What are gaming peripherals? These are additional equipment to make console and computer video games more accessible, more realistic, and more fun. Consoles have been doing this for years, for example the Nintendo Zapper in the mid-80s, the P5 VR gaming glove, or the underwhelming Virtual Boy. Not all gaming peripherals have been bad, for example, blockbuster games and the peripherals that came with them, like the Dance Dance Revolution and the Guitar Hero Series.
But consoles aren’t the only systems getting into the gaming peripheral act. Mark Ombrellaro, CEO of TN Games, has designed a new product for his company, the 3rd Space FPS Vest, a sophisticated contraption that you wear and allows you to feel the impact of your enemy’s bullets and body shots.
Ombrellaro stated “Once [games] become this real,” he says, “you to know you’re going to want to interact with them and you’re going to want them to interact with you.”
The 3rd Space FPS vest retails for $169, how it works is that it houses eight contact points that are injected with air from a separate compressor. The effects that are produced are the following: point jabs, pulses and throbs that support events in a certain compatible computer game.
Right now, the most compatible game that is coded for Vest is the company’s Incursion and a special edition of Call of Duty 2.
The third FPS Vest has software drivers that provide limited effects to games like “Unreal Tournament 3”, “Crysis” and “Medal of Honor: Airborne” to name a few.
Another PC peripheral on the market is Philips SGC5102BD amBX 2.1 PC Gaming Speaker System Peripherals ProGamer Kit from Phillips Electronics (includes 2 free games) which takes a multi-sensory approach to further immerse the gamer in the game. The system includes two speakers with top-mounted ambient lighting, wall-washer desk fans, and a vibrating wrist. This PC system retails for $300 and can be purchased on Amazon.com.
Games for the amBX PC system include Supreme Commander and Quake 4. The way it works is that the effects emanate from the game: red lights flash on the speakers when your character takes damage, wind from the fans hits your face while you run and the wall behind your monitor glows with colors in tune with the game environment.
People who tried the 3rd Space vest initially liked it. When you first put on the suit, you might feel a little self-conscious, with one player telling us, “I almost fell off the meat after taking my first hit. The contraction in my chest was sharp and surprisingly strong.” The problem became that the sensation for the players became more uncomfortable and felt like a series of muscle spasms.
Phillips amBX PC system looks brighter in the eyes of gamers. The effects that most enhanced player experiences were fans gasping when a character opened a door, or a slight change in the hue of the lighting behind the monitor to complement the environment in a new game scene.
So will gaming soon become like the commercial PlayStation did for the fictional PlayStation 9 to advertise the PlayStation 2? Probably not, but the success of this new generation of games depends as much on careful game design as it does on the new team that goes with it. So if the game design doesn’t freeze with the new gear, the gear will just be scrapped and be another expensive piece of gear to be used as a massive door stop.