CHICAGO – June 1, 2012 – SteelSeries, the leading manufacturer of premium-quality peripherals, and partner Major League Gaming (MLG), the world’s largest competitive video game league, today introduced the SteelSeries Sensei MLG Edition Gaming Mouse. As the official, licensed mouse for Major League Gaming, the SteelSeries Sensei MLG Edition brings competitive players the best-in-class hardware as well as a color design and surface that was chosen in cooperation with the MLG community – based on interviewing visitors at the MLG Winter Championship in Columbus. Key features include a 32-bit ARM processor that allows for advanced SteelSeries ExactTech calculations to be done directly on the mouse, easy driverless setup at tournament computers via an on mouse LCD display and menu, and the newest, premium-quality sensor, which increases the CPI to 8,200 and 16,400 DCPI. Attendees at the MLG Spring Championship in Anaheim, CA, June 8-10 will be the first to get an advanced look and can pre-order the sophisticated mouse which will be be available beginning this August for $99.99 / €99.99 MSRP.

The SteelSeries Sensei MLG Edition Gaming Mouse is ambidextrous with a gunmetal, non-slip grip coating, three areas of illumination with 16.8 million color options to choose from and 4 levels of illuminating pulsation. Compatible for both PC and Mac® users, the mouse can be further modified through the SteelSeries Engine software suite, which allows for multiple layers of customization and extended programmability.

“MLG partnered with SteelSeries because of the impressive products they build for gamers,” said Sundance DiGiovanni, CEO and Co-founder of Major League Gaming. “We are excited to introduce the Sensei MLG Edition, which has been crafted with the best hardware available and technology that makes sense to gamers who are looking for the best products to help their competitive play.”

“The professional gamers that compete in MLG tournaments and the competitive players who watch competition streams that are practicing towards getting to tournaments in person and ultimately play to win, are who we have built this co-branded mouse for,” said SteelSeries CMO, Kim Rom. “We believe the MLG community and its supporters bring together some of the most passionate competitive players out there and we’re excited to bring those players a mouse with the fastest, most customizable and best-in-quality features.”

Customization for Competitive Gaming
The SteelSeries Sensei MLG Edition Gaming Mouse features a state of the art 32-bit ARM processor that provides both speed and precision. The best, premium-quality laser sensor makes this mouse the fastest on the market, with true hardware-based sensitivity settings from 1 to 8,200 CPI, and an “overclocked” Double CPI feature that allows the user to go all the way up to 16,400 DCPI – a setting that is ideal for multiple monitor use. The sensor boasts 10.8-megapixel image correlations at up to 12,000 frames per second and the ability to handle tracking movements of up to 150 inches per second.

The SteelSeries Sensei MLG Edition Gaming Mouse features a unique on-mouse LCD display and menu that allows users to quickly and easily set, store and configure profiles and settings directly on the mouse. SteelSeries’ industry leading ExactTech settings, such as ExactSens, ExactAccel, and ExactAim, can be calculated directly on the hardware via the LCD menu screen, which leaves the user with a mouse that is completely free of any interpolation or extrapolation, delay, filtering and without using up memory or resources on the user’s computer. All of these features make set-up during tournaments fast and easy. The LCD also allows users to create bitmap illustrations to depict team names and logos, some of which will be downloadable on the SteelSeries
Website.

Optimized Design, Grip and Illumination
The community chosen non-slip grip, dark metal coating encases the Sensei MLG Edition, while the ambidextrous shape makes all 8 ergonomically placed buttons comfortably reachable for the 3 grip styles – palm, claw and swipe. The mouse hosts three areas of illumination – at the wheel, at the CPI indicator and at the MLG logo, in 16.8 million color options including an OFF setting. The default colors are MLG-inspired with a blue illuminated wheel, red illuminated logo and white illuminated CPI indicator. The illumination also identifies specific functions like different colors for profiles or to represent team or player colors. Connecting to the computer through a gold-plated USB, its double-braided black nylon cord – with specks of red, white and blue – is meant to withstand serious punishment, from even the most aggressive tournament pulls. 

The Power of SteelSeries’ Engine
While the SteelSeries Sensei MLG Edition Gaming Mouse can be configured without the need for software drivers, it also can be modified through the SteelSeries Engine software. It’s up to the user to decide how much customization they want or need; SteelSeries is purely supplying the possibilities.  The SteelSeries Engine can allow users to:

· Easily configure settings. The effortless drag-and-drop, easy to navigate features and directions make the software well suited for all levels.
· Create profiles. Users can quickly activate multiple profiles for peripherals from different characters in one game to multiple profiles in all of the games and programs they’re using.
· Improve set-up through statistics. Users will be able to record sessions and identify how to improve their button layout and macro settings through a visual heat map of the users peripheral.
· Have the freedom to play. The SteelSeries Engine makes the Sensei MLG Edition as customizable as technologically possible. The software will even recognize what game a user is playing and will open the appropriate, saved profile. It allows the user to have complete control on how their mouse can function.

To ensure maximum performance in all gaming scenarios SteelSeries enlisted help from world-class StarCraft® II, Counter-Strike®, QUAKE® Live, DotA™, League of Legends™, Heroes of Newerth™, WarCraft® III and Doom® players who helped with the testing and refinement of the Sensei. They provided input on everything from grip styles to the needs for customizable technology; the Sensei MLG Edition evolved from hours of gameplay.

For more details about the Sensei MLG Edition, be sure to check out http://steelseri.es/mlgsensei. Find live streaming and tournament coverage at http://www.majorleaguegaming.com. Follow our social media communities on Facebook and Twitter for updates on availability, contests and new products.