It can be difficult not to whip up a furore when reporting on certain things, especially when we’re getting all speculative about “coulds” and “woulds”. There was quite a furore over Logitech’s recent talk of a “forever mouse”, which was a speculative idea but an understandably concerning one for many gamers, myself included. The concern was that such a “forever mouse” would actually mean a mouse with a subscription.
Now, in seeming response to public and media backlash, Logitech has told The Verge that “there are no plans for a subscription mouse,” and “the mouse mentioned is not an actual or planned product but a peek into provocative internal thinking on future possibilities for more sustainable consumer electronics.”
It’s certainly good news that gamers’ concerns are being recognised and, if there were any doubts, it’s a relief to hear that there’s no imminent subscription mouse on the cards. However, “no plans” right now doesn’t necessarily mean there never will be.
What Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber’s original words made clear, when she said that the “forever mouse” is “one of the things we’d like to get to,” is that Logitech is toying with the idea of a mouse that you never throw away. In fact, it seems like there’s already a prototype for one, even if that’s purely a concept prototype, because Faber also said, “one of our team members showed me a forever mouse with the comparison to a watch,” and that this mouse was “a little heavier, it had great software and services that you’d constantly update, and it was beautiful.”
We know a “forever mouse” likely won’t come for free, which is why The Verge asked about a possible subscription model when it was mentioned. Faber’s original response to whether they can envision a subscription mouse was “possibly,” and nothing about the latest response changes this.
The concern was never over definite plans for a subscription mouse but over the possibility that toying with the idea of a forever mouse could entail such a subscription model. A possibility, it seems, we can rest assured is not on the cards just yet. It seems like Logitech’s latest words on the issue don’t take anything Faber said back, but they reassure anyone who was worried about any imminent plans for a subscription mouse.
So, perhaps the battle against subscription peripherals is something not so much to shelve, but to put a pin in.
