Gaming Accessories Industry Just Got Better, As SteelSeries Aquires Ideazon In An Asset Transaction

CHICAGO, July 29, 2008 – The leading manufacturer of innovative professional gaming gear, SteelSeries, today announced its acquisition of certain assets in Ideazon, Inc., the North American-based developer and manufacturer of gaming peripherals and technologies. This acquisition further strengthens SteelSeries’ peripheral technology and will help expand the company’s broad support within the gaming community.

“SteelSeries has brought together two rapidly growing companies in the gaming space, making SteelSeries one of the fastest-growing gaming peripherals manufacturers globally,” said Bruce Hawver, CEO of SteelSeries. “No other organization works as closely with both gamers, and now software creators, in order to create arguably the most responsive gaming products in the world, optimized for gamers’ preferences, as well as specific gaming publishers and specific titles.”

SteelSeries has achieved success and recognition over the past few years in working with and establishing new professional gaming events, like Iron.Lady and King of the Hill, as well as its support of more than 1,200 events globally. Ideazon has helped enhance the gaming experience through its relationships with top game developers and publishers, but its start in gaming also came from the gamers’ perspective and has grown from there.

“Ideazon’s game-branded line of PC peripherals is incredibly popular and enjoys a dedicated following,” added SteelSeries’ Hawver. “Their products truly complement our own by extending our reach to a broader audience of gamers. Our combined expertise with competitive gamers will help speed the development of game- branded products by linking the game developers with the strongest group of pro gamers in the world.”

SteelSeries supports more than 200 professional gaming teams globally and has involved many more pro and competitive gamers during its product development process. Ideazon has also inspired a community of gamers in terms of both sponsorships and event support.

“This acquisition will further establish SteelSeries as a leading global gaming peripherals manufacturer,” said Jacob Wolff-Petersen, Founder of SteelSeries . “No other organization works as closely with gamers and industry partners, or has a more comprehensive line of products to support every type of gamer. The synergies between Ideazon and SteelSeries are evident in the design, relationships and industry influence that both companies bring to the table to create this new gaming powerhouse.”

The new combined organization will be headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark with offices in North America and Asia.

About SteelSeries

SteelSeries is a leading manufacturer of gaming peripherals and accessories, including headsets, keyboards, mice, software and gaming surfaces, available in more than 75 countries. SteelSeries, whose motto is “winning is everything,” has been on the forefront of professional gaming gear since its inception in 2001. The company has set a new benchmark for gaming accessories around the world thanks to continued innovation and product development in cooperation with leading professional gamers, the world’s most demanding IT consumers, who actually make a living based on the quality of SteelSeries products. SteelSeries’ development strategy is simple: Only products that take performance to the next level will be introduced. This ensures optimum performance and durability across a variety of gaming and other demanding applications. For more information, please visit www.SteelSeries.com.

About Ideazon Inc.

North American-based Ideazon Inc. develops, manufactures and markets the next generation of gaming peripheral technologies that enhance the gamers experience. Working with the gaming community – with partners, game developers and publishers – Ideazon develops its entire line of Precision Gaming Tools to maximize comfort, control, and in game dominance. Since its beginnings in 1999, the company has grown to be an industry leader in gaming technologies and has assembled an impressive list of technology partners including Activision Blizzard, Eidos Interactive, Electronic Arts, NCsoft Corporation, Microsoft Game Studios, NVIDIA and Sony Online Entertainment. For more information, visit the Web site at www.ideazon.com.

SteelSeries Introduces the 7G Professional Gaming Keyboard

Chicago, U.S.A. — May 5, 2008 — The leading manufacturer of innovative professional gaming gear, SteelSeries, today announced the U.S. release of its new gaming keyboard, the SteelSeries 7G. The keyboard, designed with 18-karat gold-plated mechanical switches, sets new industry standards for advanced key combinations and Actions-Per-Minute (APM). This translates into quicker reaction times and stronger results.

The SteelSeries 7G keyboard sets a new industry standard for gaming keyboards by allowing users to perform at new levels with advanced key combinations. Utilizing a powerful PS/2 buffer-system created specifically for gaming, the SteelSeries 7G keyboard eliminates “anti-ghosting” by supporting as many simultaneous key press commands as there are keys on the keyboard. What this does, for example, is allow users in a first person shooter game to walk, crouch, aim, fire and check the scoreboard simultaneously. Traditional keyboards do not allow this much functionality all at once.

The keyboard was built specifically to offer gaming-grade response times as well as an unmatched durability with a switch lifetime of 50 million operations, which is 10 or more times the lifespan of a typical “membrane” keyboard which has a maximum of 1-5 million total keystrokes in a lifetime.

“Professional gamers demand top quality equipment that provides durability and quicker response times,” said Bruce Hawver, CEO of SteelSeries. “The time that we’ve invested into working with literally hundreds of gamers to design the SteelSeries 7G keyboard has resulted in a device that will truly change the way you play, limiting gamers only by their skill level – not their equipment.”

The SteelSeries 7G keyboard is equipped with audio ports for headphone-out and microphone-in and includes a two port USB hub. With both PS/2 and USB connectors, the keyboard features the compact SteelSeries Media Controls, an essential gaming element that allows the user quick access to volume, muting and other audio controls.

Recognizing the importance of high-performance PC gaming equipment, professional Counter-Strike player, Franz “mouz/gore” Burghardt, said that,

“SteelSeries creates top quality gaming gear that helps players perform at their best. The 7G has taken gaming keyboards to a whole new level by eliminating anti-ghosting and increasing the response time, which is so important for first-person shooter games. It’s a tool I can rely on even on a professional level.”

Franz Burghardt and his teammates from mousesports recently won the ESL Masters championship at CeBIT in Germany, beating the best teams in the world and winning $50,000 USD.

The mechanical tactile system is ergonomically designed to ensure ease-of-use, and the no-click switches and iron-infused plastic make the SteelSeries 7G keyboard both comfortable and durable for professional or competitive gamers.

The new SteelSeries 7G keyboard, with an MSRP of $149.99 USD, is available for purchase at Dell.com, AlienWare.com, NewEgg.com, Amazon.com and on the SteelSeries Web site at http://www.SteelSeries.com.

 

More pictures of the 7G can be found on the SteelSeries Website