Germany has given society a great many things, including Tom’s Hardware Guide of course. But a German company’s recent contribution to gaming is a little dubious: it’s called FpsBrain, and it’s a pill designed to enhance your gaming performance.
Germany company Tomarni recently introduced FpsBrain, which it says was designed to “cater to the growing demand for performance improvement in electronic sports.” Simply put, FpsBrain may be the world’s first performance-enhancing drug – or dietary supplement, if you feel more comfortable with that term – for professional and competitive gaming. Tormani claims (with a “110% money back guarantee”) that FpsBrain will enhance players’ reaction time and concentration without causing shaky hands, caffeine jitters and other side effects typically attributed to energy drinks such as Red Bull or Monster. Of course, the pills take about 60 minutes to start working, so be sure to pop them before you take off your warm-ups for that big LAN party competition.
FpsBrain comes in sealed bottle with 60 pills, and Tomarni recommends taking two pills a day. According to the company, the pills are not mentally or physically addictive and only server to facilitate communication between brain cells while increasing the brain’s absorption of oxygen. The company claims that the product was tested by experienced PC gamers and is currently being used by unnamed profession gamers.
So what exactly is in these magic pills? Here’s a list from the FpsBrain Web site:
1. L-glutamine 100.00 mg
2. L-tyrosine 100.00 mg
3. Betaine 50.00 mg
4. Vitamin C 75.00 mg
5. Vitamin E 10.00 mg
6. Niacin amide 18.00 mg
7. Selenium 30.00 mcg (microgram)
8. Calcium pantothenate 6.00 mg
9. Vitamin B6 2.00 mg
10. Vitamin B2 1.60 mg
11. Vitamin B1 1.40 mg
12. Vitamin B12 1.00 mcg
13. Folic acid 200.00 mcg
14. Biotin 150.00 mcg
15. Caffeine 5.00 mg
16. Soy lecithin 250.00 mg
Looking at the ingredients list, all you’re really getting with FpsBrain is a lot of the same stuff you would get if you drank a sugar-free energy drink with one of your daily vitamins. I guess it’s better than ingesting black market Ritalin or Meth, which have been rumored to be prevalent at major LAN party competitions and even some profession gaming tournaments. In fact, the Cyberathlete Professional League revised its terms and conditions for participating players to include consent for potential drug testing. It’s unknown whether illegal narcotics and prescription drugs – or products like FpsBrain for that matter – can enhance your gaming skills.
Currently, FpsBrain is only available in Europe (I guess the FDA here in the States hasn’t had a chance to get their game on). One bottle of 60 pills goes for 19.90 EUR, or around $30.
Comments (10)
Hmmpf... weird.
Next: Cybernetic Organisms that enhance your ability to create sperm cells.
Posted by Mike from NY | January 18, 2008 11:20 PM
Posted on January 18, 2008 23:20
Saweeet....this will help me focus on my intense 14hr pr0n sessions...
Posted by Dennis | January 18, 2008 11:48 PM
Posted on January 18, 2008 23:48
The list of ingredients is a bunch of vitamins, all rather cheap to buy. The last item is effectively a filler to bulk up the pills. A bowl of muesli would provide a broader vitamin intake.
Out of that list, only the caffeine has been shown to be
performance enhancing, however the daily dose of 2 pills amounts to ~1/6th of a cup of instant coffee, or ~1/10 of a short black.
To get a mild performance hit from coffee, you need to abstain for some 3 months, then have a couple cups of coffee. Much cheaper & more fun than pills. Although i couldn't cope with 3 months without coffee...
Posted by Arthur Gruzauskas | January 19, 2008 12:42 AM
Posted on January 19, 2008 00:42
Mr. Gruzauskas has hit the nail on the head. I am glad there is somebody on the web that still calls a spade a spade.
Posted by oldhand | January 19, 2008 1:35 AM
Posted on January 19, 2008 01:35
Hmm, Well, this is rather stupid imo. Popping pills for increased reaction time, etc?
Wow, its only Gaming.. Its not like it requires much from the body.. Just some brain processing, no hardcore physical movements i mean..
This is stupid, seriously, im gonna throw together some vitamins and call it "pills that make ur life better, guarenteed or money back" and people will take it, and they will assume its working because they will begin to think positive, thinking every little happy thing that happens, is a result of the pills.
Flawless..
Posted by michael | January 19, 2008 3:32 AM
Posted on January 19, 2008 03:32
Actually he didn't hit the nail on the head. Caffiene is only a small part of this formula, basically this has two active ingredients. You overlooked glutomine and tyrosine both of which are 100mg per.
glutomine is an amino acid used in alot of dietary supplements, tyrosine is another amino acid that I havent heard of before. So I did some research.
A number of studies have found tyrosine to be useful during conditions of stress, cold, fatigue, prolonged work and sleep deprivation, with reductions in stress hormone levels, reductions in stress-induced weight loss seen in animal trials, improvements in cognitive and physical performance seen in human trials.
Tyrosine does not seem to have any significant effect on mood, cognitive or physical performance in normal circumstances.
Posted by Justin | January 19, 2008 5:51 PM
Posted on January 19, 2008 17:51
to comment on Michaels comment:
This is stupid, seriously, im gonna throw together some vitamins and call it "pills that make ur life better, guarenteed or money back" and people will take it, and they will assume its working because they will begin to think positive, thinking every little happy thing that happens, is a result of the pills.
Churches have already figured out this marketing scheme so you missed the bus dood. It's called jesus.
gg
Posted by alex | January 19, 2008 8:28 PM
Posted on January 19, 2008 20:28
"Churches have already figured out this marketing scheme so you missed the bus dood. It's called jesus."
Snap.
Posted by michael | January 20, 2008 9:30 AM
Posted on January 20, 2008 09:30
Just another way to make your hard earned money disappear. Kinda like those worthless energy drinks that are nothing more than sugar and caffeine. But as P.T. Barnum said "There's a sucker born every minute"
It is obvious that humans are not evolving because we are duped as easily now as we ever were. Science used to make a buck. Sad indeed.
Posted by unclesharkey | January 21, 2008 7:39 PM
Posted on January 21, 2008 19:39
I have an idea. Its a vapor cycle machine for extra coling of a gamers brain. As the brain heats up the machine kicks on an super cools it. This way the gamer can take a whole bottle of these pills. Never mind what it stess if you can just make it go faster.
Posted by DaMFH | January 22, 2008 6:30 PM
Posted on January 22, 2008 18:30