The GDC's not just about games you know. It's also about "gaming specific" accessories. Now, what could these accessories be? They could range the gamut from shirts, to chairs, to food (at least we think so), and of course, sound systems.

Of course, not everything that's branded as "gaming specific" is actually that. Most of the time, they're just the same old generic stuff with a new paintjob or edgier packaging or something, and that usually pisses true gamers off. That's why Etymotics, a longstanding manufacturer of high-end audiophile earbuds, decided to go another route for their new E.D.G.E. line of gaming earbuds.

In order to actually be able to flaunt their new sonic gaming solution, Etymotics actually went and built a small FPS-style game that challenged players to look for the source of various noises that they heard in a large environment. After eight whole weeks of testing, the testers, on average, shortened their completion times in the testing game by more than 30% and attested to the advantage provided by the E.D.G.E. earbuds.

  

The driving force behind the E.D.G.E. earbuds is, according to IGN, the particularly neutral audio character of the E.D.G.E. drivers. The E.D.G.E. line will be tailored to produce the cleanest audio possible according to Etymotics representatives by not having any of a generic music earbud's built-in bass-boosting feature. IGN says that the clean audio from the E.D.G.E. line will allow players to hear "exactly what the designers intended and gain an advantage in spatial awareness."

Etymotics will be launching their E.D.G.E. line soon and will initially have two options at different pricing levels. Keep checking back here at QJ for more details as they surface.