’s first unbreakable peripherals with more ways to control your rage. Visit www.opera.com/gx/angercontrol.

At the end of the fake promo, the real question that is posed is, "... wouldn't it be better if we could just learn to control our anger?" because "when you lose control, you've already lost the game."

Opera GX has also released its first "Rage Report", according to which, "one in four gamers has destroyed their gear out of rage. Two out of three get angry when losing and a majority has had a game ruin their mood for the rest of the day."

In addition, it has collaborated with Dr. Alok Kanojia, also known as "Dr. K.", a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and gaming mental health advocate, to share anger management tips associated with gaming. To join a discussion about gamers' mental health between Dr. K. and streamer Moist Cr1TiKaL (Charles White Jr.) that will be streamed in GX Corner inside Opera GX at 7 PM PST on June 6, check out the Twitch link here. The rebroadcast for European viewers will be on June 7 at 8 PM CEST.