Feeling the Force

Microsoft, others embrace technology that adds touch to games.

Amy Ng, PC World

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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.

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