Collaborations between famous intellectual properties and the gaming gear market always turn heads. Among the countless peripherals flooding the market every year, few marketing strategies are as effective as stimulating fandom nostalgia. However, consumers are often left disappointed by products that merely slap a character’s face on a generic chassis or swap out plastic colors. The newly unveiled Logitech G RX-78-2 First Gundam Edition goes beyond simple merchandise, offering a full lineup spanning keyboards, mice, and headsets. Let us see if this collection, which brings the Gunpla concept straight to your desk, can truly capture gamers’ hearts.
Overcoming the Trap of Reskinned Collaborations?
Reviewing Logitech’s past Dragon Ball collaboration edition left a somewhat bitter taste in my mouth. It felt like a lazy “keycap swap,” changing little more than the keycap colors on a standard frame without putting deep thought into the product’s form or materials. Relying solely on the massive fame of the IP gave the strong impression that Logitech lacked design sincerity as a hardware manufacturer.
Fortunately, promotional images of this Gundam Edition show much more effort than before. Instead of just applying flat colors, the keyboard frame and mouse housing feature intricate Earth Federation decals and panel lines. By creating a three-dimensional effect reminiscent of a completed Gunpla kit featuring panel lining and decals, Logitech seems to have successfully avoided the common trap of lackluster collaboration efforts.
The Intense Tricolor Palette: Love It or Hate It
The primary color scheme of white, blue, red, and yellow—symbolic of the RX-78-2—is striking enough to command immediate attention. For someone like me who strictly maintains a blacked-out setup for all desk equipment, these colors make me hesitate to place them right in the center of the desk. Lol. Furthermore, since I prefer heavier, more realistic military tones from Universal Century Gundam animations like MS IGLOO, the heavily saturated primary colors of the First Gundam inevitably look a bit like toys.
Conversely, for those looking to add a vibrant visual focal point to a dull desk environment, or for fans who adore mecha aesthetics, this will serve as an exceptional desk setup element. Because the hardware completely dictates the aesthetic of the desk space, it works best as a standalone centerpiece rather than blending in with surrounding peripherals.
Proven Core Hardware, Zero Novelty in Feel
Beneath this flashy exterior lies Logitech’s trusted lineup of proven hardware already widely adopted in the market. Notably, the mouse is built upon the brand’s long-standing bestseller, the G502 X PLUS. There is zero doubt about the series’ signature asymmetric grip and accessibility to various macro buttons. It handles complex shortcuts and MMORPGs remarkably well.
The headset and keyboard also leverage the form factors of existing lineups to the fullest. However, mechanical specifications have not been upgraded, nor are there dramatic changes to typing feel or sensor performance just because this is a limited edition. Aside from external details, sensations at your fingertips—such as typing feedback and mouse click pressure—remain identical to the original devices. Unless you are completely mesmerized by the design, the motivation to upgrade expecting a novel hardware experience is relatively low.
The 660,000 Won Full Set Price Tag: Testing the Limits of Fandom
Ultimately, cost is the most troubling point. Even after applying promotional benefits revealed on the Bandai Namco Korea Mall, the mouse costs 169,000 KRW and the headset 189,000 KRW. The keyboard in particular reaches a hefty 338,900 KRW even with maximum discounts applied. Purchasing the full set of three items offers a slightly steeper discount compared to regular pricing, bringing the total to 669,000 KRW—a steep price that makes it difficult to open your wallet easily.
Considering the overall upward leveling of the gaming gear market, this price tag feels closer to a miss in my personal opinion. This is clearly not money paid for Logitech’s hardware engineering prowess, but rather a tax on fandom paid for the massive RX-78-2 license and the limited-edition title.
Would a High-End Custom Keyboard Be Better?
If you are going to invest over 330,000 KRW on a single keyboard, there are plenty of alternative paths to consider. For that budget, I would personally opt for a high-end form factor like the ASUS ROG Azoth Extreme. The heavy stability and clean typing acoustics provided by an aluminum housing are difficult for mass-market pre-builts to replicate. Buying a separate set of colorful third-party keycaps featuring a cartoon-rendered style to mix and match would yield far greater satisfaction in terms of fingertip feel and build quality.
Of course, officially licensed, intricately printed decals by Logitech and a self-assembled custom keyboard serve entirely different purposes. You will need to weigh whether you value the collectibility of manufacturer-guaranteed originality or the pure hardware craftsmanship and typing enjoyment.
The Logitech G Gundam Edition clearly targets the collection desires of fans who remember the Universal Century and love Gunpla. Let me be clear: it feels less like gaming gear and more like a test of Gundam fan loyalty. The event offering acrylic display blocks exclusively to the first 300 pre-order customers proves this point.
If you are hunting for something groundbreaking that shatters the performance limits of existing gaming gear, this set is not for you. However, if you are fully prepared to pay the opportunity cost for the emotional satisfaction of having the First Gundam deployed right on your desk, it makes for a quite intriguing option. Before inspecting the spec sheet, you must first ask yourself whether the magnitude of your fandom can justify the 660,000 KRW price tag.
📸 Behind the scenes
Check out more behind-the-scenes shots on my Naver blog (Korean):
로지텍 G 퍼스트 건담 에디션 출격, 66만원의 팬심 테스트
👉 https://blog.naver.com/PostView.naver?blogId=k5kun&logNo=224401345600