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Feeling the Force

Microsoft, others embrace technology that adds touch to games.

By Amy Ng, PCWorld   

Not content with pretty graphics and booming sound, developers like Microsoft, Logitech and Thrustmaster are about to take gaming to the next visceral level: touch. By adding force feedback to their software and hardware, developers can now offer gamers sensation while playing so they can feel the recoil from a gun, the difference between driving on ice and mud, or the sensation of floating in water.

Microsoft debuted its SideWinder Force Feedback Pro joystick at this year%squots E3, following the lead of CH Products, the game hardware company that introduced the first force-feedback joystick less than a year ago. Thrustmaster, Logitech, and Advanced Gravis also announced at the show that they intend to develop game peripherals with force-feedback support.

Like all new technology, force-feedback joysticks are expensive. Priced at $149.95, Microsoft%squots joystick costs as much as a 3-D graphics accelerator card. Similarly, CH Products%squot Force FX currently retails for $180. But according to Martin Reynolds, vice president at Dataquest, the steep prices will not deter hardcore gamers intent on an immersive experience. %dquotA force-feedback joystick will make gamers say, %squotI see it, I want it.%squot%dquot

Unlike digital video disk (DVD) technology, game developers have quickly embraced force feedback. More than 20 game companies, including Activision, Sierra Online, GT Interactive, and LucasArts are building force-feedback support into their games. To facilitate a single standard for software developers, Microsoft plans to provide a force-feedback API in its next version of DirectX 5.0.

Those eager to extend their gaming experience won%squott have to wait long. The CH Force FX joystick is currently available, and the Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Pro joystick, bundled with 3 games, should appear in stores in October. By the holidays, gamers with a force-feedback joystick can feel take-off vibrations in Interactive Magic%squots iF-22 or the centrifugal force in EA Sports%squot Andretti Racing.