Lets be honest, we've all slightly too long in a gaming session (by, oh, say 6 or so hours) once or twice and put our eyes under slightly more strain than we should. Even if not, many gamers play in light conditions which may not be the best for the health of your eyes, and certainly induce eye-strain.
Enter the SteelSeries Desmo made in collaboration with Gunnar Optiks, a set of rimless glasses designed specifically to alleviate eye-strain and improve your comfort over long gaming periods. Mishima was a swift convert to the Steelseries Scope Pro Gaming Glasses when he reviewed a set back in March, and the Desmo are broadly based on the same i-AMP Lens Tech. Unlike the Scope Pro's, the Desmo's are rimless and look to be slightly taller, aiding in overall peripheral vision and offering a slightly different style for the fashion-conscious gamer.
The manufacturers make five key claims:
* A lens tint to subtly shift your viewable colour spectrum and sharpen vision;
* Lens and frame shape designed to limit air-flow around the eye and retain moisture;
* High-grade 'optically pure' lenses, allow the tint to do its' job without introducing any distortion;
* Anti-glare, anti-reflective coating. Which, to be fair, is standard on corrective lenses these days;
* Out-the-box suitability for those who either make use of contact lenses or don't require eyesight correction.
* Lens and frame shape designed to limit air-flow around the eye and retain moisture;
* High-grade 'optically pure' lenses, allow the tint to do its' job without introducing any distortion;
* Anti-glare, anti-reflective coating. Which, to be fair, is standard on corrective lenses these days;
* Out-the-box suitability for those who either make use of contact lenses or don't require eyesight correction.
All this comes at a price - $99.99/ €99.99 (around £90). At first glance, that's pricey. On the other hand, short-sighted types like me often need to spend more than £90 just getting glasses thinned to the extent that they don't look that the bottom of a milk bottle. If the Desmo can live up to their claims, and you take care of them, these specs could turn out to be a fantastic buy. Obviously, this is even more the case if you're a pro-gamer for whom eye-strain is a very real work-hazard. The Desmo's will come in two flavours, the Onyx and the limited edition Snow.
Sadly, gamers who require corrective lenses will need to source a pair of custom prescription glasses from Gunnar through their optician. That shouldn't be too difficult in the US, where Gunnar have a distribution network of over 15,000 opticians to tap into, but may prove extremely difficult in the UK.
Those lucky enough to be at Blizzcon next weekend will get the chance to try them in person.
PRESS RELEASE
Side-view of the Limited Edition Desmo Snow
CHICAGO and SAN DIEGO – Today, SteelSeries and GUNNAR Optiks introduced a new style of eyewear designed for competitive gamers, the SteelSeries Desmo. Featuring GUNNAR’s i-AMP® lens technology, the new co-branded eyewear improves visual efficiency, endurance, and recovery during gaming sessions. To minimize peripheral distractions, the unique design is semi-rimless and provides an exceedingly broad visual field that allows the user to completely focus on the screen. The sleek frame features flexible twin-rail temples combined with adjustable nose pads to provide a lightweight, stable fit. As an added benefit for gamers, the ultra-slim temples rest comfortably beneath a gaming headset. The new style will be available in two color options - the Desmo Onyx and Desmo Snow (limited edition).
“We’ve been collaborating with the GUNNAR Optiks team in marketing and events for more than two years now, including the launch of our first co-branded eyewear model, the SteelSeries Scope," said Bruce Hawver, SteelSeries CEO. "When we started on this new design, it was important that it was more than just lightweight and comfortable, but that the lens shape, frame style and temples were chosen and perfected in order to impact and improve the way players saw their game. We believe we’ve achieved that goal with the Desmo and are excited for players to try it out.”
"SteelSeries is a fantastic partner," said Rob Aarnes, president of GUNNAR. "They've pushed us to the next level in our joint design of the SteelSeries Desmo and we are proud to put the eyewear into our Advanced Gaming Eyewear Collection. We expect it to be an immediate success as we roll it out to the market."
Together with the lightweight, durable design of the frames and comfort of the temples, the SteelSeries Desmo lenses are optimized to enhance a user’s visual performance. GUNNAR eyewear enhances optical performance to give users an immediate, noticeable visual advantage using i-AMP® lens technology. This optical lens innovation includes the following components:
Whether you’re touring the competitive gaming circuit, playing MMO’s for hours or switching between work and play on your PC or MAC, the SteelSeries Desmo provides a premium visual experience while delivering both style and comfort. The SteelSeries Desmo Onyx is $99.99/ €99.99 MSRP and will be available online at both the SteelSeries and GUNNAR Web Shops. The Desmo Snow (limited edition) is also $99.99/ €99.99 MSRP, but will be exclusively sold at SteelSeries.com.
BlizzCon attendees will get an exclusive first look to try out the style and experience the product on October 21st and 22nd in Anaheim, CA. Fans at home can check out pictures of the event and of the glasses in action at the SteelSeries booth at both SteelSeries’ and GUNNAR’s Facebook pages - www.facebook.com/SteelSeries and www.facebook.com/GUNNAROptiks.
“We’ve been collaborating with the GUNNAR Optiks team in marketing and events for more than two years now, including the launch of our first co-branded eyewear model, the SteelSeries Scope," said Bruce Hawver, SteelSeries CEO. "When we started on this new design, it was important that it was more than just lightweight and comfortable, but that the lens shape, frame style and temples were chosen and perfected in order to impact and improve the way players saw their game. We believe we’ve achieved that goal with the Desmo and are excited for players to try it out.”
"SteelSeries is a fantastic partner," said Rob Aarnes, president of GUNNAR. "They've pushed us to the next level in our joint design of the SteelSeries Desmo and we are proud to put the eyewear into our Advanced Gaming Eyewear Collection. We expect it to be an immediate success as we roll it out to the market."
Together with the lightweight, durable design of the frames and comfort of the temples, the SteelSeries Desmo lenses are optimized to enhance a user’s visual performance. GUNNAR eyewear enhances optical performance to give users an immediate, noticeable visual advantage using i-AMP® lens technology. This optical lens innovation includes the following components:
· Tint: Specially formulated tint conditions and shifts the color spectrum to provide superior contrast, detail and resolution.
· Wrap/Shape: Features a highly wrapped, curved lens shape limiting air flow and maintaining moisture near the eyes, while providing a slight focusing power to help ease eye fatigue and enhancing detail for sharper, clearer vision.
· Material: A proprietary lens material that is optically pure, insuring the clearest image by eliminating distortion, impurities and haze.
· Coatings: An anti-reflective coating that reduces glare and other distractions caused by reflective light.
· 20/20 or Rx: Out of the box ready for 20/20 vision or used with corrective contact lenses, and also prescription compatible in partnership with Carl Zeiss Vision with optional coverage by VSP Insurance. Visit www.gunnars.com/rx/ for more information.
· Wrap/Shape: Features a highly wrapped, curved lens shape limiting air flow and maintaining moisture near the eyes, while providing a slight focusing power to help ease eye fatigue and enhancing detail for sharper, clearer vision.
· Material: A proprietary lens material that is optically pure, insuring the clearest image by eliminating distortion, impurities and haze.
· Coatings: An anti-reflective coating that reduces glare and other distractions caused by reflective light.
· 20/20 or Rx: Out of the box ready for 20/20 vision or used with corrective contact lenses, and also prescription compatible in partnership with Carl Zeiss Vision with optional coverage by VSP Insurance. Visit www.gunnars.com/rx/ for more information.
Whether you’re touring the competitive gaming circuit, playing MMO’s for hours or switching between work and play on your PC or MAC, the SteelSeries Desmo provides a premium visual experience while delivering both style and comfort. The SteelSeries Desmo Onyx is $99.99/ €99.99 MSRP and will be available online at both the SteelSeries and GUNNAR Web Shops. The Desmo Snow (limited edition) is also $99.99/ €99.99 MSRP, but will be exclusively sold at SteelSeries.com.
BlizzCon attendees will get an exclusive first look to try out the style and experience the product on October 21st and 22nd in Anaheim, CA. Fans at home can check out pictures of the event and of the glasses in action at the SteelSeries booth at both SteelSeries’ and GUNNAR’s Facebook pages - www.facebook.com/SteelSeries and www.facebook.com/GUNNAROptiks.
