E3 – Not all about the Software!

The SteelSeries Logo
The SteelSeries Logo

I had the chance to talk to some friends from SteelSeries today about some of the products they will be sharing on the show floor when E3 Officially opens tomorrow. The Electronic Entertainment Expo opens its doors to the crowds of industry representatives and the media June 10th and runs through the 13th at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

SteelSeries continues to develop accessories for the PC and Console Gamer with everything from Keyboards, Gaming Mice and awesome headsets. One product announced that can help your game play which is different from the traditional products in the company line is the SteelSeries “Sentry” Eye-Tracker

The SteelSeries “Sentry” Eye-Tracker has been developed in conjunction with Tobii Technology.  Gamers benefit with this device with a tracking of eye movements and shares that data with the user as bench-marked and compared to the movements of professional gamers.  The SteelSeries press release explains it easier:

“The SteelSeries Sentry Eye Tracker brings players an entirely new way to train for competitive gaming, by allowing the player to analyze a wide range of statistics based on where and how long a user focused, or fixated, on the screen. Fixations per Minute (FPM) tracks how often a user moves his or her eye gaze and attention around the screen; low values indicate that the gamer is able to process a lot of information. For comparison, FPM in eye tracking is the same type of correlation as APM or the total numbers of actions per minute a player can perform.”  While we could say it’s all in the wrist, obviously from this addition to E3, it’s also in the eyes.

SteelSeries StratusXL Game Controller for iOS
SteelSeries StratusXL Game Controller for iOS

SteelSeries has also continued with its development of products for the mobile gamers and introduced the StratusXL Wireless Game Controller for iOS. Now, users can immerse in the gaming experience on the iPad or iPad Mini and play a game title as they would on the console.

To check out more of these products, take a look at http://www.steelseries.com 

SteelSeries helps gain the advantage in Gaming

Bruce Hawver talked with Andy Taylor of TechtalkRadio
Brcue talks with Andy Taylor of TechtalkRadio

I talked yesterday with SteelSeries CEO Bruce Hawver about some of the products we will be seeing this holiday season from SteelSeries. It’s not the first time Bruce has been on our show and certainly won’t be the last. Since the previous discussion with Bruce, the company has expanded it’s product line to include more branded gaming items, eyewear to combat eye strain and fatigue and a new way to pay for the products you would like to get.

With the upcoming season, it is expected that peripherals will make up a huge portion of the gift buying. While many look to add USB Web cams and storage, SteelSeries knows that gamers want the products they make. Over the years we have looked at many of these products including Headsets, Gaming Mice and the very cool Merc Stealth keyboard produced by Ideazon which SteelSeries acquired. Some of the new product from SteelSeries include headsets with removable ear cups, connector cords which can be disconnected and put away and even a few with USB connections. For the gamer that likes to be part of the conversation, a variety of the headsets include microphones that collapse inside the ear cups. This is valuable considering the few different headsets we’ve looked at from other vendors with microphones that detach could be at risk of losing the microphone piece. Even the Console game can benefit with the SteelSeries latest Spectrum 5XB for the Xbox360.

The gaming mice products from SteelSeries are a must have for fans of World of Warcraft. The latest product branded with Blizzards MMO title, is the World of Warcraft Cataclysm MMO Gaming Mouse. This peripheral features the ability to bind all 14 buttons to the in game selections for WoW as well as advanced illumination and drag and drop setup with over 130 preset game commands. The Mouse is beefier and almost looks as though it would come from the World of Warcraft! If you’re not the big WoW fan, you could also get into intense combat with the Medal of Honor branded products or Starcraft II to name a few.

SteelSeries has also partnered with the folks at PaynearMe which allows shoppers to select a product for purchase on the SteelSeries website and visit a local participating 7-Eleven to have the payment processed. This can come in handy when a credit card is not available or the buyer wants to pay with cash.

Check out our Interview with SteelSeries CEO Bruce Hawver and be sure to take a look at the SteelSeries Website for a full look at the products the company offers. Our interview can be found at http://www.techtalkradio.com/hardware/steelseries.html You can also get some great information and updates on the Unofficial Official Blog for SteelSeries at http://fragyou.net