Gizmodo: novint falcon

Novint CEO Demands Falcon Haptics Controller Be On Consoles By Year-End

Jack Loftus — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST

We LOVED the Novint Falcon and pistol grip attachment in September, but non-PC, console-owning chaps were left out in the cold. If Novint is successful, that could all change by year end. Update.

Gaming blog Joystiq, speaking with Novint CEO Tom Anderson, reports that the haptics gaming device will be on consoles by the end of 2009 if he has anything to do with it. While a far cry from "the Novint Falcon haptics gaming device is definitely coming to consoles this winter," the declaration had moxie, dammit, and that's good enough for me.

The holdup is, unsurprisingly, the console manufacturers (Wild guess: Likely just MS and Sony), who were wary of supporting the device until a good number of developers embraced the technology. From Anderson's viewpoint, that support has materialized, somewhere, and companies are now "piling on" the Falcon.

So, a console version is more likely now than it was in September, but it's still a ways from being a done deal.

Update@7:36 a.m.: Kotaku has some Novint Falcon hands-on impressions from CES up today. Synopsis? Feels good after a short introduction, but the force feedback from gunfire is disorienting, to say the least. [Joystiq]

Novint Falcon Controller with Gun Attachment Reviewed (Verdict: Awesome)

Sean Fallon — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:00:00 EDT

It has been almost a year since we first heard that Novint would add a pistol grip accessory to their 3D Haptic Joystick—but the update has yet to hit the market. Nonetheless, Wired got a chance to play a few FPS games with the add-on and were blown away by the level of feedback and control, saying that it completely changes the experience. Targeting was precise, and each gun used in the game takes on a different recoil intensity—which can sometimes be violent when dealing with high caliber weapons. There is also a steep learning curve with the haptic controls.

More and more games are adding support for haptic controllers, so gamers interested in the experience will have a lot of choices down the line. However, we are still waiting for the pistol grip add-on. Let's just hope that it makes it out of the gate by the end of the year. When it is finally released, the grip is expected to retail for $20. [Wired]

Novint Falcon Force Feedback Controller Gets Valve Support

Jason Chen — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:40:00 EDT

The long-in-development force-feedback PC game device Novint Falcon is a good idea in theory, but without actual support from games there's not a whole lot you can do with it. Good news though, since Valve just announced support with the controller for PC versions of The Orange Box, Counter-Strike: Source, the Half-Life 2 series, Team Fortress 2, Portal and Left 4 Dead. With the pistol grip accessory it'll be fine for every game, but what we really have hopes for is fiddling around with that gravity gun and feeling the force feedback with it. [Novint via Crunchgear]

The Novint Falcon Sex Toy

Jason Chen — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:00:10 EDT

So this is why the Novint Falcon force feedback controller was delayed so long? So they could work out the Fleshlight integration? All is understood and forgiven, Novint. [Slashdong via Fleshbot]

Novint Falcon 3D Joystick Finally Shipping

Brian Lam — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 21:03:18 EDT

We hear that the Novint Falcon 3D haptic joystick, originally due over a year ago, is finally shipping. It's always good when products emerge from the vapor.

If anyone gets their hands on this thing, let us know. –Brian Lam

Touchy Novint Falcon Finally Coming in June

Louis Ramirez — Tue, 01 May 2007 16:34:14 EDT

We've been following Novint's Falcon controller since its birth, and now the folks at Novint tell us their pasty white baby is ready to make its debut. The Falcon will be out June 18th for $239. In a nutshell, the 3D controller lets you play games via a handshake-like grip that offers a more realistic experience via force feedback and tactile sensation. The Falcon will come with 24 mini games and a four-game sports pack, which will include titles like air hockey and tennis. So how does it play/feel? For the most part, it's pretty smooth.

Both the air hockey and Half Life 2 demos were glitch-free. The grip is a little awkward at first, but nothing you can't get used to after a few minutes of play (Novint mentioned they're planning additional grips, like a pistol grip for shooters, for about $4 a pop). My only complaint is that it's pricey at $239. You could buy a Wii for that (if you can find one). And without the proper support, you essentially have a $239 paperweight. My advice: wait to see what games will support it (the Novint reps said they'd have a full list closer to launch) and decide on that. – Louis Ramirez

Hands On with Novint's 3D Game Controller

Louis Ramirez — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 10:30:10 EST

We saw a lot of controllers at CES, but Novint's Falcon stood out from the pack. It's a force feedback 3D controller designed for PC games. Users hold the grip handshake style and can then move it up/down, left/right, or backwards/forwards.

The cool thing about the Falcon is...

that it reacts depending on the app or game you're playing. We demoed it with Half Life and after a few seconds of adjustment found it was both easy to use and accurate. The knob has 3 buttons you use for firing, and each time you fire, the Falcon provides a push backwards. The bigger the gun you're shooting, the stronger the jolt backwards. Another demo had us pushing an object on the screen. Again, the Falcon provided resistance when pushing on the hand grip. Our only complaint was the Falcon's size. It stands pretty high and requires a bit of desktop space. It also has this weird dental machine/space robot look to it. It's not the prettiest controller out there.

Otherwise, it's expected to come out in June for $239 and will ship with a few micro games. – Louis Ramirez

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