August 26, 2008 12:18 PM Eastern Time 

SteelSeries Announces New SteelSeries iron.lady Siberia Full-Size Headset During the 2008 Electronic Sports World Cup

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The leading manufacturer of innovative professional gaming gear, SteelSeries, today announced the release of the SteelSeries iron.lady Siberia Full-size Headset in Pink. The pink headset was designed for today’s growing female gamer contingent and will be used by the women’s team previously known as Les Seules, now a part of the leading E-Sports organization, Meet Your Makers.

“We’re excited to introduce our professional gaming products to the growing female audience and players. Whether they chose to use our signature black and white products or chose to distinguish themselves with pink, gamers know that SteelSeries designs the best tools to compete with to win.”

Women currently make up 40 percent of the gaming population, and females over 18 are playing almost twice as much as males under 17, according to the Entertainment Software Association’s "2008 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry,”¹

As a cornerstone for competitive female electronic sports, SteelSeries iron.lady is a unique and popular gaming event held in China, gathering the top female professional Warcraft 3 delegates from across Asia in order to battle against each other for the ultimate title of "Super iron lady." With a 2008 audience of more than 3.7 million people in China alone, SteelSeries iron.lady represents and signifies the strength, determination and ability of female gamers to compete at a professional level. More information is available at http://www.steelseries.com/ironlady.

Meet Your Makers is represented in 24 different countries, including some of the best players in Warcraft III, DotA, Counter-Strike, Starcraft: Broodwar, FIFA and Call of Duty 4, creating one of the largest combined team/community sites in the world. The MYM.CS team will be using the SteelSeries iron.lady Siberia Full-size Headset during Counter-Strike competitions at the Electronic Sports World Cup.

“Female gamers are having a significant impact on the gaming industry and are influencing how we design our products,” said Bruce Hawver, CEO of SteelSeries. “We’re excited to introduce our professional gaming products to the growing female audience and players. Whether they chose to use our signature black and white products or chose to distinguish themselves with pink, gamers know that SteelSeries designs the best tools to compete with to win.”

The SteelSeries iron.lady Siberia Full-size Headset was developed in cooperation with professional gamers to ensure that the soundscape, specifications and comfort is suitable for long gaming sessions. The headset is also designed for multi-functionality. Apart from using the headset for PC-gaming, this product has been designed so gamers can use it with their favorite MP3-player, handheld gaming device or practically any other kind of portable digital device.

The SteelSeries iron.lady Siberia Full-size Headset, with an MSRP of $79.99 USD, will be shipped in Q4 2008 and will be available from www.SteelSeries.com, NewEgg.com, Amazon.com and other resellers.

About SteelSeries

SteelSeries is a leading manufacturer of gaming peripherals and accessories, including headsets, keyboards, mice, software and gaming surfaces, selling in more than 75 countries. SteelSeries has been on the forefront of professional gaming gear since its inception in 2001, thanks to continued innovation and product development in cooperation with leading professional gamers. All SteelSeries products are developed in co-operation with professional gamers to ensure optimum performance and durability. SteelSeries supports the growth of competitive gaming and electronic sports through professional team sponsorships and community support all over the world. For more information, please visit www.SteelSeries.com.

¹ The Entertainment Software Association: http://www.theesa.com/facts/index.asp