GameBall is the first trackball mouse developed specifically for the computer gamer. Many gamers prefer the control, precision and comfort offered by a trackball mouse but find their device choices very limited. The market is flooded with gaming mice, but no trackball with the features, functions, and form wanted by today’s gamers. GameBall is the answer. www.gamingtrackball.com
I just ordered the Gameball Thumb. I have hyper mobility in my fingers and it’s starting to hurt 15-20 mins into gaming with a regular mouse. I really hope this helps! It could be such a great tool for people with things like EDS and other mobility/pain related conditions.
What puzzles me is... Manufactured in the UK? Who in their right would look around the world with the options, and go hmmm. yes.. The UK is where I'd like to build my product. China can do literally anything the UK can do, and then some, and some more, and they can do it faster and for a fraction of the cost. So that aspect is very confusing to me. Must be ideology because it sure as heck isn't logic.
When we first started we teamed up with a company is the UK who has been making trackballs for a very long time. We wanted to get it right and they were excellent. Yes, the price to manufacture there is very high. So, we have moved some of our newer products to China. The biggest thing was we were new and didn't want to risk it with China.
I just bought one. I wish it had more on board storage. On my home computers, it's mostly inconvenient, mostly. I can slap a custom conf into etc X11 xorg d conf. That is after going through the pain in the butt process of finding the button codes using xev and all that. But once I have the file I can slap it in any non Wayland set up and it works. Unfortunately that's not a choice for my Windows computer at work. Point is, I would have gladly paid a little more for onboard storage using USEVIA or QMK than all the technobabble junk above. Anyhow I am looking forward to it. I haven't used a thumb ball since my old Logitech Trackman. Switched to pointer finger. Took a bit of getting used to it, but now it feels right brian, it feels right. But this looks great and for 60ish dollars, tough to argue with that.
Nose grease! Ha ha! When I had my first job fresh out of engineering school, one of the senior engineers told me about this. I came here because I was having a problem with the ball feeling like the static friction was getting pretty high -- resulting in me having trouble with precision movements. Anyway, thanks for the video, well done.
Had the gameball since launch, its good. One suggestion is to make the USB C charging port a bit wider to accommodate other USB C cables as the only one that works well is the one that came with it. All the other "standard" USB C cables I have will not insert.
it seems to be looking similar to the neula's? As someone who returned that mouse, please please please make the down press for thumb button really easy and light to hit. The neula's down press is insanely stiff, and requires you to squeeze press even though they have it arch'd for the thumb to press it in the down press position. The original gameball is really well designed for the thumb to press down (though, I do wish that switch was lighter as well) but its leaps and bounds more ergo than neula's. just some feedback from someone who loves the gameball, and wants it to get even better!
This mouse would be almost perfect if we had software to remap the buttons (for example we don't need the dpi/rgb buttons on mouse, and should be use for something else game related), make any changes to dpi and polling (refresh rate), rgb settings, etc. and load them to a memmory module on the device itself (with 2 or more profiles) -- that's the main thing missing at this point to make this a great gaming mouse. For example, without internal memmory profiles, gaming services like Geforce Now will not pick up any mouse mappings, no matter what mapping software you choose on the computer. I recently ended up purchasing this dispite these flaws due to the precision -- polling rate 1000hz and dpi flexablity (not too many thumb trackball mouse have this feature). For example, if you've ever used a Logitech thumball, you'll know gaming with it is like swimming in mud -- the refresh rate and dpi are way too low to game with them. l haven't received it yet, so it's yet to be seen how great the mouse actually is in use. For a gaming mouse, it's almost manditory for profiles to be located on device -- and this is it's big flaw. If the acceleration is not great without the software (because I'm cannot use software with Geforce Now, then I'll return it).
just got my gameball thumb, im a geometry dash player (geometry dash is a game that requires high polling rate devices because geometry dash requires quick reaction time) and this is so much better than my old logitech trackball
Hi Eric, my Logitech TrackMan Marble finally gave up the ghost after about 18 years of service, I believe I'll keep it forever, so many memories lol. Anyways, I was in a panic when I suddenly realized that it was no longer being made. So, after a couple of days of searching, I finally came across your Gameball being feature in some RU-vid reviews, well, I was excited to give it a try. What a fantastic piece of gear you have created, I've been using it for about an hour now and it's already like home to me. With the superior build quality and increased accuracy, as well as the added functionality is a true blessing for me as I mix/edit music for a living. Part time gamer as well. Anyways, thank you for you efforts towards advancing the trackball world. It's so good, I almost want to buy another one, you know just in case. Can't wait to see the Gameball Pro. Thanks again Eric.
Finally just starting using my Gameball Thumb, loved the limited edition model. I come from years of using Logitech Trackballs, and burning thru them due to buttons losing sensitivity, my last one is still running good, my ERGO EX model, but I wanted to break open my Gameball. Is it just normal that the RGB around the ball doesn't stay on while you're actively moving the curser?
I've been using a trackball for over 15 years. It drives people nuts the first time anyone uses them, like learning to ride a bike for the first time. I prefer trackballs because the unit stays stationary and it's easier on the arm. Used Logitech for years but lately I've been using the ELECOM EX-G for the extra buttons. I'd love to try yours out sometime. For gaming, the one thing that trackballs have over mice is it's much easier to circle any opponent and keep them center focused. BTW- As a fellow gamer a bit older, have you tried playing Star Citizen?
Hello Eric (sincerely apologize if it is Erik)! I am very much inspired by your work and have a plan I am starting to work on regarding gaming mice myself. I was wondering if you happen to have a Discord server or a similar chatroom for Gameball enthusiasts to gather and where we could possibly exchange a word or two? Thanks! Regards, Kalle
I hope on the next Gameball we can set just 1 color light. The current setup, I keep hitting the switch and changing my color. It's a pain to cycle through the colors to get the one I want.
Got this today and it's great. Some people have swapped the back button and left click which I did initially but now I've gone back to the default. I found that if you move your hand back a bit and lay the thumb along the lower button, it makes sense. The only issue I would say I have with this is the scroll pad - it's too easy to accidentally scroll because it's natural to rest the index finger on it. But I guess this is part of the learning curve. Have only been using it for a short while and think it is potentially better than my old Logitech Marble Mouse which is now discontinued for some idiotic reason.
Hello, I ordered from Korea and I'm really looking forward to how the gamball will look in my hands. I saw news of the pro model before I ordered it, but I wanted to try the original. I'm also looking forward to the pro model!
Question, how much does the precision button lower your sensitivity by (I believe OG gameball is 1/3 your sensitivity)? And, if I use a higher dpi with the precision mode activated to get my best sensitivity (I did this on OG gameball with 3000 dpi and kept precision mode on for 1000dpi), is this exactly like changing the DPI itself, or will it take the high DPI data, and then do the math to calculate the new speed, theorietically causing increased movement latency or other pixel precision issues when compared to just running a native dpi without precision mode active? (Hope I worded that question well enough lol) :)
I want one handheld (like the Elecom Relacon), wireless, 1000hz polling. Ideally you could design a desktop docking station that both charges it and converts the form factor to conventional non-handheld flat-surface use.
i absolutely love the OG GameBall for my day-to-day mouse/trackball for MacOS and use it with Smooze Pro. I ordered the GameBall Thumb as i generally prefer thumb-based trackball. Once the Pro GameBall comes out i will also get one because I want to support the company.
Just got my 2nd Gameball for home. THANK YOU I'm hoping in the future that the Pro will come with similar scroll options instead of a scroll wheel. 🤓🤓🤓
Hi. Great video, good product presentation. The competition could learn. Instead of releasing a noisy flashing advertisement that says nothing to potential customers, here we have a product that we can look at calmly and almost "feel". Now a bit of historical background, from what I once read, the trackball was originally the first pointing device, only later some "genius" from the Xerox laboratories decided to turn the device over and scrape the ball on the table. As for me, as an engineer and CAD user, I switched to trackballs a long time ago. I struggled with wrist pain after working with a mouse 10-12 hours a day, scrubbing dozens of kilometers on the table every year. Changing the device to another (professional) mouse didn't change much. I tested devices with an ergonomic grip and a classic one. Even customizable gaming devices. Finally switching to a trackball and a gel wrist pad solved the problem. No more pain. Now, after using trackballs for over 15 years, I can't imagine switching to a mouse again. During this time I went through several devices, I had those with a central ball and those operated with the thumb. I like the second one much more. Especially since they are really nice to use for casual gaming. Of course, this is my personal opinion, and it should be noted that I am not a professional player. However, here we have a trackball that was created for gaming, great! Currently, I am riding the top model (MX) of a device from a company with the "L" logo, to which the presented device is similar in appearance. Latelly in my device, during precise movements (without turning on the precise mode), resistance is felt at the contact of the ball (manipulator) with the balls on which it rests. Probably after the last 3 years of operation, the supporting balls has worn out (I have already replaced the manipulator ball). Surprisingly, a bit of speed-cubing lubricant helps quite well, but makes the ball little bit oily. My device also lacks the ability to change the manipulator's scanning speed via the optical sensor (dpi). In theory, increasing the dpi on your device and reducing the pointer speed in the system settings should result in super smooth pointer movement. The time to switch to a new device is approaching inexorably. I will take GameBall Thumb under consideration, thats for sure and i'll like to test it out as soon as your device goes on sale in the EU. P.S. For those that are afraid of switching to a trackaball. Last summer (2023)I bought each of my brothers (triple) a trackball (identical to mine) for their 30th birthday, and after using the thumb trackball for one day, they completely switched to it from the mouse. Regards.
I am enjoying mine and really like it when set up via wired. One thing I'm missing is, I really would love a rubber base to raise the angle even higher, like what came with the MX Ergo originally. I'd pay for such an accessory! (I use the one that came with my MX Ergo, but it doesn't fit well and needs adjustment every 10-15 minutes)
Question: I had to break out the MS Trackball because I'm waiting for my 2nd Gameball to arrive and the 1st one is now at work. I noticed that the MS Trackball doesn't need a precision button and works better with no added software or button. I'm wondering if you have any ideas what MS Trackball has?
Got my Gameball thumb and its awesome but the regular gameball is more consistently smoother. Couldn't tell ya why, maybe the difference in the ball's orientation. The smootheness of the Thumb is right on par with the $99 Logitech MC Ergo, only, without the 100% guarantee of the buttons no longer work after 6 months you get when you buy the MXErgo. So to the Thumb os definitely worth it for the price. But as far as gaming goes the little bit better smootheness makes me choose the regular Gameball
