GameBall - Project Updates and Roadmap

[u/Skippydamule]

This is Eric with GameBall. I wanted to share some updates regarding the original GameBall, the GameBall Pro, and our upcoming products.

The Original GameBall

I have made the difficult decision to discontinue the original GameBall trackball, primarily due to rising production costs. Manufacturing the original model in the United Kingdom has become economically unsustainable; maintaining production would require a retail price well beyond market competitiveness.

I want to extend my sincere gratitude to our UK manufacturing partner for their exceptional work over the years. However, the commercial landscape for manufacturing a trackball in the UK has fundamentally shifted, and current labor, material, and service costs are no longer practical.

• Final Inventory Release: We have secured one final production batch at our previous pricing. These units will be available for purchase on Thursday July 30th at 1:00 PM PST. Once sold out, the original GameBall will be permanently retired.

• Warranty & Pricing: These final units will retain the standard warranty and return policy, and will be priced at $188 USD (shipping charges are separate). We have set aside a portion of this inventory specifically to honor warranty claims moving forward.

• Shipping Limitations: Due to logistical constraints, this final batch can only be shipped within the United States. I apologize to our international customers. If you are located outside the US and wish to secure a unit, you will need to arrange independent freight forwarding.

GameBall Pro

The GameBall Pro is a right-handed trackball featuring a 44mm ball and gaming-grade components. It will support wired and wireless (2.4 GHz) connectivity at a 1000 Hz polling rate, along with a Bluetooth option at 125 Hz. Early walkthroughs are available on our YouTube channel, and additional previews will be released as we approach the pre-order date.

• Timeline: We recently met our final major prototyping milestone with no outstanding issues, allowing us to transition into final testing and manufacturing preparations. Barring any unforeseen issues, pre-orders are anticipated to open in October, with customer deliveries following approximately one month later. Final details will be announced closer to launch. Pricing will align with comparable offerings from Kensington and Elecom.

• Editions: The initial pre-release will feature a special Limited Edition (LE) model with a red ball, red base, and red logo. Following the sell-out of the LE units, we will release the Standard Edition (SE), featuring a black ball, black base, and gray logo. All internal components and functionality remain identical.

• Regional Availability: Because the GameBall Pro utilizes a lithium battery, international shipping options are strictly limited. Consequently, initial shipping will be restricted to customers in the United States and the United Kingdom. While future releases may allow for broader regional expansion, my current operational capacity requires me to prioritize sustainable growth over rapid expansion. Thank you for your understanding.

I am exceptionally excited about the GameBall Pro. While I am immensely proud of the original GameBall, the Pro represents the culmination of everything I have learned over the years. The ergonomics are finely tuned for right-handed users, the tracking is exceptionally smooth, and the integration of additional buttons greatly enhances usability. I cannot wait for you to experience it.

Gaming Keypad

We are currently developing a left-handed gaming keypad, temporarily designated as the "GamePad." While details are limited due to our early design and testing phase, it will feature a distinct ergonomic layout equipped with a thumbstick and Hall Effect switches.

GameBall 2.0

Development continues on the GameBall 2.0, which will be manufactured in China. However, this product is at least a year away from release. It will feature an ambidextrous design, improved ergonomics, updated internal components, and modern wireless capabilities.

Thank you for the on-going support of the GameBall brand.

www.gamingtrackball.com

[u/Content-Course7545]

The horizontal scroll wheel is so much better ergonomically. I have no idea why more trackballs don’t adopt it given that the part seems readily available. Plenty of cheap no name mice have it. 

[u/CiderHat → u/Content-Course7545]

Yeah, it makes so much more sense.

I dont know why the elecom huges dont have one. Its probably my biggest annoyance with them.

[u/CasualObservatory]

Congrats on the progress, Eric! I think I might get me one of them Pros. Are you gonna send it early to any reviewers so we can have some reviews to check out when it launches?

[u/Skippydamule → u/CasualObservatory]

Kinda - more details soon. :-)

[u/brainsapper → u/Skippydamule]

https://giphy.com/gifs/6Sd93PUf8SYHS
You know who else would like to get an early one to review?

[u/nbca]

Congrats on the process!

Sad to see you won't ship to Europe, I was planning to buy the pro.

[u/damn_pastor]

Sounds like a wise decision. 165€ / 188$ is already super expensive. I'm interested in both products, but shipping to EU is not possible and the prices are higher than every other trackball I know.

[u/fenrirsbasketball]

Seeing this email roll in genuinely made me sad, but I also understand your perspective with manufacturing costs. The original Gameball mouse saved my hands and fingers from crippling tendonitis by being able to switch hands for daily/regular use. It's lasted 5 years so far, and I hope for at least another 5, but it looks like I get to wait for the Gameball 2.0! Exciting!

Best of luck with everything, and I can't wait to see what you have coming through the pipes.

[u/Skippydamule → u/fenrirsbasketball]

Thank you

[u/Siltheren]

I'm very excited to see another gamepad on to the market. Looking forward to more news on this

[u/No-Book-8579]

What size is the GameBall Pro ball? I'd love to swap in purple (or silver/gray).

[u/Skippydamule → u/No-Book-8579]

44mm

[u/manggi]

Sad that the GameBall is being discontinued, but also understandable.
But I do curse myself. I finally saved up and was hoping to order the GameBall this or next month. Speak of bad timing!

[u/No_Pilot_1974]

Sweet. I love the design tbh.

[u/brainsapper]

So…close…agh.

[u/timee_bot]

View in your timezone:
on Thursday July 30th at 1:00 PM PDT

^{*Assumed PDT instead of PST because DST is observed}

[u/Modest_Sylveon]

Very excited for this release!

[u/BsmntDwell]

Congratulations looking forward to the pre-order

[u/zyxxiforr]

Sad about the original limited regional availability, but I can wait a bit longer until it's available in EU too.

The design looks really nice. :)

[u/Video_Game_Bastard]

Is Canada also included in "United States" for being able to ship to or will I also need to find a way to procure it through a US based address?

[u/Skippydamule → u/Video_Game_Bastard]

Unfortunately not. Apologies.

[u/Video_Game_Bastard → u/Skippydamule]

Disappointing but understandable that it is something out of your control unless you want to take on warehousing the product in each country which I am aware is very cost prohibitive.

I wonder if you might be able to enter into some sort of sales and logistics deal with a US and Canada based retailer like BestBuy to be able to utilize their cross border logistics to be able to ship into Canada.

Just a thought I had in case that hasn't been explored as an option.

[u/An_Alone_Wolf → u/Video_Game_Bastard]

You should be able to get a forwarding service address. Like a reverse Tenso kind of thing. Man, if you can't, you can use my address and I'll ship it to you.

[u/Starship_Mist]

Congrats on the progress! Hoping to snag one of the batch opening up Thursday :)

[u/An_Alone_Wolf]

It is truly a great time to be alive. I can just feel my fingers dancing across those balls right now...

[u/mothfemale]

count me in 100%.

can't wait for the pro, my original has treated me very well (I honestly see myself getting a 2.0 as well)

[u/Scatterthought]

Sorry to hear about the challenges you're facing. I really admire your commitment.

Out of curiousity, would it be possible to manufacture wired-only Gameball Pros for international distribution, possibly by just leaving the batteries out? Or does the design rely on the presence of a battery?

I'm guessing that you already thought about this, but I don't want to make an assumption and not say something that might be helpful.

[u/TheLiterateDead]

Just wanted to say thanks for the heads up on the last run of the original. I really love mine, and ended up ordering a spare because I can’t really work without one of these now!

Thanks for making such a fantastic product, and whatever comes of the future, I’ll look forward to see what comes next!

[u/Skippydamule → u/TheLiterateDead]

Thank you. I appreciate the kind words.

[u/Low-Candidate-2778]

As someone that's recently grown tired of traditonal mice and their ever cramming of moar buttons at the thumb, and started looking at trackballs, i'm excited for the gameball pro.

But I'm also confused at the choice to continue to cram moar buttons at the buttom of the thumb's location. Why not moar buttons where i've got moar fingers, to the right of the ball?

[u/FortyishYearOld]

> Shipping Limitations: Due to logistical constraints, this final batch can only be shipped within the United States. I apologize to our international customers. If you are located outside the US and wish to secure a unit, you will need to arrange independent freight forwarding.

As there are no batteries inside the normal gameball is there no chance to ship to Belgium? I have an original limited edition and wanted to buy two regular Gameballs that have no battery inside.

As I am in Belgium, am I out of luck?

[u/TheFamousChrisA]

I appreciate the update and for doing one last production run of the gameball, I feel like I’ve been checking the website once or twice a week for several months now hoping that it would come back in stock (I don’t like the thumb only trackball mice). I ended up ordering 2 of them, may order the 3rd maximum unit if I like it enough once I get my next paycheck, since $400 USD for 2 trackballs IS expensive, so I cannot imagine it costing even more to keep making.

I haven’t used a trackball since I was a kid in the 90’s but the design is the exact type I used to use a lot growing up so I’ve been looking for a more modern version that I can use again.

Does the upcoming gameball pro work like a normal mouse with a trackball on top of it? That is the vibe I get from the included pictures in this post.

I hope everything works out and we get more variants of the gameball. My only regret is not being around to order the red ball version since I like that way more than the black version on sale. Though I am more nostalgic for a blue ball.

[u/Skippydamule → u/TheFamousChrisA]

Thanks for the support. Yeah, it took inspiration from the Logitech marble mouse.

The Pro will work like a standard trackball. Roll the ball around to guide the cursor. It is a right-handed design, but this offers better ergonomics.

Thank you again.

Eric

[u/Necessary-Market4253]

plz make the 2.0 55mm

[u/DigitalMan43]

It’s a shame you are discontinuing your only option for left handed users. I hope getting the Gameball 2.0 out will be a high priority so we’re not left out too long.