Advanced Gravis

Advanced Gravis Computer Technology, Ltd. was a Canadian computer-peripherals and hardware manufacturer founded in British Columbia in 1982. The company became an important supplier of gaming input devices during the expansion of the IBM PC-compatible market and later developed products for PC audio. Its most recognizable products included the Gravis PC GamePad, the black-and-red Gravis Joystick family, and the Gravis UltraSound add-on sound card. Advanced Gravis initially built its reputation around controllers. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, PC gaming was moving beyond keyboard input, while console-style control schemes were becoming increasingly attractive for action, sports, and platform games. Gravis responded with gamepads and joysticks designed for home-computer use, while also developing versions compatible with platforms such as the Nintendo Entertainment System. The four-button Gravis GamePad, introduced in 1991, became one of the company's most visible products and was widely associated with PC gaming of that era. Earlier products such as the MK VI joystick demonstrated the company's focus on ergonomic design, with a pistol-grip form, adjustable tension, and multiple fire buttons. The company subsequently broadened its hardware portfolio. Its Gravis UltraSound sound card competed with Creative Technology's Sound Blaster family and became especially prominent among PC game enthusiasts and users interested in tracker music and higher-quality game audio. Although the sound card was not the only part of the business, it became the product most strongly associated with Advanced Gravis in computer-audio history. The brand's controller range also continued to evolve through products such as the Phoenix, Firebird, and Blackhawk, followed by later USB-era devices including the GamePad Pro USB and Eliminator models. At its peak, Advanced Gravis reportedly employed nearly 300 people, maintained a European office in the Netherlands, and was described as the world's largest manufacturer of computer joysticks and gamepads. The company was acquired by the Kensington Computer Products Group toward the end of 1997. Gravis-branded products continued to appear after the acquisition, and the company's website remained available into the mid-2000s. The brand has since largely disappeared from the active hardware market. A later partnership with Immersion Corporation explored ARC motor-feedback technology for peripherals, showing that the Gravis name remained connected with input-device development after the Kensington acquisition, but this did not restore it as a major independent hardware company.

Advanced Gravis Computer Technology, Ltd. was established in British Columbia, Canada, in 1982 as a manufacturer of computer peripherals and hardware. Its early growth coincided with the increasing popularity of home computers and IBM PC-compatible systems. Rather than concentrating on a single category, the company developed several kinds of accessories, with input devices becoming its most important commercial area. In the 1980s, Advanced Gravis produced joysticks intended for computer games. The MK VI, released in 1986, used a pistol-grip design with tension adjustment and three independent fire buttons. These features reflected the company's emphasis on control ergonomics and configurable game input at a time when many computer joysticks were relatively simple digital devices. The recognizable black Gravis Joystick with red buttons subsequently became a familiar PC accessory. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the company expanded into gamepads. It developed controllers for PC use and products compatible with home-console platforms, including the Nintendo Entertainment System. The four-button Gravis GamePad launched in 1991 and became one of the company's defining products. Its console-like layout helped make it attractive to PC players of action and arcade-style games, and it was widely regarded as an important gaming accessory for the period. Further controller models included the Phoenix in 1994, the Firebird in 1996, and the Blackhawk in 1997. Advanced Gravis also entered PC audio with the Gravis UltraSound add-on sound card. The product competed with the dominant Sound Blaster family and gained a strong following among PC gamers, musicians, and tracker-music users. UltraSound became the company's best-known product in the history of PC audio, even though Advanced Gravis's broader commercial identity remained tied to gaming peripherals. The card's reputation helped the company become visible beyond the controller market and established Gravis as a recognizable name in early multimedia hardware. At its height, Advanced Gravis reportedly had almost 300 employees and operated a European office in the Netherlands. It was described as the world's largest manufacturer of computer joysticks and gamepads. This scale reflected the rapid growth of PC gaming and the increasing demand for dedicated input hardware during the early 1990s. The company was acquired by Kensington Computer Products Group near the end of 1997. The acquisition ended Advanced Gravis's period as an independent company, although the Gravis name and products continued for several years. A 2000 partnership with Immersion Corporation involved ARC motor-feedback technology for peripherals. This system used digital signals over conventional 15-pin analog ports and was intended to improve feedback, button capacity, and axis precision. Later products included USB-compatible devices such as the GamePad Pro USB and the Eliminator series. The Gravis website reportedly remained active into the mid-2000s, but the brand eventually disappeared from the mainstream peripheral market. Its surviving importance is primarily historical: Advanced Gravis helped popularize dedicated PC gamepads, produced a widely recognized joystick family, and created the Gravis UltraSound, a notable alternative to Sound Blaster during the formative period of PC multimedia audio.

• 2001

  GamePad Pro USB extends the brand into USB peripherals

  [1]Advanced Gravisen.wikipedia.org

  The GamePad Pro USB represents the brand's continued presence in later-generation computer-controller hardware.

• 2000

  ARC motor-feedback partnership

  [1]Advanced Gravisen.wikipedia.org

  Advanced Gravis partners with Immersion Corporation to apply ARC motor-feedback technology to peripherals.

• 1997

  Blackhawk controller and Kensington acquisition

  [1]Advanced Gravisen.wikipedia.org

  Advanced Gravis adds the Blackhawk to its product range and is acquired by Kensington Computer Products Group toward the end of the year.

• 1996

  Firebird controller enters the lineup

  [1]Advanced Gravisen.wikipedia.org

  The Firebird becomes another named model in the company's evolving gaming-controller portfolio.

• 1994

  Phoenix controller enters the lineup

  [1]Advanced Gravisen.wikipedia.org

  Advanced Gravis expands its controller range with the Phoenix model.

• 1991

  Four-button Gravis GamePad launches

  [1]Advanced Gravisen.wikipedia.org

  The four-button Gravis GamePad becomes a prominent PC gaming controller and one of the brand's defining products.

• 1986

  MK VI joystick is released

  [1]Advanced Gravisen.wikipedia.org

  The MK VI joystick features a pistol-grip design, adjustable tension, and three independent fire buttons.

• 1982

  Advanced Gravis is founded in British Columbia

  [1]Advanced Gravisen.wikipedia.org

  Advanced Gravis Computer Technology, Ltd. is established in British Columbia, Canada, as a computer-peripherals and hardware manufacturer.

A specialist computer-gaming peripheral and multimedia-hardware brand focused on PC controllers, joysticks, gamepads, and sound cards.

• PC game controller · 1991

  Gravis PC GamePad

  The four-button Gravis GamePad, introduced in 1991, was designed to bring a console-style control layout to IBM PC-compatible computers. It became one of Advanced Gravis's most recognized products and was particularly associated with action, arcade, and other games that were difficult to play with a keyboard or conventional joystick. The product helped establish dedicated gamepads as an important PC accessory.

• Computer joystick

  Gravis Joystick

  The Gravis Joystick family included the company's recognizable black-and-red PC joysticks. These products targeted computer gamers and formed a central part of Advanced Gravis's peripheral business. The family evolved from earlier designs such as the MK VI, which emphasized a pistol grip, adjustable tension, and multiple independent fire buttons.

• PC sound card

  Gravis UltraSound

  Gravis UltraSound was an add-on sound-card line for IBM PC-compatible computers. It competed with Creative Technology's Sound Blaster products and became known among PC gamers and computer-music users for its audio capabilities. The line is the product most closely associated with Advanced Gravis in accounts of early PC multimedia and gaming audio.

• Game controller · 1994

  Phoenix

  Phoenix was a named controller model in Advanced Gravis's mid-1990s product lineup. It formed part of the company's continued expansion and refinement of gaming-input hardware after the success of the original Gravis GamePad.

• Game controller · 1996

  Firebird

  Firebird was a 1996 Advanced Gravis controller model. It extended the brand's range of PC gaming peripherals during a period when dedicated gamepads and joysticks were becoming standard accessories for computer players.

• Game controller · 1997

  Blackhawk

  Blackhawk was introduced in 1997 as part of Advanced Gravis's controller portfolio. It appeared near the end of the company's independent period and reflected the brand's continuing focus on gaming-input devices.

• USB game controller · 2001

  GamePad Pro USB

  GamePad Pro USB was a later Gravis-branded controller designed for computers with USB connectivity. Its release showed the brand's attempt to remain relevant as PC interfaces moved away from traditional analog game ports.

• Gaming peripheral

  Eliminator series

  The Eliminator series was among the later Gravis-branded peripheral products. It extended the company's presence into the post-acquisition and USB-era market before the brand was eventually phased out.

• 2000

  Adopt ARC motor-feedback technologyProduct launch

  Background

  After the Kensington acquisition, Gravis continued to develop computer peripherals as the market moved toward richer feedback and newer interfaces.

  Action taken

  Advanced Gravis partnered with Immersion Corporation to integrate ARC motor-feedback technology into peripherals using digital signals over traditional 15-pin analog ports.

  Aftermath

  The partnership extended the technical scope of Gravis input devices, although the brand later declined and was eventually phased out.

  Source

• 1997

  Sell the company to KensingtonM&A

  Background

  Advanced Gravis had become a substantial international supplier of computer gamepads, joysticks, and multimedia hardware, with a reported workforce approaching 300 employees.

  Action taken

  The company was acquired by Kensington Computer Products Group toward the end of 1997.

  Aftermath

  The Gravis brand continued to be used for a period after the acquisition, including later peripheral products, but eventually disappeared from the active market.

  Source

1. 1Advanced Gravisen.wikipedia.org