Ambi-gaming

The ShinyShiny ladies are also at CES (which is in the Venetian, in Vegas, probably one of my all-time favourite krazy hotels), and have this post up on Phillips' curious Ambi-Gaming offering.

The idea is that you get a totally immersive experience when you're playing games, courtesy of lights, fans, rumble packs and serious speakers.

Fans! Also, I love this, the wrist-rumbler, presumably that gel-rest thing at the front there:

Prices will vary depending on what you want - $199 for a starter kit will include a directional wall washer light, controller unit and satellite lights; a $299 Pro-Gamer Kit which includes a directional wall washer light, a controller unit, satellite 2.1 speaker lights and subwoofer; a $99 Extension Kit featuring a set of desk fans and wrist rumbler. And for those that *really* love their gaming, a $399 Premium Kit encompasses all of the above.

I expect that's more of a wrist vibrator; good or bad for incipient carpal tunnel, do you think?

Either way, obviously 400 bucks is a fair bit to shell out for fancy fans and speakers, and the real downside is that games have to be AmBX-compatible. So no Ambi-World of Warcraft, or Ambi-Quake, just whatever's on their currently very, very short list.

Comments

[David Hayward]

Iain Simons wrote about an early demo of it for Gama, here:
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060317/simons_01.shtml

I'd like to try it, though I suspect the fans would get really annoying. Especially if I'm writing notes ;)

[20XX]

Back when the Dual Shock controller was first released, InterAct (or some such third party) put out a wrist rumbler for people who wanted the rumble without buying a new controller. It wasn't that nice looking, more of an N64-Rumble-Pak-with-velcro-strap sort of thing, but same idea. It was like $15.

[bob]

"...very, very short list."
That's always been the problem with these sorts of peripherals- no one supports them. There have been so many systems like this that quickly disappeared.
It's the eternal problem with computer peripherals- how many game developers are going to expend resources to include support for a given system in their game, especially when few people own the peripheral? How many people are going to buy a peripheral that has no games that support it? When you have idiosyncratic protocols to control unique effects with minor impacts on game play, like ambient light (how many developers are thinking about ambient light when they make their games?), it makes it extremely unlikely that the peripheral will be supported.
It sounds like fun (even if a gimmick), but if I were making development decisions, I wouldn't even consider it.

[David Hayward]

Introversion have partnered with Phillips and announced ambx versions of Defcon and Darwinia.