Antivirus just for gamers

Symantec today released Norton AntiVirus 2009 Gaming Edition, an antivirus utility designed specifically not to bother gamers while they, err, game. The "Gamer Mode" suspends updates, alerts, and other background activities when you’re in the middle of a game. It is automatically enabled when the system is in full screen mode (and can also be manually enabled). Resource-intensive actions such as a system scan only occur when the computer is idle. Furthermore, Symantec claims that the software is a performance-driven release, but then again, the normal NAV2009 is as well (as we've seen in a recent performance test). Rowan Trollope, senior vice president of consumer products at Symantec gave the following explanation for the product release:

Gamers are an extremely demanding audience that simply won’t tolerate anything on their system that detracts from gameplay. Norton AntiVirus Gaming Edition keeps gamers protected online and runs perfectly undetected in the background, meaning no interruptions, no pop-ups, and with the same award winning zero-impact performance of our 2009 products.



Great, now can we get a Non-Gaming Edition please? Better yet, why can't NAV2009 simply include a "Gamer Mode"? When anyone is in full-screen mode (gaming, watching a video, or intensive graphic design), they don't want an antivirus bothering them; this isn't a feature that only hard-core gamers desire. Obviously Symantec is trying to make the choice for gamers easy by being the first major security company to offer a gaming antivirus. However, the security giant would do much better to forget the Gaming Edition and focus on giving everyone these extra options right out of the box.



NAV2009 Gaming Edition is now available in the US exclusively on the Symantec online store for $39.99USD, the same price as the original NAV2009.