Gamer Grub: Performance Snack Food?
If Keith Mullin has his way, we might soon see a sixth food group in the USDA’s Food Pyramid: Cognitive Performance Snacks. Mullin calls his invention "Gamer Grub" and maintains that it is “formulated to boost your brain and speed reaction times.”
Gamer Grub will be available in four flavors considered to be popular with gamers ("Strategy Chocolate," "Action Pizza," "Racing Wasabi," and "Sports PB&J" (that’s peanut butter and jelly to the uninitiated), but two features will set this snack apart from the chips, pizza, popcorn, and similar snack foods on which gamers are known to subsist: a proprietary mix of vitamins and other supplements, and a unique “delivery system” that will enable one to consume the product in the midst of gaming without leaving one’s fingers, keyboard, and mouse slick with grease.
The delivery system comes in the form of flip-top lid on top of an ergonomically shaped plastic container that is easily gripped with one hand. The supplements range from Vitamin A (for improved eyesight) to Magnesium (for the maintenance of muscle and nerve functions) to Choline (for muscle reactions). While the Gamer Grub website seems to make these claims in a tongue-cheek-fashion, it also provides citations to scholarly research to back its nutritional claims.
Mullin, a sometime gamer himself, originally developed the Gamer Grub concept for a General Mills’ snack inventors’ contest. The cereal-maker declared Mullin’s entry a winner, but ultimately decided against manufacturing the product; so Mullin decided to develop it himself. This is not his first invention.
“I work in product development,” Mullin told us when we contacted him this morning. “I’ve invented and licensed several toy products, and I invented a pet toy called the Bark-N-Bat. This is the first time I’ve done a food product, and it’s definitely exciting.”
Mullin describes Gamer Grub as a “functional food,” a concept he says he did not invent (here’s Wikipedia’s definition). “Functional food is basically a food product that enhances a lifestyle or a health condition,” Mullin said. “It’s a very large food category.” Mullin also advised us not to confuse his product with the category of food supplements. “The difference between a supplement and a natural food,” he said, “is that the FDA generally recognizes the ingredients in a natural food to be safe.”
Gamers attending the “E for All” videogame event in Los Angeles later this week will be able to sample Gamer Grub, and Mullin promised to ship some product directly to us, as well. We’ll let you know what we think of it. Everyone else will have to wait until the product reaches retailers’ shelves some time in 2009. Mullin has not yet settled on a retail price for the product.
Note: This story was updated October 1 with a link to the Gamer Grub website and pricing information.
you want a performance boost drink red bull...
you want to be normal... and not have any weird side affects... don't do anything...
this is so dumb... the funny part is people will buy it... and then when the first game they play they get 2 more kills... they'll be like... omfg... this stuff really works
very funny! i couldn't agree more with you. apparently people never heard of eating healthy such as fruits/vegetables/grains and things like that. if you ate all those things, you wouldn't need to buy this stuff, if you actually do.
i guess it's better than potato chips and your 2 liter of pepsi you're drinking when you're gaming but it's not really something major.
Will it sell? Probably.
I think it might be a smart idea because it will make someone a good a mount of cash, but not because it's something the world really needs.
Like cocoa puffs, it sells,but do we really need to feed kids something that makes them any more hyperactive than they already are?
I mean really... who eats while watching games... a day shouldn't consist of 7 meals... it should consist of 3 major meals and MAYBE 2 snakcs... tops... anything more and your WAY over your 2500 cal limit... some people who are active won't have any issues... but chances are your not as active as you should be and won't be able to burn those cals
Memo to new owners: kill the puff pieces and get back to publishing real hardware reviews.
I can use that word, right? No-one has copyrighted it yet?
Performance food? It is a crock. Yuo get hungry, get your arse up and get something to eat! As for bringing snacks, sometimes just a plate of cheese and crackers is enough. Cheese-its? Fine. So long as you do what others have said (eat right) you do not need suppliments WHIEL GAMING to improve your performance.
Hell, I find a good beer works well.
Its the 3rd-5th that kill ya!
For more information why we hate you: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/10/3/