Astro Professional Gaming Headsets & Bags

The recently launched tech review Tested.com, featuring top industry talent from Maximum PC and other outlets, have poured hours of soul-breaking effort into their latest headset roundup.

In “7 High-End Gaming Headsets Tested and Reviewed!”, editor and tech extraordinaire Will Smith ripped through the leading headset manufacturer’s highest-end products. Naturally, our A40 Audio System and A30 Audio System were included and pitted against the best that Tritton, Turtle Beach, Steel Series and Razer had to offer.

Now we have a strict policy where we don’t knock our competitors. That’s not classy, ya know? If we ever compare ourselves to a competing product, it’ll be biased no matter what we do. That’s why we encourage you to do some of your own research or check out our reviews archive on this very same blog.

So this is where you should read what Tested.com had to say about us and make your own decisions. You’re smart and an independent thinker. I can SO tell.

If you ever have any questions, feel free to hit up our Forums or Support Team!

Much respect yo,

- ASTRO stanimal

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Even though this was only my second Comic-Con (SDCC), I leave feeling like a true veteran. A grizzled survivor of one of the most grueling conventions this word has to offer.

You may walk away exhausted, broke, sick, or smelling like that one dude who was in some cosplay outfit he shouldn’t have been in.

Doesn’t matter. It’s worth it every freaking year.

I’ll start with all of the amazing gaming stuff that was happening at SDCC. The gaming portion pretty much tripled in size since last year with all the major players where in town. Xbox and Sony both had a presence along with all the major publishers like Ubisoft, CAPCOM, Konami, Activision, EA, and probably a few more that I can’t think of right now.

Ubisoft’s booth was showing off the multiplayer portion of Assassins Creed Brotherhood (ACB). Naturally, they were using our A30 Audio Systems (with custom ACB speaker tags) all daisy-chained so everyone can talk trash and get absolutely wrecked by one of the Frag Dolls. Not exactly your typical multiplayer, lots of being all tricky and sneaking around. Definitely a stabbingly good time.

Oh, and don’t forget to pick up Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Video Game when it comes out later in August. I don’t need to tell you why. Anything Scott Pilgrim related is officially awesome by default.

CAPCOM’s booth was nothing short of bad-ass. They had a freaking FIGHTING RING converted into a stage for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and all their live podcasting (where if you’re lucky, you’ll get to hear my sexy Russian accent). They were also rolling custom A30s for their DS titles Ghost Trick and Okamiden which are chock-full of all that Japanese game-making prowess. Totally psyched for Dead Rising 2, nothing like killing zombies with chainsaws duct-taped to a paddle. amirite?!

What else was there at SDCC? Panels for EVERYTHING. You name it. Your favorite games, TV shows, and movies all had 3 hour lines just to get in. For example, I waited in line for the Dead Space 2 panel only to have it hit max capacity like 20 people in front of me. Props to Visceral Studios for getting their franchise to that level of popularity but boo at you for making me miss the panel. >:( Meh, I’m sure I’ll be first in line at the game’s midnight release anyhow.

Just a heads up, always get in line very, very early if you ever want to see a panel at Comic-Con.

Now also be sure to bring lots of cash because you’ll want to buy just about everything there. Between totally sweet t-shirts from companies like GAMA-GO, and Upper Playground, your favorite webcomics will be selling all sorts of fun stuff too. Even custom sketches! Love those things.

Before I lose you entirely, I want to give a shout out to our magnificent SDCC partners Ubisoft, the Frag Dolls, CAPCOM, and Konami. And more shout outs to our friends at HP, Robert, Jerry, Mike and the rest of the Penny Arcade crew, the guys from Red vs. Blue, Brian O’Malley for making one of the best comics ever I’ve ever read (Scott Pilgrim), Edgar Wright for turning that comic into one of the best movies I’ve ever seen (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), and to all the many friends of mine that I saw.

Awe, wasn’t that all cute? Totally was. Now go look at our Facebook photo album of all the pics I took.

- ASTRO stanimal

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One of the amazing things about the MLG/Doritos Combine events is the mix of fresh energy and excitement that all of these new players bring when they walk in the doors. For many of the participants, the combine events are their first experience into the world of Major League Gaming.

It’s easy to forget what your first event feels like a few years into it. The wonder, excitement, and anticipation that overwhelms you when you take that first step into the venue and begin to absorb the experience as you realize exactly where you are: surrounded by people who share your passion. It’s refreshing to watch the faces of the “fresh meat” as they quickly adjust to life in the pits, and realize that they aren’t on Xbox Live anymore. Many players crack under the new pressures that being at a live event brings, and it gives the opportunity for some to shine.

The first day was filled with the Free-For-All(FFA) competition. This focuses on the lone wolf style of play, and gives the opportunity for players to show off their raw talent against other players. FFA play can get a bit messy and opportunistic, but it is seriously fun to watch. Much like college sports recruiters, some of the MLG pro players attend the event to watch for impressive new talent. As the scouts observed players doing something skillful throughout the day, they received a notation. Those players who received those notations were given a chance to sit down before the pros and get observed with some 1:1 time. As the night went on, and players dwindled, familiar faces began to emerge victorious such as Adrenaline, Amish Acorns, and Str8 Sick. In the end it was Amish Acorns that walked away the winner once again proving that he’s going to continue to be a force to reckoned with at the main events.

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We’re back! Well, sort of. I’m back at San Diego Comic-Con 2010 (SDCC) and this time, I brought some ASTRO goodness with me to hook up our favorite/epically astonishing partners like Ubisoft, CAPCOM, and Konami.

You may remember last year when I graced the floors of the San Diego Convention Center at last year’s SDCC. There I gushed about all the upcoming games, the olfactory offenses (that means bad smells), and the craziness of it all. Probably won’t be too different this year but we’ll see in the recap coming soon.

First thing that’s new this year is that ASTRO has a bit of a presence at SDCC 2010! No, no booth yet but we got some sweet custom A30s setup at the following booths:

- Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood multiplayer setup and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Video Game (booth #4245)
- CAPCOM’s Okamiden and Ghost Trick stations as well as their Cap-Community video-cast (booth #4844)
- Konami’s MGS: Peace Walker stations (booth #3713)

We also have giveaways of SDCC exclusive A30s here:

- Daily raffle for Assassin’s Creed A30 Audio Systems, 1 each day!
- Raffles for BASARA A30 Audio Systems, signed by the producer!

Stay tuned to my jealousy-inducing updates from our Facebook page and Twitter. Now only if I can summon the strength to stand in line for hours for the panels… (-10 to patience)

Wish me luck yo,

- ASTRO stanimal

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So this past week, our friends at EA took a little trip down to the 2010 ESPY Awards for the launch of NCAA Football 11. They also brought down some exclusive gear for all the celebrities and athletes that would be winning all sorts so stuff. Maybe there were there just to look cool, or maybe both. I just know I wanna go next year.

In case you don’t know what the ESPY Awards are, they’re the ESPN Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards. Perfect for all the athletes/pros to check out NCAA Football 11 with all the fancy new features like ESPN Broadcast Package Integration (which is actually REALLY cool if you’re a big ESPN fan and love the game of their Game of the Week! stuff).

So, that exclusive gear I was telling you about? Custom painted and laser etched PS3s with custom EA Sports A30 Audio Systems. Insert jealousy here.

This means we got rockstars like Tim Tebow, Apolo Ohno, Reggie Bush, Terrell Owens and more all sporting the gear with pictures to prove it. You can see some of the pics above or all of them can be seen on our Facebook page here.

If you want to learn more about NCAA Football 11, hit up EA Sport’s here!

Enjoy yo,

- ASTRO stanimal

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For months, believers in the ASTRO cause have been begging for more A40s in those seductive red, blue and military green colors. No more must you hear “Stay tuned!” or “We don’t have a time frame!”. Your prayers have been answered.

Shipping on Wednesday, July 21st, all three colors are ready to gracefully land at your doorstep to make your friends jealous and give you the best 5.1 gaming audio experience.

Quantities are limited (lots of limited stuff, we know) so grab the A40 BXR Headset or A40 BXR Audio System while you can.

We have stock shipping today so hurry up before the droves of the patient and not so patient fans clear out the inventory. Again.

Cheers yo,

- ASTRO stanimal

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With more and more reviewers getting their hands on the A30s, we’re getting nothing but enthusiastic responses. Take a look at some of the recent reviews!

geek.com – Review: Astro Gaming A30 surround sound gaming headset

“The Astro A30 is an impressive audio system. It takes something that should be simple, but is actually rather complex, and makes it painless.”

Co-Optimus – Astro A30 Headset Review – 5/5

“Actually the first thing you’ll notice is just how well everything is packaged, the presentation will remind you of an Apple product with your product laid to rest in quality boxes and padding.”

“I can honestly say the A30s are the best quality headsets I’ve ever used.”

SFX-360 – Astro A30 Headsets Review

“You can hear everything going on including distant sounds as well as the approaching footsteps of anyone looking for a cheap knife kill. That’s right suckers…I can hear you now!”

360sync – Music To My Ears – Astro A30 Headset Review

“Never one to really delve into the depths of high-performance audio equipment, I never realized how the right headset could single-handedly transform an ordinary gaming session into an experience. The Astro A30′s do just that.”

GamesFocus.ca – ASTRO Gaming A30 Audio System Review

“However, what ASTRO offers here is one of the best audio experiences I have had in the past few years.”

Kombo.com – Feature: Astro A30 Audio Gaming System

“The cool thing is that the A30 is so versatile, it will plug into nearly every device imaginable. I was surprised at how crisp and clear all the sounds came through, and this was even before I plugged in the MixAmp.”

Don’t forget to look at the different editions of the A30s available since it’s launch. Click here to see the A30 Audio Systems and here for the A30 Headsets!

- ASTRO stanimal