Competitive gaming is not for the everyday gamer. It requires a great deal of ability, fast reflexes, and when playing in a multiplayer setting, precise communication. There are competitions around the world to determine the best at games ranging from fighters, first-person shooters, to massive-multiplayer online games. For the average gamer, competitive gaming is a world reserved only for people with countless hours to devote to their hobby. In this article, we had a chance to speak with the folks at Astro Gaming about competitive gaming, and how the PlayStation 3 is the company’s latest focus. As a special thank you to our readers, Astro Gaming has supplied us with some great gear, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for our holiday giveaway soon.
If you’ve spent any time gaming on a PC, you know how easy it can be to communicate with friends online. There is something about using programs like Skype, and a good set of headphones and microphone to rally your friends into battle. For PC gamers, voice chat is nothing new. That’s not to say console gamers have been silenced, in fact, some of our favorite games on the PS3 utilize voice chat. The peripherals that support voice chat on the PS3 are at best pretty good, but few are excellent. This is one of the focuses of Astro Gaming.
”We felt as though the quality of gaming peripherals, particularly on the console side of the world, was severely lagging the quality of the consoles and of the games themselves,” said Jordan Reiss, VP of Astro Gaming. “Peripherals seemed to be nothing more than afterthoughts and as discerning consumers and avid gamers we felt like there just had to be better options available – better sound, better materials, better design, better performance.
“In audio specifically, we wanted to address some of the inherent deficiencies that arise from the separation of game audio and voice chat. Back when we first conceptualized the idea for a headset and mixamp that combined game audio with voice chat, nothing like this existed. Now there are some competing solutions out there – which is great – we want to contribute to the overall betterment of the gaming experience. That’s why we pack as much as we do into our products.”
For most people, Astro’s audio gear is pretty expensive. In fact, the audio system typically runs as much as the console itself. Reiss said the A40 headset and MixAmp were designed to be as versatile as possible. We had a chance to check out the headset and MixAmp, and were certainly impressed. The crystal-clear audio is some of the best we’ve experienced. Beyond the quality, we are happy that the audio devices are so versatile. The headset works on any audio device, not just your PS3, PC, or Xbox 360.
The MixAmp is something of a “Swiss Army Knife” for audio controls, Reiss explained. There are several uses for the MixAmp, and it’s really only limited to what’s in your arsenal. For instance, you can plug a guitar into it and play over your favorite song, hook it up to a CD player and crank your favorite tunes, or hook it up to a bunch of PS3s and blare a LAN party.
“Via our MixAmp, we’re able to network teams in the tournament environment for private chat channels,” said Brett Lovelady, CEO of Astro Studios. “This is great for setting and maintaining strategies, communications and even broadcasting for public share. For the home environment, hardcore and casual gamers appreciate the features and functions of the whole system that drives and blends voice with game sounds inside their A40 Headsets instead of blaring out of the TV/stereo. And gamers’ families or roommates appreciate it, too.”
Astro’s MixAmp was originally optimized for the Xbox 360 as per the Major League Gaming Pro Circuit. At the beginning of the MixAmps’s lifecycle, the PS3 had not launched. When Sony’s system did launch, there was a workaround to add PS3 functionality to MixAmp. Now, however, the new lines have added PS3 USB audio streaming functionality.
“As the PS3 has shown that it’s here for the long haul, we decided to embed some additional components into our 2010 edition MixAmp and shed the USB mike dongle,” Reiss said. “Now the MixAmp setup on a PS3 is actually more elegant than it is on the Xbox 360 and offers all the same features and functionality.
Since the launch of the PS3, we’ve seen a fair share of headsets launch, some of which were pretty decent. The market is slowly starting to swell, but we would certainly like to see a higher level of quality. For our friends who are talented enough to play video games as a profession (not just write about them), we are glad you have products like Astro’s headset and MixAmp to enhance your competitive edge. For our normal readers who only have a few hours a week to game, we suggest you set some money aside in 2010 for Astro’s new line of audio gear – both Reiss and Lovelady assure us we’ll see some new products available for the PS3 in the coming months.
As mentioned, stay tuned for our Astro Gaming giveaway later this week. We have a MixAmp, an A40 headset, and a killer backpack to carry anything from your PS3 to your laptop up for grabs. To learn more about Astro Gaming, pop over to their website.