Zowie Announces New MiCO Gaming Mouse for RTS Players

[btarunr]

There is no one-size fits all for computer gaming peripherals. All gamers are different and we recognize that each and every one of you has different needs and preferences. Therefore it was only a matter of time until we would put our efforts into developing a mouse for competitive RTS gaming. The ZOWIE MiCO is developed for those of you who won't settle for second best - you want the best from your equipment and seek stability in a high quality mouse that you can trust to always perform flawlessly.

Developed together with the Korean powerhouse StarTale, ZOWIE MiCO is a reflection of the experience and expertise of some of the best and most recognized StarCraft 2 players in the world. During the development of the ZOWIE MiCO, we faced three major challenges we had to overcome.



First challenge; the perfect shape for claw-grip usage
Finding the perfect shape wasn't easy, but we are very proud of the result and consider the shape of ZOWIE MiCO as a true piece of art. It is the result of a very extensive development, where we filmed and photographed the hands of players Ace, Rainbow, Bomber, Squirtle and July while they played, in order to create a mockup of a mouse that was the ideal average of the five players. With the mockup in their hands, we were able to perfect it by making slight changes based on the overall feedback they provided.

Second challenge; the perfect click
One thing that quickly became clear to us was that the feeling of every mouseclick is very important to a professional RTS gamer. StarTale expressed the feeling of the perfect mouseclick to be like this:

• Responsive to easy clicking/light pressure
• Upon clicking, button should only travel a short distance before responding
• Provide a clear, firm clicking, so you can feel all of your clicks

We realized that we had to develop our own switches in order to achieve the performance we wanted. We had samples of various custom switches developed and gave them to StarTale to test. We adjusted the leverage of the buttons bit by bit based on their feedback, finally achieving what they defined as the perfect click, which is what you will be able to feel in the ZOWIE MiCO today.

Third challenge; the best sensor for StarTale
The ZOWIE MiCO was originally planned for release late October 2010 so we could reach the Christmas sales, but it was a challenge finding a sensor which lived up to our requirements of high quality and performance. We felt that we couldn't release a product that we are not 110% committed to, so we postponed the release to give ourselves time to complete the development process and create a product we can be proud of.

StarTales gamers are used to playing with 400 and 800 DPI rates, so this was a key point for the development of the ZOWIE MiCO. Where HeatoN put more importance on the lift-off distance rather than the DPI-rates, StarTale felt that having the exact DPI that they are used to is more important to them as RTS-gamers than the lift-off distance.

After several months of testing and trashing, we are confident that we have finally succeeded in finding a sensor that lives up to our requirements of quality and functionality, performing flawlessly on all types of surfaces, except for paper and glass. With the ZOWIE custom lens we were also able to achieve a lift-off distance of 2,0 mm.

General
The ZOWIE MiCO is a small, lightweight ambidextrous mouse, which is perfect for gamers who demand ultimate performance from their mice and prefer the claw-grip playing style.

There's no software for the ZOWIE MiCO. You just plug it into your computer and you will automatically be playing with 500 Hz and your desired DPI-setting between 400/800/1600 DPI.

As we have said before, we are not afraid to try out new things. ZOWIE's R&D team has a lot of ideas on how to improve products by implementing new features and functions to our products. The latest example of this was the new rubberbase which was developed for the G-TF speed, providing a firm suction to the table, so the mousepad doesn't budge unless you want it to.

Features:

• Ambidextrous competitive gaming mouse, usable with both hands
• Perfect for claw-grip and gamers with small hands
• ZOWIE custom lens; 2mm lift-off distance - works on all surfaces
• Co-developed with professional StarCraft & StarCraft 2 players from Korea
• Lightweight, fast and accurate optical gaming mouse
• No drivers or software! Just plug and play
• Adjustable DPI: 400/800/1600

Specifications:

• Dots Per Inch: 400/800/1600
• Max. Acceleration: up to 30G
• Max. Speed: up to 50 inches/second
• USB report rate: 500Hz
• Length of cable: 1.8m / 5.8 ft
• Weight: 68g (ex. cable)
• Connector: USB
• Buttons: 3

Availability and MSRP
The ZOWIE MiCO will be available to end-users on the 1st of June 2011.
MSRP:

• DKK 299
• EUR 34.90
• USD 34.90

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[micropage7]

looks classic mouse, at last we have 'normal' gaming mouse with nice features

 

[Mistral]

So, except for the lower price, why should I get this over a G5?

Perfect shape? There's no such thing. People have different hands.
Perfect click? Tons of other mice doing that.
Best sensor? Guess there's been a lot of overkill in this regard by other devices, true....

 

[KashunatoR]

i don't like claw grip mice but that's just me. though i do think most gamers use ergonomic mice.
why do they evenmake ambidextrous mice since any gamer only uses one hand?. they should make the same mouse in 2 versions, for right and left handed users, but of course the right handed users version in much larger quantities

 

[Fourstaff]

While I like Startale (Bomber is an absolute beast), I think 1600dpi is a bit too low. Shitty Starcraft 2 players like me uses 2000dpi already, and I doubt pros will use any lower.

 

[Maelstrom]

While I like Startale (Bomber is an absolute beast), I think 1600dpi is a bit too low. Shitty Starcraft 2 players like me uses 2000dpi already

Yeah, I use the full 5600dpi of my lachesis but I turned down the pointer speed in windows a bit.

 

[Mescalamba]

Yeah, I use the full 5600dpi of my lachesis but I turned down the pointer speed in windows a bit.

Which completely scr*ws acceleration. Grats to that.

Never change windows pointer speed from 5 (or 6 depends if you count zero).

Otherwise, if you want different speed, just change it in game.. Im playing CoD4 at sensitivity 1 and 5000 Dpi. Similar for other games. And ofc I have pre-set 3 DPi settings in mouse, so I switch them as necessary (1300 for Windows, 5000 for games etc.).

//On-topic: Yea Im sure pro gamers love shiny-n-sticky surfaces anywhere on mouse. I really do.. (sarcasm)

 

[Maelstrom]

Which completely scr*ws acceleration. Grats to that.

Never change windows pointer speed from 5 (or 6 depends if you count zero).

Otherwise, if you want different speed, just change it in game.. Im playing CoD4 at sensitivity 1 and 5000 Dpi. Similar for other games. And ofc I have pre-set 3 DPi settings in mouse, so I switch them as necessary (1300 for Windows, 5000 for games etc.).

//On-topic: Yea Im sure pro gamers love shiny-n-sticky surfaces anywhere on mouse. I really do.. (sarcasm)

If it is even on, I doubt I would notice, as my screen is so small
Edit: I did change it back to 6 though (I was on 4)

 

[DanishDevil]

The ZOWIE MiCO is developed for those of you who won’t settle for second best

I hope "won't settle for second best" wasn't used to market their keyboard with NYLON keycaps that wear off almost immediately.

 

[theJesus]

Never change windows pointer speed from 5 (or 6 depends if you count zero).

Why not? I always set it to max.

 

[cheesy999]

Never change windows pointer speed from 5 (or 6 depends if you count zero).

that's for those who like to fail

i have mine turned up to 11!!!

 

[theJesus]

that's for those who like to fail

i have mine turned up to 11!!!

Me too. Seriously, if you count starting at 1 then it goes to 11.

 

[Mescalamba]

If you count from 1, its 6.

6 (or 5) is setting when Windows doesnt interpolate mouse speed, eg. if you set 5000 DPi, you will get 5000 DPi

But if you set it to something else, Windows will interpolate it to different DPi, so if you put it on for example 7, you will get 6000 DPi instead of 5000 DPi.

It will be surely faster, but it will be in same time much less precise, cause mouse has still just those 5000 DPi and you cant create something from nothing, so SW will just calculate missing information about mouse movement.

That itself isnt that bad, Logitech has this even implemented into drivers for G9x (for example), where mouse speed is up to 5700 DPi, while sensor of mouse has just 5040 DPi max. Rest of speed is just interpolated by SW or mouse itself, not sure which one. But whats sure is when you set it higher than 5000, you will feel that mouse is not that much predictable and not that much precise as on that 5000 which is maximum for sensor.

Same goes for Windows settings. And on top of that, if you set anything else than 6 (5), Windows will add bit of acceleration or de-acceleration, which mess things bit further.

I guess its not that important for RTS players, but its pretty important for FPS players. And thats why I have it on default. I hope you didnt even think about having "Enhace pointer precision" on enabled. Windows are something like "antigamer" OS, at least in mouse settings department.

 

[theJesus]

...[snip]... I hope you didnt even think about having "Enhace pointer precision" on enabled. Windows are something like "antigamer" OS, at least in mouse settings department.

Actually I did have that enabled

Thanks though, I'll try setting it in the middle and messing with my G500's drivers, etc. and see if I like it better.

edit: My drivers have an option to bypass the windows settings, so I'm doing that, but there are also speed/acceleration sliders in the drivers too. Right now they're 10 and 0, respectively.

 

[cheesy999]

It will be surely faster, but it will be in same time much less precise, cause mouse has still just those 5000 DPi and you cant create something from nothing, so SW will just calculate missing information about mouse movement.

i have an ergonomic microsoft mouse, or melty mouse as i call it, i have the pointer set to 11 as other wise with a dual monitor set up i end up moving the mouse several miles to get to the second screen, and i have enhanced pointer precision as otherwise my mouse is all over the place

just tried setting 7 without epp, it works well but a bit too slow, overall i tend to use my xbox controller for gaming as i'm really accurate if i use it

 

[theJesus]

i have an ergonomic microsoft mouse, or melty mouse as i call it, i have the pointer set to 11 as other wise with a dual monitor set up i end up moving the mouse several miles to get to the second screen, and i have enhanced pointer precision as otherwise my mouse is all over the place

just tried setting 7 without epp, it works well but a bit too slow, overall i tend to use my xbox controller for gaming as i'm really accurate if i use it

I think the information provided by Mescalamba is more useful with higher DPI mice.

 

[sy5tem]

LOL@ this mouse

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I fail to see what so great about this mouse... 35USD coverts into about 21GBP. I could get a £20 small dinky wireless mouse for that same price.

for an extra £5-13 you could probably have a logitech G5 or G500... much better choice as they have side buttons and everything

 

[Mescalamba]

Actually I did have that enabled

Thanks though, I'll try setting it in the middle and messing with my G500's drivers, etc. and see if I like it better.

edit: My drivers have an option to bypass the windows settings, so I'm doing that, but there are also speed/acceleration sliders in the drivers too. Right now they're 10 and 0, respectively.

Speed and acceleration is pretty similar as in Windows, just that speed settings works bit better, though I left it at 5 and acceleration 0. Works best for me. Bypassing windows drivers is good thing to do.

And yes, it mostly is usefull for high DPi mices, though if you have one monitor and 800 DPi mouse, its quite ok too. I guess low DPi mice and eyefinity setup can cause a bit of trouble.

 

[theJesus]

Speed and acceleration is pretty similar as in Windows, just that speed settings works bit better, though I left it at 5 and acceleration 0. Works best for me. Bypassing windows drivers is good thing to do.

And yes, it mostly is usefull for high DPi mices, though if you have one monitor and 800 DPi mouse, its quite ok too. I guess low DPi mice and eyefinity setup can cause a bit of trouble.

Thanks, I set it to 5 and then did a little test. I changed DPI to 1000, made note of my mouse's position on the mouse-pad, then moved the cursor roughly 1000 pixels and checked the new position of the mouse. Based on this rough test, I would say the DPI is now fairly accurate (ie: moving the mouse 1 inch actually moves the cursor 1000 pixels at the 1000 DPI setting).

I think before I changed anything, the cursor was moving up to twice as fast as it should have been. It feels a lot more precise when I'm making small movements, even at 5000 DPI.

 

[Mussels]

its funny, i'm a claw gripper, but only comfortable on palm grip mice XD

 

[Sinzia]

its funny, i'm a claw gripper, but only comfortable on palm grip mice XD

Same here, and I still use my old Microsoft 5 button intellimouse explorer. In black.

I've never had to use anything else, and most gaming mice are not comfortable in my hand.

 

[GSquadron]

For me it is a junk mouse