I love surprises! Not just being surprised, but witnessing the look on other people’s faces when a secret is revealed. It’s part of the joy of working at Mad Catz; I get to travel the world to unveil shiny new toys to unsuspecting members of the press and public and watch their faces light up. Truly, it rocks!
A few years ago, we announced a secret new weapon designed to give PC gamers the ultimate edge. It was called the R.A.T. mouse and it started a revolution that continues to gather strength day-by-day. I remember that week very well and the R.A.T. was one of those products that confused, inspired and confounded in equal measure. The press reaction was unanimous, however: Mad Catz were on to something big.
Today, the R.A.T. series of mice stands proud as the undisputed champion in the hands of professional gamers around the world. From being named IGN’s hardware of the year to earning a Guinness World Record for the most customizable mouse, the R.A.T. keeps on breaking records. And the response from gamers? Well, they just can’t get enough of them!
Soon after we launched the R.A.T., our crack team of designers and engineers set about secretly working on something equally ground-breaking… the S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 Gaming Keyboard. The world’s most state-of-the-art mouse demanded the world’s most state-of-the-art keyboard to go alongside it. With the S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 we were not going to settle for anything less than perfection. Looks, design, features, ease of use: it all had to be perfect and blow gamers away. For those unfamiliar with the S.T.R.I.K.E. 7, take a look at THIS video!
I was fortunate enough to be present at this year’s GamesCom, where we unveiled the S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 for the first time. The excitement surrounding the keyboard was palpable, eerily similar to the reaction the R.A.T. received a few years back. The media couldn’t quite figure out what the heck it did, but they knew it looked like no keyboard has looked before and they knew they had to check it out!
Since GamesCom ended in August, I’ve traveled all over the world with the S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 and every place I go, it’s the one product gamers are frothing at the mouth to see. At this year’s PAX Prime, we had the first shipment of S.T.R.I.K.E.s available to sell and we sold out within hours. It was crazy. Cliffy B from Epic spent some time getting equipped with the S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 and was indeed blown away.
We’ve been overwhelmed with the reaction gamers and the media have had to the S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 and are working tirelessly to make as many of them as possible for the holidays. Here are just a few of the press reviews for the S.T.R.I.K.E. 7:
I mean, that’s pretty sweet, no?! Truly, this is just a sample. Every day more and more people are discovering the S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 revolution and we at Mad Catz could not be more proud of our new baby! Products like the S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 are shaped by the community and what they say they want and need in a professional gaming product. Without you guys, we wouldn’t be doing what we do and I just can’t wait to see how the world’s hottest keyboard evolves from here. Keep your eyes open over the months ahead; it will be hard to miss the S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 and if you want one for yourself (let’s face it, you DO), you had better be quick because demand is soaring. Click here to pre-order.
Thanks for reading guys, why not follow me on Twitter and I’ll see you all soon.
Cheers! Alex “The Big Boy” Verrey
