Novint Falcon crazay mouse gets a price, release date

We've been tracking this thing for a good while, but while the vaporware status of the Novint Falcon 3D haptic mouse was touch and go for a bit there, it looks like they're going to pull through with this one, with a release slotted for June 18 at a pre-order price of $189. Now what exactly that cash will be getting you, it's a bit hard to explain, but the basic gist is that the Falcon features a floating doohicky attached to a pod doohicky, and the floating part moves about in 3D space for controlling video games, 3D modeling programs and the like. The real kicker is the force feedback that's been worked into this thing, adding a pretty nifty layer of interactivity -- you know, gun recoil, rubber band snapping, the feel of textures against the skin, stuff like that. The MSRP on this unit is $239, but as of the 8th you can pre-order the Falcon for $189. You'll have until June to figure out what you'll actually do with the dang thing, though Novint will be bundling 24 touch-enabled microgames to get you started.

[nivz @ Jan 9th 2007 10:02AM]

Looks a bit dodgy but if it does what it says on the box, pretty awesome..

[cuby @ Jan 9th 2007 10:47AM]

this is a highly confusing item.

[Austin @ Jan 9th 2007 11:24AM]

I can't tell from the website, does this thing have at least one button on the grip or what?

[automate @ Jan 9th 2007 12:11PM]

Austin-
I think it's got 2 buttons- L/R buttons on the mouse. Played with it at E3 and it's pretty awesome. The thing does feel a little light for as much force as it's applying back to the user. Basically a scaled-down version of more expensive (think thousands of $$$) haptic devices. EVERYONE who touched this thing was impressed. They're hyping it as a big step for moving haptics beyong the professional/specialist world, but it's really going to depend on the developers building apps that are compatible with it. There's a ton of potential here.

[blurose @ Jan 11th 2007 3:12PM]

I agree with automate about that there is a huge amount of potential in this gadget. I say that because companies do not have to create new games to experience touch and feel of the things in it, rather pretty much any game can be patched to allow the simulation of feel. That means either that you can now experience the brute force with which the Pinky monster ravages your character in Doom 3, or the tail of Onyxia on your face in WoW, or ANY other game. I cant think of a game that touch cant be implemented in.

So as a gamer I thank these guys for thinking up a product that will add more realist to games by finally considering our overlooked sense of touch.

When enough gets released just imagine the modder communities exploding as people come up with their own ideas of how shooting a lightning bolt REALLY feels like.