It’s been more than 5 years since we developed our very first mouse pad for professional gaming. Back then most people laughed when they heard we made “specialized mouse pad” (in all fairness, it wasn’t very cool to make “ordinary mouse pads” either). Why put so much effort into something as simple as mouse pads? Why spend months and months researching surfaces that were responsive, accurate and offered consistent glide? Who would ever need (or even spend money on) such a product? Any piece of cloth, rubber or plastic “even a table” would do the job equally well. During the past few years professional gaming has grown ever larger, and as mouse technologies developed from ball mice to optical and even laser, more and people have realized just how much difference an accurate and responsive mousing surface offers. Not just to the gamer demanding perfection and extreme accuracy, but for everyone who communicates with their computers by using a mouse.
We have since then released 11 mouse pads using different surface materials like aluminum, plastic and cloth, and our mouse pads have been used by teams winning international tournaments. They do make a difference. :-)
2 years ago “gaming headsets” were laughable and (often) just cheap OEM headphones with a microphone - their only connection to gaming were usually large letters saying “GAMING”, printed on the retail box. We began looking at headsets, because we wanted to create a gaming headset that would enhance in-game performance, the same ambition we had with our mouse pads.
After talking to literally hundreds of gamers, we isolated some very basic requirements that everyone wanted:
1. “Awesome” sound (duh..)
2. A microphone (which could be tugged away)
3. Comfortable full-size ear cups (at the time practically all headsets featured small ear cups that pressed on the ear, which would often become uncomfortable after extended use)
4. A headset that was easy to transport
It took us 9 months to create our first gaming headset, named SteelSound 5H (we released v2 a couple of days ago). It was a product that would have been impossible to create without help from professional gamers. During product development we talked to more than 20 professional sound-engineers, who could all create a product that could make great sound for music. But none of them could help with a gaming headset, as in-game sound frequencies and the ability to pinpoint an opponent’s location was something completely new to them. The final sound optimization was done with a number of championship gamers, especially with HeatoN from Ninjas in Pyjamas, to make sure the headset boosted the right sound frequencies to make sounds like footsteps, gunfire and alerts as clear as possible.
SteelSound 5H has since then been used by a number of teams who’ve won major international tournaments, just like our mouse pads. Our mission to create a headset that could enhance in-game performance succeeded.
Whats the point with all this? SteelSeries is all about creating professional gaming gear, our focus is “sports gear for gamers”. If we can create quality gear that enhances the gaming experience, we consider the product a success.
SteelKeys 6G, overview
Enter SteelKeys 6G, a keyboard we are releasing now. We began work on the keyboard more than 13 months ago, at the request of gamers in Asia. At the time the game o2 Jam was attracting a huge audience in that territory, a game that raised the bar for detailed and advanced key combinations. To master the game players needed to press up to 8 different keys simultaneously.
The first step in the development of the keyboard was (once again) to consult some of the many gamers we work with. What keyboard did they use? Why did they use it? What did they like about it? What didn’t they like about it? What were their requests for a keyboard? We started mapping the feedback we got from our network of gamers, and the results were interesting.
A good keyboard should:
1. Support 4-8 simultaneous key presses
2. Have keys that “felt good”
3. Be really durable (so it could be transported safely)
4. Should be “plug and play” (using custom drivers at LAN-events can be a pain)
We noticed something really interesting in the feedback, not a single gamer had asked for a more responsive keyboard. When we asked the gamers “why?!”, the response went along the lines of “aren’t they all the same?”. And with that in mind we started the actual development of the keyboard.
We wanted to create a product that could make a difference for a gamer, otherwise there simply would be no point in creating a keyboard to begin with. We quickly came to the conclusion that our keyboard should be about gaming and durability, without a lot of needless “nice-to-have” fluff. No media center controls, no Internet buttons, no “porn” backlighting, no nothing. Our keyboard should be built strong to last long, which goes against the very idea of adding fluff. The more fluff, the more stuff that can break. We also wanted to create a product that would be an integral part of a serious gamers gear, so the product had to communicate “seriousness” as well (iPod connectors and media controls are cool and nifty, but they have nothing to do with gaming).
The result speaks for it self. SteelKeys 6G looks plain and somewhat boring, just like many of our other products do (look at a SteelPad S&S, our best selling mouse pad).
SteelKeys 6G, WASD grey.
The ability to press and use a large number of keys simultaneously was our next goal for the product. To allow players to use up to 8 keys at the same time, we decided to go with PS/2 - which contains more dedicated bandwidth than USB. Using PS/2 had one more benefit: we freed up a valuable USB port. A real life-saver if you’re at a tournament with your USB headset and USB mouse only to discover that the computer you’re supposed to play on only has two USB ports (it still happens).
SteelKeys 6G, USB and PS/2.
No one at SteelSeries was under the illusion that we could invent the best switches in the world, but we were fairly confident that we could find them. After extensive testing of numerous switches, we decided to go with switches/mechanical tactiles from Cherry. Mechanical tactiles operate differently than a “standard keyboard”. The switches respond faster, since they connect and register as the key is being pressed down, as opposed to when the key is pressed to the bottom of keyboard. Using mechanical tactiles also meant a lot more durability for our switches. Standard keyboards usually boast a lifecycle of 1 to 10 million keystrokes. We built SteelKeys 6G to withstand 60 million keystrokes (for each key).
SteelKeys 6G, key disassembled.
Another important factor in our decision about switches, was the fact we could get switches plated with 18K gold. Gold is one of the most electrically conductive metals known to man. Electricity can be described as “the flow of charged particles in a current”. The more conductive a metal is the more current can flow through the metal without being slowed or delayed. Gold is able to convey electrical current even at extreme temperatures, varying from -55° to +200° centigrade. Using gold for SteelKeys 6G was an obvious decision, since we wanted to create an ultra responsive keyboard.
SteelKeys 6G, 18K gold-plated connector.
To give our keyboard extreme durability, we decided to mount all keys on a metal plate within the keyboard. The thermoplastic used to create the casing is the strongest plastic material we have ever used in a SteelSeries product. More durability was added by using a metal mesh over the wire for both the keyboard and the included PS/2 to USB converter. The wire itself was also beefed up considerably, by adding an extra thick layer of copper (this boosts bandwidth as well as wire strength).
SteelKeys 6G, close up of metal mesh.
And finally, we included a key changer and an extra keyset for all standard-sized keys. The extra keyset can give the user easier/faster visual navigation while playing. The extra keyset is neutral grey, and is really easy to switch. We also added a carrying bag, to make transportation of the keyboard easier and safer.
SteelKeys 6G, WASD close up.
SteelKeys 6G is “a mans keyboard”. It registers keystrokes faster than any of the keyboards we tested it against, it’s more durable than anything we have found on the market and it’s simple and basic to look at.
But it’s also one of the most expensive products we have ever created. We used the best components we could find on the market, which makes it more expensive than most other keyboards in the world. We expect that the heavy price tag will limit sales a lot, but we really wanted to create a hardcore product for the hardcore gamer. If that description doesn’t fit you, you would probably be better off by spending your money on something else.
SteelKeys 6G, it’s a wrap (in a bag-like).
