Introducing: The Microsoft Sidewinder Mouse
Sidewinder was a brand name that Microsoft used back in the nineties for a series of joysticks and gamepads that I believe everyone owned at one time or another (except you youngins). It was a strong, healthy brand that eventually was left behind to pursue more consoley endeavors. Kevin Flick is from part of the team that decided to blow the dust off that brand and bring it back... in the form of a tank. Sidewinder is re-entering the market with a very aggressive stance and some very outlandish improvements on the standard mouse. Here it is, your very first picture of the Sidewinder Mouse.


As you can see, this mouse means business with very sharp cuts and no holds barred - it truly makes a statement right of the box. Let me get into design mode. In a aesthetics standpoint alone, this mouse is unsure if it's ugly or pretty I believe that most are going to love or hate the way it looks. The side buttons alone made me cringe upon first glance. The biggest thing I have emphasized since my first mouse review on this site was not only the standard of 5 buttons, but that the side buttons should be large, easy to get to, and provide a solid click once depressed. Looking at the Sidewinder, you will see that the side buttons are two small silver buttons on the side of the mouse, but on TOP OF EACHOTHER. WHAT!? I mean I don’t intend to affect entire industries while working at FPSLabs, but I do think that companies should read around to see what the majority of the press and community have said forever. They had it perfect with the IME 3.0, what the hell are they doing? Well... it turns out they’re smart, and I, rockstar, am... this is hard to say… wrong. Kevin explains it best:

“We had looked at the mice in gaming today, and while they have worked it is all small tweaks to what is essentially a productivity mouse. That’s where the side buttons come from and its designed a bit differently. For example, your thumb resides on one of the side buttons and if you need to press the other, it takes movement and effort that should be a much easier mode of operation. By taking the side buttons and stacking them on top of each other, we were able to not only have our thumb on both buttons, but have a faster ability to press either one as we so choose without accidental presses to the other. While an extreme new approach, it is one we believe gamers will fully appreciate.”

After playing Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Source, and Quake, I would have to agree. Side by side the IME 3.0, the DeathAdder, Logitech MX518, and the Sidewinder each had different feels and to each their own, but the Sidewinder was my preference in terms of side buttons. If you have large, masculine hands, the buttons will sit on the pad or the join of your thumb, and if you have small hands it will sit near the tip of the thumb. Either way the buttons are highly accessible and positioned much better not only for speed, but for those with all kinds of freakish hands.