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Throwable Game Controllers

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the klonk-owww dept.

dptalia writes "In trolling recent patents, Barry Fox found one for a throwable game controller. This controller would be shaped like a football or a frisbee and be connected wirelessly to a console. The user could then play digital games like catch, or have a distance throwing competition. The controllers have embedded GPS, an altimeter, and an accelerometer to be able to determine the accuracy of the throws."

12 of 92 comments (clear)

  1. Or you could... by jfclavette · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Go outside and play football for real instead ? FP

    1. Re:Or you could... by wuie · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Seconded.

      Honestly, if you have a football-shaped controller that you throw to see how far you can throw it in a video game, why not get a *real* football and see how far you can throw it in real life? Throw a couple of friends in the mix, and you have yourself a fun game of football!

      Things like this make me lose my faith in humanity.

    2. Re:Or you could... by Amouth · · Score: 2, Interesting

      now i could see a use in this.. but not as a game controller..

      if they could make it so that on the outside you couldn't tell the diffrence.. and the weight of the ball was exactly the same as a regulation ball.. it would be good to track ..

      use it for a practice and dowload the data.. maybe be able to put timed markers to what play was when and then monitor the balls movement accross the feild.. do see mabey the avg speed of the runnrs or the normal play time for a play..

      now it would only be useful for pro or big college teams.. but i could see a use for it..

      --
      '...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
    3. Re:Or you could... by justkarl · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yes, when you get mad at a game, nearly any controller can be thrown. Many controllers support multi-directional throwing, too. Some even have shatter-resistant architechture.

    4. Re:Or you could... by coaxial · · Score: 2, Informative

      First. The puck did not change colors. That was a digital effect.
      Second. Yes. The puck did have ir leds in it, so it could be automatically tracked, but not by the television cameras. It was so that the digital effect could be applied correctly.

      A quick search for "glowing puck" would shoot down this myth.

    5. Re:Or you could... by cowscows · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Ultimate Frisbee is a great game. Simple rules, very light equipment requirements, and if you've got a pickup game going in front of your dorm, you can keep adding people without messing up the game (within reason for the size of your playing field). It "scales" well with a player's experience and athletic ability. Just about anyone can learn to throw and catch a frisbee halfway decently in just a few minutes, but an experienced player can make the disc do amazing things.

      *sigh* I miss college.

      --

      One time I threw a brick at a duck.

  2. Oh... by bssteph · · Score: 4, Funny

    I thought this was going to be a controller to survive gamer rage, which would be far more marketable.

    Or maybe that's the idea. Get pissed off at your favorite ridiculously demanding platformer, and get in shape while doing it!

  3. How would that work? by Psycosys · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I fail to see how having a football chaped controller will allow one to digitally play games like catch. Is the console going to catch the ball when you throw it and throw it back to you? Also, how are you going to set distance records playing a video game inside? It seems like the ball will stop when it comes into contact with one of your walls.

  4. chair by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 4, Funny

    The chair version of this controller will be an xBox 360 exclusive.

    --
    This guy's the limit!
  5. Laser tag Frisbee by Animats · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Back in the late 1980s, one of the design students at Stanford came up with a Frisbee you could shoot down with a Laser Tag gun. The Frisbee had a detector for the light pattern from the gun. When triggered, it released a spring-loaded flap which made the Frisbee aerodynamically unstable, so the Frisbee would crash.

    Very cute, but the laser tag fad died before this went anywhere.

  6. Misleading Subject by Tickenest · · Score: 3, Funny

    Every controller is throwable. Believe me, I've, uh, "conducted extensive research".

    --
    This is the NFL, which stands for "Not For Long" if you keep making those bulls*** calls.
  7. They have already made these... by X-treme-LLama · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'd have plenty of experience throwing old school Nintendo controllers, Sega Genesis controllers, and on up the list... I do have to agree the Original Sega controllers were very very sturdy. I actually broke a Sega throwing the controller at it.. Of course the controller worked just fine on my *new* Sega.. (insert capitalist tinfoil "theories" here...)

    --
    My rantings, only longer and with better spelling..