Microsoft to Bring Back SideWinder Brand

SideWinder is back.

Microsoft Corp., citing a resurgence in PC gaming, says it will reintroduce the SideWinder brand of gaming peripherals, starting with a new mouse that will be released in October.

The SideWinder name was discontinued four years ago. Microsoft says the decision to come out with a SideWinder mouse was prompted in part by the popularity of its general-purpose IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0 PC mouse among gamers.

It will be the first SideWinder-branded mouse. Previously, the SideWinder line included PC game pads, joysticks and steering wheels. The SideWinder brand was introduced in 1995.

The product line was dropped in 2003 because of the rising popularity of console gaming at the time, said Matt Barlow, director of worldwide marketing and business development in Microsoft's hardware group.

"We saw double-digit declines in these particular businesses around the world," he said. However, in the past 12 months, he said, Microsoft has seen a revival in PC gaming.

	The new SideWinder mouse

The SideWinder mouse, to retail for $79.95, comes with a wider scroll wheel, customizable weight, specially positioned buttons and other features meant to appeal to gamers. It also has a small, built-in LCD screen to display the mouse's DPI setting and help users record macros, small programs that automate specific moves in games.

Barlow declined to talk about specific plans for future SideWinder-branded products, but he said the introduction of the mouse is just the first step in bringing back the name.

Microsoft's renewed interest in gaming hardware was apparent last year, when it introduced a mouse called Habu with gaming peripheral company Razer.

The Microsoft Hardware group is marking its 25th anniversary this year. An anomaly within the software company, the group competes with companies such as Logitech.

Apart from making mice, keyboards and other peripherals, the group has contributed to projects such as Microsoft's Xbox video-game console and Surface tabletop computer. Tom Gibbons, Microsoft corporate vice president of specialized devices and applications, said the hardware unit has been profitable since its inception.