The Armory - Interview with the Designer of the Armory Video Game Organizer

I recently sat down with the designer of The Armory, a new and ingenious video game organization rack, Randall Cole. Cole's background is in Network Administration and he is a Certified Systems Engineer. Despite this already impressive resume, Cole is also an entrepreneur. He owns ArmorTech, the producers of The Armory.

The Armory is a well designed and versatile product, so much so that you can even use them to hold your Guitar Hero or Rock Band guitars, as well as a plethora of other gaming peripherals. Coming in multiple colors, there is an option for different décor. Additionally, ArmorTech produces T-shirts geared toward the hardcore gamers and computer users out there.

In our interview, we discussed everything from gaming to plastic design and production:

MINUS: What is your personal description of the Armory?

COLE: It is a simple rack to hold game controllers

MINUS: What are the benefits of the Armory?

COLE: The angle of the Armory arms is based on the human hand. Most game controllers fit in the armory for this reason, as most game controller are created to be held by the human hand.

MINUS: What are the compatible products and systems for the Armory?

COLE: PS3 - PSone, XBOX - XBOX 360, GameCube. I have seen people use it for the Wii but the Wii did not exist when I created the Armory.

MINUS: What was your Inspiration for the Armory?

COLE: I built this to make some gamers happy. Not everyone wants a rack for their game controllers, but I know I have made a lot of moms, girlfriends, gamers and wives much happier.

MINUS: What are your favorite games, favorite system, game you are most looking forward to?

COLE: PS3 is ok, but my systems is the XBOX 360. On the console I like FPS games. I use to play FPS games on the PC but because of cheaters I moved to the console. I fill that the console is a more even playing field when you compare it to PC gaming. It seemed like every PC game was hacked and moded, or some people had better video cards. With the console, hacked games are almost non-existent and everyone is basically on the same hardware. I also love RTS games, but I only play them on the PC. C&C was OK on the XBOX 360, but it is better on the PC.

MINUS: How did you design the Armory?

COLE: I have a ton of really cool wood working tools. What makes to Armory so hard to make by hand is the complex angle of the arms. A complex angel is when a part is on an angle in two different angles. The arms are angled up and out. This makes it very had to make by hand. However the first one I made worked great, then my friend wanted one; it took me 41 attempts to recreate the first rack. I took the rack to a plastic designer to have a CAD file created for the product.

MINUS: Do you plan on making future products?

COLE: We have a few products in the pipe line. I just need to get the Armory moving first.

MINUS: Any new shirts coming out soon?

COLE: Yes the new "i teabag noobs." shirt will be for sale on line this week.

MINUS: Any advice you'd give to any gamer (or anyone in general) with an idea they'd like to implement? COLE: Learn the US patent office web site search tool and also use Google's patent search. This could save you a ton of time and money.

MINUS: How long did the patent process for the Armory take?

COLE: It's ongoing; we keep adding and modifying the patents. Patents take about 4 years to be finalized.

MINUS: What were the costs associated with starting your business?

COLE: If you wanted to created a plastic block 2 x 2 x 2 this is about what you would need

6-20k for Lawyer fees (patent & research)

5-20k for product design

12-38k for a mold for the product

3-7k for package design and mold for blister pack

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Randall, not just because he prefers the Xbox 360 over the PS3, but because he is a hard worker. Randall is an example that people in this country should pay attention to and learn from. Not only is he a hard worker who isn't afraid to take on his own ideas and make them a reality, but because he is so forthcoming with information that might help someone else.

To all of you gamers out there, check out The Armory by clicking HERE. Organization is a must for gamers, both for convenience, and to keep all of their households non-gamers happy with a well organized entertainment center. The Armory is currently on sale for $14.99, which is a steal any way you slice it.