Razer Prototypes Valerie laptops stolen on CES - A Viral?

Yesterday news reached us that Razer products had been stolen at CES in las Vegas, it however wasn't known just yet what products are involved. As it now turns out it are the project Valerie prototypes, the laptops with triple UHD screen. The BBC however makes a bold claim.

Two of the prototypes have been stolen from Razer. The company has filed a police report and is working both with show management and law enforcement to track down the thief.

“At Razer, we play hard and we play fair,” he wrote on the Facebook post. “Our teams worked months on end to conceptualize and develop these units and we pride ourselves in pushing the envelope to deliver the latest and greatest.

“We treat theft/larceny, and if relevant to this case, industrial espionage, very seriously – it is cheating, and cheating doesn’t sit well with us. Penalties for such crimes are grievous and anyone who would do this clearly isn’t very smart.”

“This note is to confirm that two Razer Project Valerie laptop prototypes were stolen from the Razer booth at CES. The product was taken from the Razer press room at approximately 4 p.m. on Sunday, January 8, 2017. A $25,000 reward is being offered for original information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of a criminal suspect. Razer, in its sole discretion, will decide who is entitled to a reward and in what amount. Razer may pay only a portion of the maximum reward offered. The decision will be based primarily upon law enforcement's evaluation of the value of the information provided. When there are multiple claimants, the reward will be shared in amounts determined by Razer. Razer associates are not eligible for the reward. This reward offer is good for one year from the date it is first offered, unless extended by Razer. Information about the theft can be sent to legal@razerzone.com. Razer will not publicly disclose material that it receives or details about respondents, except to those persons with whom Razer is directly working to resolve this matter or as may be required by law.”

Project Valerie is a Razer laptop with a built-in mechanical keyboard and three, 17.3-inch 4K monitors. The monitors automatically slide out of the sides of the main screen and adjust into place when the laptop is open.

The BBC also reported on this asks the question, could this all be a publicity stunt ?

Publicity stunt?

Todd Prince, gaming reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal who was at the event, told the BBC the theft was a surprise, given the tight security.

"There were cameras all over the place and how someone was actually able to get this out was a bit of a surprise, that someone would even take that risk," he said.

But the bigger question for some sceptical social media users was if the entire incident was a "publicity stunt".

"If I had some crazy laptop design that I wanted to go viral, I'd claim it had been stolen for free exposure," suggested Facebook user Jon Macleod.

But Mr Prince dismissed this idea.

"Considering how much publicity this product already had gotten before the convention even started, everyone was already talking and writing about it," he said.

"To me, it doesn't seem like Razer would need that much more publicity."