One of the more interesting stands at Multiplay i46 was the Cooler Master one. Not only did they have a clever ball-throwing-challenge for serious prizes, they also had a huge range of gaming peripherals on show and, without doubt, one of the most gorgeous overclocked systems we've seen. KitGuru sets the cameras to pixellate.
While a lot of companies have huge ups and downs in the chassis/PSU/cooler business, Cooler Master has enjoyed a sustained period of solid sales. Sure, right now, the mix might be a little chassis-heavy, but overall the various parts of the business are doing well. The only thing it's missing is, perhaps, a tweak to its cooling solutions.
Then there's CM Storm, the serious gaming side of the company. At Multiplay i46, we had a chance to catch up with Cooler Master's marketing guru, Gert Rutjens, for a quick overview of the market.
“Customers in the gaming market are becoming so advanced in terms of their tastes and preferences”, Gert explained. “Go back 10 years or so and only a handful of people would know what kind of switching mechanism they wanted inside their keyboard”.
“These days, almost every gamer has a preference”, he said. “That increase in knowledge means you need to get your products spot on. You can't have any weaknesses”.
We asked, and Gert confirmed, that sales of CM Storm gaming gear are going really well in the UK right now. Phew, that could have been awkward.
While the rows of gaming gear options were interesting – and the competition to throw soft balls into holes left by popping the front panels off 5.25″ bays was interesting enough, the key focus on the stand was a mega-machine built by OC Guru and leader of the famous benchtec team, Paul Watkinson. We're not sure if the shots sent in by our operative will do the Beast justice, but we can at least try.
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KitGuru says: Cooler Master have been producing high quality, affordable, attractive cases, power supplies and gaming accessories for many years now – and show no signs of slowing down. The Paul Watkinson creation on the stand for Multiplay i46 was inspired. Same for the highly popular ‘throw balls in the open 5.25″ bays' game. Just not sure about all the red-headed guys.
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