Gamers who enjoy niche genres are both blessed and cursed when it comes to peripherals.

On the one hand, they have to fork out truckloads of money for peripherals that can’t be used for a wide variety of games. On the other, they are presented with a far more immersive experience than your average FPS or RPG gamer.

Not convinced? Find someone with a full racing system setup, complete with racing wheel, pedals, stick shifter, racing seat, and audio system. Dedicate a few hours to gaming on that system, then go back to a keyboard or gamepad and see how the experience pales in comparison. The same can be said for flight sim enthusiasts or those who play old school arcade games with a joystick.

So what should FPS and RPG players do? Well making gun or sword peripherals would be impractical, and designing an interface that allowed these peripherals to interact seamlessly and do a better job of immersing you in the game world than the typical keyboard and mouse while keeping the price reasonable would be beyond difficult.

Rather than creating a new class of gaming peripherals, I think the answer lies in manipulating the current standard keyboard and designing something specifically for FPS, RPG and to an extent, RTS gamers.

Oh wait, that’s already been done, what I’m describing is called a gamepad.

Razer does the Nostromo, Logitech does the G13, and SteelSeries does the Merc Stealth. With the exception of the latter, these devices are separate, dedicated keypads that are meant for the sole use of gaming.

Razer Nostromo

Let’s start with the Nostromo. It’s built to be comfortable, thanks to the custom hand grip and key layout on the device. Rather than adapting to a keyboard layout, gamers get the chance to experience a peripheral that was designed for them from the ground up. A side thumb button and d-pad take their inspiration from dedicated gaming mouses, and the 15 programmable buttons are all easy to setup and use during extended gaming sessions.

The kicker? Its priced to compete with mid range keyboards, and arguably offers a more immersive experience. It’s also small, meaning it can sit next to the standard office keyboard during the hours where you use your computer for work without being too obtrusive.

Logitech G13

The G13 is much like the Nostromo in that it functions as a dedicated gaming peripheral. Built for comfort, with a wide variety of programmable keys, the G13 also features an onboard screen that can display a wealth of information depending on your specific needs.

Now as a consumer that enjoyed the G keys and screen on the G510 but found it horrible for typing, the G13 gives me what I want out of a gaming device while I can make use of an office keyboard that will provide a superior typing experience. Neat, isn’t it?

SteelSeries Merc Stealth

Lastly, the Merc Stealth. Different to the previous two gamepads in that it is actually a full keyboard, the Merc Stealth takes the concept of a gamepad, and combines it with a keyboard for an all in one device. This way gamers are presented with a dedicated gaming section as well as a regular keyboard for normal PC tasks; you don’t have to go around provisioning for two peripherals wherever you setup.

While gamepads might not be as creative as motion capture control (which is flawed as it lacks any sort of feedback), neural impulse actuation (which requires you to twitch your face to play games) or mind control (which requires all gamers undergo extensive “development” in a cold war era bunker somewhere in Russia), they do seem to address the needs of near future.

What are your favourite gaming keypad peripherals? Let us know in the comments below and on the MyGaming forum.