Novint Falcon gets reviewed: undoubtedly cool, unlikely to sell

Ever since we first got wind of this thing, we had a sneaking suspicion it just wouldn't take off regardless of how clever it was. Sadly, reviewers over at Bit-Tech tended to agree, deeming the Novint Falcon the "coolest peripheral" it had ever touched, but completely unlikely to ever gain steam in the marketplace. During the review, it was reiterated time and time again just how phenomenal the device actually is; the internal motors were able to transmit textures to one's hand almost impeccably, and it certainly enhanced certain aspects of game play once it became second nature to use. Unfortunately, all that gushing was met with the stark reality that there's no real promise that developers will ever latch on to this thing, and without guaranteed support, it's hard to recommend handing over $239. Nevertheless, we're sure more than a few of you may be willing to take the chance, and either way, the in-depth look at this curious creation is worth a read just to see what you're (potentially) missing.

[Deputy Doffoos @ Dec 7th 2007 8:10PM]

But will it run Crysis?

[nikola @ Dec 7th 2007 11:15PM]

All they have to do is invent interactive porn and they'll sell millions of these things.

[nikola @ Dec 7th 2007 11:17PM]

All they have to do is invent interactive porn and they'll sell millions of these things.

[jbspeyer @ Dec 7th 2007 8:25PM]

And, so why can't we all go feel sand ourselves and hold a bb or paintball gun to feel the textures of the material that we would be 'virtually' holding. Also, how would this affect the gameplay that we are all so accustomed to using. We're now switching from the mouse that most everyone is using to some ball that lets us 'touch things. Is that "cheating". Idk i just think its not right

[Andrae @ Dec 7th 2007 8:29PM]

For the same reason you like driving a ferrari in games. It just isn't accessible to some in reality. Gosh, What a debbie downer

[jbspeyer @ Dec 7th 2007 8:35PM]

But if you want to someday drive a Ferrari, why are you buying a totally expensive, unneeded 'mouse'? ;)

[AlexL @ Dec 7th 2007 10:41PM]

Your reasoning makes absolutely no sense.

1. If I want to own a Ferrari someday, why wouldn't I want to test drive it with a virtual reality device?

2. Not everyone who enjoys driving Ferraris in games can someday afford one.

[broc @ Dec 7th 2007 8:26PM]

does this mean i dont have to do anything for my self anymore... like wipe my own ass???

[Mark @ Dec 7th 2007 8:28PM]

Hope you like the "texture" of dingleberries.

[Ping Wang @ Dec 7th 2007 8:29PM]

I got to test this peripheral while I was at Georgia Tech helping a grad student get his research done.

I was navigating through a 2d rat-maze with it, and I could feel the walls with my finger as i banged up against walls.

It is a delicate machine, because the strength of my finger can easily overpower this device, but it was pretty cool nontheless.

[JuggleNuts @ Dec 7th 2007 11:09PM]

Your superhuman strength is awe inspiring.

[Eric Pham @ Dec 7th 2007 8:39PM]

Novint set up a test booth on my university campus. On my way to get lunch i went to try one of the falcons out to find that more than half of the setups didnt work and the one that i found that did work promptly crashed and refused to recognize the controller. On top of that was the fact that the two idiots who were suppose to be running the demonstrations were too busy hogging 2 of the machines that worked fine. So in summation $240 is too much money and my experience was less than encouraging.

[Ricardo Chavarria @ Dec 7th 2007 8:43PM]

Someone in my 3D Graphics and Rendering class made their final demo with this, but it was not that impressive. I guess it has very limited use.

[Reader @ Dec 7th 2007 8:53PM]

Read the entire review and I have to say, I want one. It sounds completely awesome to actually feel the texture of something in the game, like a dead zombie-dog.

[Michael @ Dec 7th 2007 8:59PM]

Is anyone else reminded of the Logitech force feedback mouse from way back in the day? With the built-in "mousepad" ... I had one... It was totally cool. And no one ever made a single application for it.

[stitifier @ Dec 7th 2007 9:19PM]

All they have to do is invent interactive porn and they'll sell millions of these things.

[Todd @ Dec 7th 2007 9:30PM]

I am surprised it took this long for that comment to be made.

[Paul Holstein @ Dec 7th 2007 9:39PM]

I can definitely see the need in surgical training. Imagine if students wore goggles and had these to feel the virtual tissue. I think it could be a great tool.

[Anwa123 @ Dec 7th 2007 10:14PM]

Played with this at digital life in New York City with half life 2. It was nice, but in no way does it justify the $200+ price tag. Now if it were approximately $50, then we'd be talkin.

[nikola @ Dec 7th 2007 11:15PM]

^^?^^ you sound incredibly dumb. In what world would a new tech that allows you to FEEL texture of virtual environments...cost $50 at release?? Maybe if walmart did the R&D.

Walmart don't run no R&D they just beat on little asian kids to make their products. STFU cheapass.

[Wwhat @ Dec 8th 2007 5:19AM]

Funny how people always come with the $50 remark on devices, specifically input devices, and yet they don't wince for a second at paying sony/EA/etc. $60 or $70 bux for a so-so game that you play and then are done with.
Or the same for a movie you watch once, maybe twice.
To me it makes somehow more sense to spend a bit on (complex) hardware, assuming there is support for it of course.

[Anwa123 @ Dec 8th 2007 8:21AM]

@ nikola: I never said anything about getting the product at release smarta$$. Obviously the biggest problem with the product besides developer support is price. I am merely suggesting that it needs to be at such a low price that consumers would be willing to purchase, and for me I only see myself spending that much on a limited product as this one. And no, I do not pay sony/EA $60 for a game, its ridiculous. I actually do have top quality products from various companies, and I make sure not to pay full price for them. It's called being smart, not that you would know anyway, considering all you probably do is troll engadget messages looking to start something.

[Dan @ Dec 8th 2007 12:53PM]

Or you could go to comp usa and try it out.

[Wwhat @ Dec 8th 2007 5:22AM]

What? CompUSA is dead, I just read in the previous newsbit, closing down after the holidays, so better hurry.

[Technex @ Dec 8th 2007 3:58AM]

Not sure if you can or not but I think it would be better if you could adjust the tension of it moving around perhaps?

[Wwhat @ Dec 8th 2007 5:24AM]

Yes you can adjust the powerfeedback it says.

[Technex @ Dec 8th 2007 5:32AM]

Great thanks Wwhat, I didn't read one completely for a change. Doesn't interest me to much... Logitech G5's please ;)!

[dean @ Dec 8th 2007 7:43AM]

There's a free SDK available. my biggest problem with haptic devices in my field (design) has been cost. Sensable's devices cost 1500 - 3000 and more, and you have to use their software to model. If someone could make plugins for Rhino, Maya, 3D Max, AutoCAD, then I think this would have a great deal of appeal in design.

[LiqwidZero @ Dec 8th 2007 11:27AM]

I was messing around with one of these up at CompUSA, a few weeks ago. It was nice.

[Chad @ Dec 8th 2007 1:13PM]

I see you can get this for $189...getting closer.

[david @ Dec 8th 2007 4:35PM]

I have one of these, and I love it. However, if I had to do it over again, I would not have made the purchase.

The lack of software support (popular games) is probably going to bury them. However, they are working toward a World of Warcraft interface. If that is successful and they lower the price, it could be a winner.

[skhawaja @ Dec 9th 2007 1:41AM]

the person who already mentioned it above ::Paul::

This needs to be picked up by medical schools, dentistry schools, chiropractic schools, massage therapist schools, anything related to rehabilitative practice even, focusing on the gaming industry gives them the exposure to tech minded people who may in turn envision uses in other sectors.

Bill Anderson is the only one on their management page that did medical simulation tools, and he's the Director of Game Development :]

Trauma Centre: New Blood could enjoy more platforms than just the Wii at the moment

[TrackZero @ Dec 10th 2007 10:23AM]

I picked one up at launch, and I'm glad I did, if for no other reason than to help fund further development. The experience is remarkable, but as stated, they need more software behind it. Even a texture & physics modeling studio would make a big hit...One of the more interesting demos is only available in the initial orientation with the device...It's a ball on an elastic string...as you whip it around, you feel a very realistic representation of the on-screen animation...

Big thing missing is the support of a few other popular games...Second Life support alone would probably sell a couple truckloads of these. Half those folks will pay actual money for virtual crap, a couple hundred bucks so you can "feel" the (oft disturbing) environment might seem reasonable compared to other things folks will buy.

[theletterj @ Dec 20th 2007 10:10AM]

I demoed this device when the firm trying to raise capital for Novint came in to see us. Honestly, I'd have to agree with the review. I did all of the available demos (the epidural, textured sphere, Half-Life, etc) and they were great. They Falcon itself works just as described and really added an extra layer of reality to what you were doing. They had lacking software support back then and it looks like not too many devs have jumped on now. It's a shame; I'd really like to see the unlocked potential of this thing, but it's doubtful that many companies are willing to devote resources to something that doesn't yet exhibit enough potential for growth. That circular logic is killer.

[tomnovint @ Dec 10th 2007 1:27PM]

I work at Novint...
the review states that he doesn't feel it will sell well because of a lack of software support (and we've heard this before, which is a fair comment). However, our software development model is coming together quite well - people haven't seen the results yet, but we have many releases coming up in the next two months. We've been adding many games to our line-up over the past year, and have been increasing the size of the game acquisitions and the publishers we're working with. Check out
http://home.novint.com/games/release_schedule.php
We have games not on that list we haven't announced yet, and are in discussions with some of the bigger publishers on multi-game deals. I'm confident about where we are going on software - we can create amazing games for pennies on the dollar compared to what it costs other companies (i.e. by acquiring the 3D touch rights to a game, and then incorporating touch into those existing games).

one other thought to consider. The Falcon doesn't represent a single device that might fail or succeed in my opinion. Rather, it represents a big step forward in a field of computing that has thousands of researchers across the world. Whether Novint is ultimately successful or not (of course we believe we will be), haptics and 3D touch is going to be a huge field in computing.

Thx

[Rich White @ Dec 24th 2007 1:09AM]

This thing is just another mouse in a different form factor - not a huge innovation in the field of haptics. And not even a very good mouse at that.

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