Kington Technology Inc. has sold more than 1 million headsets geared for gamers since releasing its first model a little over two years ago.
Expect the new business line, which has generated about $100 million in sales since April 2014, to get another bump with the recent launch of the CloudX Revolver Gears of War, the Fountain Valley-based company’s first high-end model.
“It’s been in the market for a few months now, and it’s picking up really well,” Marketing Director Daniel Kelley said. “For more and more athletes, audio is really important in-game.”
The headset, which costs $150, is custom-made for first-person shooter games, such as “Counterstrike,” a popular title on the burgeoning e-sports pro circuit. The red-and-black model, outfitted with a leather headband, steel frame, studio-grade sound control and a detachable noise-cancellation microphone, was styled to complement the battle-weathered design of Xbox One’s “Gears of War 4” limited edition 2TB bundle.
The set, available for $450 on advance sales before its Oct. 11 release, includes a specially designed two terabyte Xbox console with a limited-edition wireless controller, as well as “Gears of War 4: Ultimate Edition” for Xbox One and Windows 10; early game play access; a season pass; and in-game items, among other add-ons.
The “Gears of War” franchise is considered a third-person shooter game, since the action on the screen is an over-the-shoulder view rather than through the eyes of a character.
The CloudX Revolver, Kingston’s second headset licensed for the Xbox, was co-designed with Microsoft Corp. and The Coalition, a Canadian video game developer owned by the Redmond, Wash.-based technology giant.
The first, the HyperX CloudX—which debuted at CES in January—features a silver-and-black color scheme that mimics the style of the Xbox Elite controller, a heavily sought-after device that costs $150 and features customizable button plate covers.
Design Commitment
Kingston’s designs for accessories heavily rely on gamer feedback garnered through trade shows and conventions in the U.S. and overseas, as well as focus groups, competitive gaming tournaments, teams and players it sponsors, gaming forums and news sites, among other places.
“The gamer community can sniff out those who are not committed very quick,” Kelley said. “I think it’s extremely important to be visible and in their scene.”
Sales of HyperX-branded accessories are adding to the pace of growth at Kingston, the world’s largest memory products maker for computers and consumer electronics. The unit—which also makes high-speed memory, solid-state drives, SD memory cards, USB flash drives and mouse pads—helped push Kingston’s estimated annual revenue past $6.5 billion last year, up from $5.9 billion in 2014.
Partnerships
The HyperX brand has partnerships with Ubisoft Entertainment, the French video game maker behind the Tom Clancy franchise, and Cyprus-based Wargaming Public Co. Ltd., which is known for its historically accurate online military games.
Kingston’s Latin American unit also has worked with counterparts at Blizzard Entertainment Inc., OC’s largest software company with annual sales topping $1.5 billion.
The CloudX Revolver, the 10th product launched under the HyperX brand, highlights the continued evolution of Kingston’s first HyperX Cloud Gaming Headset, which was first teased at CES in early 2014. HyperX headsets are available at more than 10,000 stores in 80 countries.
“We really want to make sure what we build is affordable but doesn’t sacrifice quality,” Senior Technology Manager Mark Tekunoff said.
