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New Cube controller
steveo777 writes: "I was surfing through IGN when I noticed this new controller. It made me fall off my chair laughing (people at work are wondering what could be so funny). But it's no joke. Aparently it's for Phantasy Star Online." If this isn't real, why not? Something like this looks like a great idea to me.
I feel all nostalgic now... or maybe I just had one too many chili dogs at lunch.
and it WILL make playing PSO easier. I have a DC, PSO, and the keyboard. And while yes the keyboard makes chat 100x easier, switching back and forth from controller to kb is a BITCH. This should be good for any multi-player game where a controller is needed to play well, but chat is important. Too bad I don't plan on getting a GameCube.
What, me worry?
The gamecube in Japan has a handle!
Oh, let's go to the parks with our GCs and frolick in the fields!
PayPal $$ if you sign up for free offers (eBay, cred cards, e
I'm gonna be the first to say, I WANT ONE OF THESE FOR COMPUTER. Heck, you've got all the basics in one package. VERY nice.
I'd say that it looks more like you hold it on your lap rather than in the air like a normal controller.
Username taken, please choose another one.
My big problem with this controller is, when I throw it at my television in frustration, it might break something.
I hope they work hard to keep the weight down. Maybe it's made of carbon fiber?
I'll have to grow some longer arms before I can even reach both sides of the controller at once, but hey, once I do, PSO will be taking up even more of my time!
The page asks is the thing can be held. Of course it can... space your hands about 1 feet away from each other in the air, palms facing each other.
Ok... now start twindling your fingers as if you're playing a game!
Ok, got it? Seems comfortable enough doesn't it? Ok, now scream something you'd scream during game play. Like "COME ON! I HAD THAT!" while moving the imaginary controller around like a mad man.
There you go!
Congratulations!
You successfully look like an idiot.
And you thought it was a pain to take your hands off the keyboard to use the mouse!
On a slightly different note, I think that if (read: when) someone hacks the gamecube to run Linux/BSD/etc. and X, this would be a great keyboard/mouse combo.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
So would you type with your nose?
I'm not trying to troll here, but I wonder if this new controller is going to support alternative keyboard layouts like the dvorak. For that matter, what about international layouts? Clearly, the whole idea of the keyboard seems to imply that they plan to release games with a tedious amount of typing (yuck), and that would really suck on a qwerty, IMHO.
"Quoting famous computer scientists out of context is the root of all evil (or at least most of it) in programming." - K
This just looks like some of the wireless keyboards I've used with integrated track ball and buttons on both sides.. Works fairly well for basic mouse manipulation, but I can imagine doing anything fast or precise with that controller- There's something strange about haveing your hands that far apart.. Is this just a slow plodding point-and-click game?
air and light and time and space
Get rid of the sticks on each side and
let the user type JKL; to move about
like any other good game.
Now, the game is coming to GameCube, a system with more bits, which results in larger words filled with more characters who have more lines of dialogue.
Dialogue like:
w00t! My b0X0r h4Z m00r B1tZ +heN yuRz!!
Stellar.
Will the new Cube controller have
...
CTRL - ALT - DELETE?
hmmm, That's probably reserved for the xbox
How bout Scroll lock?
ACk! they outlawed side-scrollers years ago!
What are we gonna do with a keyboard then.........
Sega is planning on releasing this currently nameless controller
Umm, why is Sega making a controller for a Nintendo console. Also, it says ASCII on the controller.
That thing is going to bust the fuck out of you weakass gamers shoulder muscles trying to hold your arms spread out...
As far as breaking your TV is concerned...
I participated and help set up this year's BotBash here in Phoenix, AZ - outside, we set up a bunch of TV's and other junk for Christian Ristow's machines to rip apart... Fast forward to end of show...
Some TV's were lying around - various people were trying to kick the TV tube's face in - one huy was wearing steel toe boots - it took about twenty extremely hard kicks before the tube would implode.
A controller being thrown at a TV, even a keyboard, would likely do nothing to bust the screen, or the TV - might scratch it, and yeah, it could break other things - but the TV picture tube - nope.
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
To start with, the unit has the acronym "ASCII" emblazoned loudly above the keyboard. This is cleary unfair favoritism toward the ASCII character set, and a misrepresentation of the unit's capabilities.
I'm certain the scancode output from the keyboard portion of the unit could just as easily be represented by the EBCDEC character set. Unless they're careful, IBM may decide to sic their P.R. machine on these guys.
That aside, this thing looks like a stingray. Ah! There's a use... take it down to the neighborhood pool, toss it in, and watch small children swim for their lives! Just 30 minutes in the oven on "warm" and its usable for gaming again.
Disclaimer: If you can't find any humour in this, you should game more often...
Geez, I thought the XBOX controler was huge, but this is, this is fucking huge
I don't know much about the game it's for, but the way i see it, wouldn't the good ol' tried and true FPS keyboard/mouse combo work better? It might avoid embarrasment, laughing, and suggestions that the designer(s) of that monstrosity[sic?] were on crack too.
My other sig is funny!
You really think this is serious? Has the pun really gone over your heads?
... Now, the game is coming to GameCube, a system with more bits, which results in larger words filled with more characters who have more lines of dialogue. ...
And since when has 'ASCII' made controllers? And doesnt "This is not a joke." make it an even more obvious joke?
Everyone knows the IBM Model:M is the only usable keyboard. I'd rather see someone hack support for one of them for a GameCube.. now that is something i'd buy.
You can tell this is for children friendly market! No one-handed typing :(
The inherint problem with any controller of this type is that you have to radically change hand position when going from chatting to movement, both of which should be common in an online rpg. It has to be rested upon something to type, but movement requires that you hands be wrapped around the sides and back. Even mice are manipulated from the top like a keyboard, and yet all online rpg'ers find the transition annoying. This new controller is the aesthetic and gameplay equivalent of gluing a controller and a keyboard together with Elmer's white. While that might have some post-modern artistic appeal, I doubt it will be anything but kludgy in practice. Why didn't ascii design something that could be controlled entirely from the top, designed specifically for pso?
The ______ Agenda
Hmm, seems my 'R' key was stuck. ;)
Batman to Robin: Robin, look! It was Nintendo who stole the Bat-wing!
Robin to Batman: Holy smokes! So it wasn't the Joker?
*looks down at a bound, gagged, naked and beaten Joker*
Batman: Oops.
slainfu
"I can't be a terrorist if you're sucking my bum."
What's the point of making this "controller"? you obviously can't type while playing. You have to let go of the game pad or buttons to use the keyboard. So why not just have a controller and seperate keyboard combo?
Dude for MMORPG's, this is near huge. I'd sit-down and figure away to drop most of the used keys and drop a ergo track ball on it, and make it lightwieght but mantain some respect of tactial feel. But I'd drop the handleheld idea(too much "grip" changing)for a laptop or desktop model. It would make playing MMORPG's a dream, keeping your hands close together to cover everything.
What about something similar, but it would "telescope", so that it would act as a regular controller if you wanted it, but you could pull it out for keyboard functionality? Just another stupid idea.
Last post!
Can't wait till they release the next generation controller called UNICODE.
Of course Micro$oft will release it's own closed source version. A keyboard with the letter's blacked out. And of course the open source version will have over a hundred keys to you can customize it to your hearts content.
By definition, a government has no conscience. Sometimes it has a policy, but nothing more. - Albert Camus
Notice the arrow keys... they are much like how I remember old apple computers - up-down-left-right all in a row. Obviously the arrow keys would not be used as much as the controller for the gaming, but there might be times where you want it setup better.
Uhhm... Slashdot might not be your best choice for this kinda thing. I could say more, but I believe the other replier to your post summed it up quite well.
Ok, it looks cool. I mean, besides the fact that it's a foot wide, it does, as many have stated.
But I think we need to take off our slashdot goggles and think who this is marketed to.
The n64 was eventually marketed to little kids, come on, pokemon rights were bought exclusively by nintendo. My little brother has one and it's all he plays.
My question is, if they can't type, is it supposed to hold their sippie cup?
As far as PSO is concerned (or even other games), why not just release a new version of the game that allows you to use a mouse in combintation with the keyboard? I've played a bit of PSO, and it annoyed me to no end that you couldn't map keys on the keyboard to act as buttons on the controller. There is already a Dreamcast mouse (There is a Dreamcast version of Quake3 and Unreal Tournament.)
Seems to make more sense than producing that monstrosity of a controller.
Personally, I think online RPG's like PSO work much better on the PC. But for those who can't afford a high end PC and a broadband connection, it's a fun alternative.
Blimey, looks like the controller for my Jaguar. Hope this one dosen't cripple your hands like that one used to. My thumbs are still aching from all those late night Alien vs. Predator sessions. And Doom too, natch.
Posted by timothy on Tuesday October 16, @07:31PM
from the largeness-of-cock dept.
Jeff Probst writes: "I was surfing through goatse.cx when I noticed this new giver. It made me fall off my chair laughing (people at work are wondering what could be so funny). But it's no joke. Apparently it's for the receiver." If this isn't real, why not? Something like this looks like a great idea to me.
Thanks! One anthrax-infected porn letter coming right up!!
...I mean really? It just a keyboard with a joystick on the left and some buttons on the right!
Do this: take your keyboard and put it in your lap. Then take your hands and place them at the left and right respectively. Is that so uncomfortable? Actually I think it feels great, specially for games where you have to type.
And of course you can hold it up in the air... but why? I mean, if you are going to type a lot, might as well just leave it on your lap! And we don't know how heavy it is yet!
Hell, if it's heavy, it'll be a good workout for those geeky arms you have! j/k
I remember every Christmas when younger, I could tell which were gameboy games, NES games, then came SuperNES or Genesis packages under the Xmas tree. I knew the exact weight, size and shape of each console game package. Wow, I think this honkin thing might make me think my parents got me a baseball bat or soemthing.
It sure would throw me off, if this monster comes bundled with PSO that is...
"It takes many nails to build a crib, but one screw to fill it."
Hmm. HMMM!!! It Looks very interesting.
;)
it gave me the next idea.
Maybe this idea also will work: integrate a mouseball in the bottom of a keyboard. get rid of the rubber thingies and a keyboard will slide. add some extra keys as mouse-buttons and hey-presto
Privacy is terrorism.
So is the controller going to be called "The Dvorak" or "The American Simplified"?
Won't you still have to switch? I mean, it isn't like you are suddenly granted more hands -- you still have to move your hands from the controller section of The Monstrosity to the keyboard section on The Monstrosity, just like you do now. Laugh quietly to yourself at all the fools who go out and purchase GameCubes and twitter inanely about how wonderful The Monstrosity is, because now you know better.
This controller, although it looks completely insane, is completely sane for the reason that it was built: to help someone play Phantasy Star Online better. In fact, I could see many uses for it if a lot of games start going online. Can you imagine attempting to DM some goulish monster and try to type out a message for help on a standard 4-5 button gamepad? It would be almost to completely impossible. Perhaps it looks strange now, but I can definately see multiple uses for such a controller sometime close in the future. Just my $0.02 worth
-mrbkap
Something that you could use with special keywords to issue commands, open comm links of special channels, etc. complete with command macros so that you code speak code words and initiate very complex sequences.
I'm sure that everyone here can see it now, and imagine the possibilities for enhanced game play.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
I've never played the games mentioned in the article, but I'd love to have a keyboard that had a gamepad built in.
Why limit yourself to an 8 button gamepad?
I'd assign every key to a Tekken Tag 10 hit combo.
And I'd figure out how to play as the creature when using unknown and assign that to a key as well.
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
From the press release:
The KeyMouse XP is the worlds first mouse to integrate a 120 key keyboard inside a mouse. This gives the user the advantage of not having to switch between keyboard and mouse - a repetitive movement which costs the user time and productivity.
The keyboard is located between the left and right mouse buttons.
When asked how difficult this new mouse would be to handle Logitech would only say that the user would need a really big-ass mousepad.
"They do not preach that their god will rouse them, a little before the Nuts work loose." Kipling, 'The Sons of Martha'
Mario is standing in front of a pipe.
> Jump inside pipe
You can't reach it!
> Walk east
You've reached a dead end.
> Walk south
Mario fell off the platform! Play again?
> q
Goodbye!
When I click the link, Konqueror barfs. Oh well.
Why does it need to be a full sized keyboard. You can type pretty fast on these with just your thumbs after a little while.
psxndc
The emacs religion: to be saved, control excess.
(BTW - this is my 200th post! )
Cheers,
Jim in Tokyo
-- My Weblog.
This is a bit off-topic, but what a console controller really needs is a small, built-in trackball. Maybe off to the right, it would be a godsend to FPS players. Freelook with the trackball on the right, move/strafe with the d-pad on the left, and use the triggers for shooting and/or jumping. Finally, console players could hold their own against the PC elite in Quake!
[PowerPoint] is a tool for capitalist presentation
I usually give you credit for have some good brain power but "Something like this looks like a great idea to me." Are you nuts? It might be a good idea if you want to serve breakfast in it or use it as a model in a space movie but jeez!
CDE open sourced! https://sourceforge.net/projects/cdesktopenv/
While your hands are REALLY far apart, the controller's manipulation is really simple.
You put the monstrosity on your lap (assuming you're sittingon a couch or chair or something...)
and since its REALLY EXTREMELY WIDE, the edges hang over both sides of your legs. Just simply use the controller with it resting on your lap. All that is needed to swith from movement to typing, you just need to reposition your hands.
Of course, for those of us with weight problems.....
-- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
And here's why. The controller for the GCN is very small. Now, assuming that they kept the ends of this peripheral the same size as the regular one, the keyboard is probably going to be quite small.
If that's the case, this thing won't be as gargantuan as everyone is making it out to be. It'll probably stretch out to be about the average shoulder length of the player, which isn't unreasonable.
---------
Sometimes there's no other way to win, except by falling.
Hehehe mod the parent up, THIS is HiLaRiOuS!!
you can always club your opponent to death with the keyboard... I wonder how many Hit Ponts( showing my age) you would lose if you got hit with one of these things.
I wonder if this is a pre-cursor to input devices for wearable computers.
Well if all else fails, and the games suck, you can strap a couple of trucks onto the thing and use it as a skate board for a PS2 game.
flinging poop since 1969
Yeah, nice job, ASCII. I think anyone here realizes controllers like this have been out for years.
Mind you, I use a Logitech cordless keyboard pro and my mouse mat is an old SNES mouse pad, so I guess I'm a little biased.
First the Dreamcast, now this....
WILL IT EVER END?????
Hasn't anyone heard of a microphone? Sega made a Dreamcast game where you could speak to other players with the microphone, Alien Front Online. If you play that, you'll know that speaking with a mike is 10 times cooler than typing. It's so much simpler, so much more effective, and so much more fun! I mean, what's more fun, IM or talking on the telephone? Really, online gaming needs to ditch keyboards and get with the voice.
Looking at it and doing a little judging, it looks about the size of a standard keyboard. I took my keyboard and held it as if I were using that keyboard and it didn't feel awkward at all. The only drawback is having to put down your keyboard in order to type something in, but I guess there is no other alternative unless there are arrow keys on the keyboard that will allow movement and such.
I can say with some certainty that it will support Dvorak. The current PSO has a code, that when entered changes your keyboard layout. It also gives you so many HP and TP and warps you right to the last boss. I don't know why they tied the two into a single code.
I'm going to assume that since codes are kept from one version to the next and are present in all language versions that it will be in the Cube version. And the X-Box version. And the PC version.
As for international layouts, bet on it. ASCII is a Japanese company and that controller will get released there first. If it ever makes it's way off Japan's shores, it will kinda have to be revamped. Follow me?
MUUT DITTS POUMN!!!
Now, the game is coming to GameCube, a system with more bits, which results in larger words filled with more characters who have more lines of dialogue.
This sentence makes a lot more sense if you replace words with worlds.
Heh, even characters takes on a whole new meaning.
this guy makes a much better point than the people saying "d00d it st00pid!1! H0W j00 plAy It?!?!11/
I would love to play this game on my new 100" TV!
-------------------
rm -rf
But Sega says that Phantasy Star Online has a player base of 300,000. That rivals Everquest and Ultima Online in size. I would imagine the manufacturer of this control to be very pleased is they can sell this thing to a quarter million or more people.
My sigs always suck.
So, y'all think this is a good idea?
You wan't your keyboard integrated with a game controller?
I suppose someone will get the bright idea of melding a mouse to it as well. Of course, you'd have to turn it upside down and call it something like 'TrackBall'.
And when some part of the contoller breaks and no longer functions you get to throw the whole damn thing away and get a new one. What a deal!
No thanks. I prefer keeping my $10 keyboard as a separate component.
This keyboard/controller looks like a pretty sound idea, and holding it in your lap does indeed seem to be the intended method of operation...which is all good and fine, but underneath all this is the question of "Why do consoles insist on keeping their beloved D-Pad and thumb buttons?"
If you have a keyboard in front of you, you can navigate throughout the game without any additional controller foolishness on the sides. The keyboard alone can more than cover all the functions of any game pad. WASD for motion/navigating menus, plenty of keys to replace controller buttons, etc.
Also, for the height of console adventure/PRG tedium, fire up Raiders of the Lost Ark on your Atari 2600, and take joy in finding that one joystick is for moving Dr. Jones, and another is required to manipulate your inventory! Little brothers are finally useful for something!
Leveling up builds character.
Actually, this really does look like an awesome idea to me, and it looks like it wouldn't be too hard to hold, again, as long as it's not that heavy.
:P
And it should be fine as long as you're not like the way my lil cousin used to be, where she'd hit the jump button on the controller, and then proceed to pull it up in the air and follow it along with Mario to help him get over that pit (which for some reason never did work..). You'd pull your freakin arm out with this controller, if not take someone's head off
"My days are less enjoyable because of people." ~ Johnny the Homicidal Maniac
I bet they don't teach that in judo school.
Why not? Intergration worked for the IMac.
Come on people, odds are a hundred to one that we will never see this at our local Toys R Us.
But I could be wrong. Could someone please pick me up: The Dreamcast DVD-ROM Drive, the SNES CD-ROM drive, and the Dreamcast Zip drive?
After that, I have some nice Ocean-Front property in Kansas to sell you...
You're forgetting who you're dealing with here: gamers. After playing hours and hours on any console, no matter how well designed, your thumbs will hurt, And believe me, typing with just sore thumbs is not for the weak at heart.
There's also the other issue of learning curve: While you can indeed type fast with those little mini-keyboards, they take a long time to get used to. Gamers, traditionally, just want to frag, blurt out a quick message, and frag some more. Learning how to type on a new keyboard is nowhere near as interesting as exploring levels and whatnot.
People are going on about how big the thing is, but there's no scale. That keyboard could be Sinclair size for all we know.
Actually, I believe the reason why Sega is not linking DC's version with Gamecubes is because of the cheating. Don't know if they've come up with better safegaurds this time around tho.
On a related topic, Sony is planning on making all it's online games PSX exclusive, despite Square's (and it's investors)interest to port "Final Fantasy XI Online" to all systems with total interconectedness.
I've never done it or seen it successfully activated, but there is one website that has a key combination for it and all the rest of the tricks and tips have been accurate.
t ek ken_tag_tournament.htm
http://www.game-revolution.com/games/codes/ps2/
The only other trick I haven't been able to accomplish is suppossedly if you set the high score under bowling you can bowl as Dr. B.
I'm up to about 220, but I need to beat 268.
Oh, I also haven't beaten the game in less than 5 minutes 30 seconds. I've only gotten 5 minutes 48 seconds. Suppossedly it unlocks some special Heihachi character.
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
considering some of the Japanese DC (and PS) controllers:
- train (not sure how to explain - you drive a train with it)
- turntable (for scratchin')
- guitar
- maracas
- fishing rod
- dance pads (floor and hand held "pads")
... and don't forget the Mothra and Gamera VMSs (called VMUs here)
... and the Hello Kitty and Sakura consoles with accessories
... and of course the scores of "normal" pads, sticks, twin-sticks, guns, wheels, keyboards, mice, etc.
No offense, but why do you few people that still believe in Sega hand them your money?
Four systems failed through their own fault, and you keep supporting them? Phantasy Star Online, a total bastardization of all that Phantasy Star was.. A total and dismal nightmare thanks to Mr. Naka and his unwillingness to fight cheating by sane program design..
I pity you few who still hold Sega in high esteem. As for the rest of you, I give you a warning - do not get Phantasy Star Online if it comes to your system. The only thing Phantasy Star-related about it is it's name. The gameplay is horrible, the cheating rampant.
Best save your money for EQ, UO, or Dark Age of Camelot if you want a real Massively Multiplayer experience.
That the Dreamcast is a killer console, that'll be around for ever!
Sonic Team said that PSO v2 would be 'hack proof'. Hell, they were even crazy enough to say the rest of the world would get downloadable quests for v1.
Don't believe everything Sega says, and realize that PSO is a piece of bug-ridden drek that should be cast into the Ninth Circle of Hell.
At most, its a nifty band-aid (like those kind that glow-in-the-dark). If it gets released, the mutant of a controller will find many good homes that love it, so long as it's not anywhere devoid of lap space.
::really:: solve anything? All a person wants when they're gaming is seemless manifestation of their intent. You could wire an OS to follow your eyes focus and have it select operations with coded-blinking, and we'd like it, so long as it did what it we intended. But if I told someone to move their butt around to scroll a page down, I'd be crazy. So that stuck using a mouse and keyboard to play games is beyond reason to me. I move my whole arm to get a little pointer to go where I already know about. I don't even need to show anyone (besides the computer)! So.... why not simply point with my finger?
But does it
There's too much "around-the-bush" with these tools. For instance, I describe sounds that I make using a combination of a few dozen keys (keys that are modeled after a printing press that *couldn't* have dynamic functions). Yet the words I emit are really just part of a small set of sounds (octaves) uttered next to other sounds thatare divided by moments of space and vary in amplitutde. I'm no genius, but it seems these input devices over reach our intent - the communication between objects and people (and sometime people who are objects! Ha!).
So lets innovate new controllers. Anyone have any good ideas?
http://www.somethingawful.com/news/8-28-2000/ninte ndo/controller.jpg
Men believe what they want. - Caesar
... is going to require it be water resistant or completely waterproof. (Among other liquids that may come from the lap of a Slashdotter with a keyboard in hand. Har har. :p)
(note to Slashdot: the controller is a joke.)
Do you like German cars?
A=up
Z=up
<=left
>=right
It's easy to play games with your hands that far apart. It's sometimes a lot more comfortable than arrow keys! (How do you hover a fingertip over each of those keys at the same time? Don't tell me to use my middle finger for the up and down button, that's just not fast enough. Thumb over the down button works, but gets painful after the first few hours)
Seriously, this controller looks very sweet. Hope it's not a joke.
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more, Or close the wall up with our American dead!
la la la la
the lameness filter will not catch me
la la la la
The word you are looking for is...
CRAMP!
Seriously. Try picking up a keyboard by its ends and holding it in your lap. For about an hour. That sharp pain you feel will tell you something about this idea.
From the blurry picture, it's hard to tell. Sure looks like a bi-lingual keyboard though.
"up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z, start"
Oh yeah? Sony promises in their TV commercial that the PS9 will telepathically link to your brain. You don't even need a keyboard! Dude... Do what all of the other rednecks do. Save your money for a PS9. Don't buy any of that Sega, Nintendo, or Microsoft stuff. PS9 0wn3$ j00!
These anecdotes demonstrate something about the tube construction. You can't easily break the CRT from the front -- even dropping another extra-heavy monitor on it won't crack it -- but a brick dropping a few inches onto the neck will implode the tube.
The curved rear glass is only as strong as it has to be to support the air pressure. 14.5 psi * area of the tube probably = a few tons, but it's formed as a 360-degree arch shape, so all the glass is in compression. Glass is surprisingly strong in compression; any little cracks that start are forced closed instead of growing.
The nearly flat viewing area has to be very thick, since air pressure will be trying to bend the center of the screen inwards, and glass is not great at resisting bending. (Pushing in the screen stretches the outside surface around the edges and the inside surface around the center, and this will pull cracks wider.)
Also, when electrons are accelerated through several thousand volts and then stopped suddenly in the phosphors, they tend to emit x-rays. So you need a thick glass plate with lead (oxide?) dissolved in it to stop the x-rays. X-rays may also be emitted sideways, but it costs and weighs less to wrap the sides of the tube in lead foil than to use thick glass there.
Making the exposed part of the tube hard to break is just a fortunate side-effect of the mechanical requirements...
OK, so I don't know if that picture is a hoax or not, but for a game requiring text input I don't see why this is such a big joke. Has anyone seen those keyboards that are coming with the new set tops for interactive TV? They are basically the same thing (interactive buttons on left, remote control buttons on right, keyboard in middle.) Of course I wouldn't use this controller much, if at all, but I usually stick to sports and shoot 'em up games. I think people who like games that include chat or other text interaction could really use such a controller.
~ now you know
Supposedly, most people play Quake with a keyboard and mouse, keyboards with integrated pointers and mouse buttons are available, why not an integrated digital pad?
Console games that are more thinking than button mashing (all NONE of them), or where words are useful (ever play Jeopardy on the original Nintendo?) would be much improved by that sort of controller.
AC's cheerfully ignored
>
> below my feet
If you're lifting them like that, those aren't the *old* ones. . . .
I had an Ehman 19" back in 1989 for my SE/30. Moving it around was done by staggering, not walking.
When it went bad, I sent it back under warranty. They told me to send it back in the original packing material? Huh? I explained that it came on a shipping pallet with a sheet of cardboard wrapped around it and a boxtop over that, all strapped together. He groaned. "Oh, one of those".
hawk, who still prefers greyscale to color
Now this is when the reader says, "But you still have to take your hands off to use the mouse!"
And I respond, "Nope, I am using a Thinkpad and the Trackpoint is very natural to use with just a slight tilt of your right hand."
Of course playing Diablo on a Thinkpad will give you a serious case of RSI.
Lasers Controlled Games!
Maybe I'm being stupid, but for a game needing both keyboard and game-controller style input, why don't you just use a keyboard and a game controller? You could have a PS/2 keyboard socket on the back of your console, or an over-priced splitter thing that you plugged one into. Is this thing any easier to use than a keyboard in front of you and a controller in your hands? When you want to type you drop the controller in front of the keyboard and bring your hands over and either side of it. It's right there if you need it quickly. And you can use your own favorite keyboard and controller instead of having them tied together. Am I missing something?
I can't help but think this would be an awesome controller for pinball simulations. Sure, the keyboard is basically useless, but it is a good width and looks like it would be pretty comfortable to use.
Now if it had a couple of tilt/motion sensors in it...
"Tomorrow's forecast: a few sprinkles of genius with a chance of doom!" - Stewie Griffin
but it IS a _great_ controller!
formetopoopon!
Whats the big deal? 'Can it be held?' Maybe the reviewer doesnt have opposible thumbs, but for those of us that do, I don't see much of an issue. Its not a terrible idea.. Hold it as a joystick, then when you need to type set it down in your lap or on the coffee table in front of you, type, and then pick it back up. I don't know if its so much of a win over a joystick and a keyboard that are seperate, but it is hardly radical, and hardly news.
How is this controller supposed to work? You need both hands to hold it to use the stick and buttons - what do you type with, your nose? If you want to type, you have to put the controller down in a typable position, change your hand position, and then type on it, which is MORE bother than a regular controller change (because when you drop a regular joypad, you don't have to put it in a position where you can then type on it).
Why don't they just do away with a joypad and let you play PSO with the w/a/s/d/return/space/shift buttons?
(Although, if it's yer typical MMORPG, it really only needs about three gameplay buttons anyway: "Kill" "Buy" and "Stop")
This looks like the perfect keyboard for Vishnu!
my employer has the control category "Games and Fun" blocked at the firewall so i can't see ign.com, and google doesn't have it cached yet, i wanna see this thing! anyone know where there's another picture?
May you be touched by His Noodly Appendage. RAmen.
I think everyone remembers their old 8-bit days when the market was flooded with all those cheezy controllers and joysticks. Hell, I even had game for the commie that had a voice unit that you said 'fire' into to..
This on the other hand, I think would be better if they could just sell a cheap PS/2 or USB keyboard adapter so you could just use an existing one keyboard with the cube.
Btw, ASCII (the company) has been making controllers for years, I had an ASCII-pad 6button controller for the Genesis.
When I played old apogee video games during the early '90s, I would sometimes balance the keyboard on one knee and map the directionals to the number pad, and the action keys to capslock, tab, etc. This was because some keys couldn't be remapped and holding the keyboard this way kept my hands within reach of the quicksave and quickload keys.
It might sound a little strange, but it was pretty fast once I got used to it. I'd be happy to use one of these keyboards...hope somebody finds a way to port one from gamecube to PS/2 or USB.