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Games Entertainment

New Cube controller 259

Posted by timothy from the largeness-of-lap dept.
steveo777 writes: "I was surfing through IGN when I noticed this new controller. It made me fall off my chair laughing (people at work are wondering what could be so funny). But it's no joke. Aparently it's for Phantasy Star Online." If this isn't real, why not? Something like this looks like a great idea to me.
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New Cube controller More

New Cube controller

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  • I feel all nostalgic now... or maybe I just had one too many chili dogs at lunch.

  • Kick ass (Score:3, Interesting)

    by BiggestPOS ( 139071 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @07:33PM (#2438943) Homepage
    and it WILL make playing PSO easier. I have a DC, PSO, and the keyboard. And while yes the keyboard makes chat 100x easier, switching back and forth from controller to kb is a BITCH. This should be good for any multi-player game where a controller is needed to play well, but chat is important. Too bad I don't plan on getting a GameCube.
    • Won't you still have to switch? I mean, it isn't like you are suddenly granted more hands -- you still have to move your hands from the controller section of The Monstrosity to the keyboard section on The Monstrosity, just like you do now. Laugh quietly to yourself at all the fools who go out and purchase GameCubes and twitter inanely about how wonderful The Monstrosity is, because now you know better.
    • a voice to text solution?

      Something that you could use with special keywords to issue commands, open comm links of special channels, etc. complete with command macros so that you code speak code words and initiate very complex sequences.

      I'm sure that everyone here can see it now, and imagine the possibilities for enhanced game play.

      • I've heard rumors that XBox will have voice chat and command-control.

      • Re:Wouldn't a better solution be ... (Score:5, Funny)

        by CaseyB ( 1105 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @09:19PM (#2439364)
        a voice to text solution?

        Uh, right.

        "Okay! Alpha team approach the base from the west! Beta, provide sniper cover and be prepared to fall back on defense!"

        <pause>

        --
        TeamLeader says: "Hooray! Alpo tea map roach debase Rama vest. Bay techno wide sighter cove randy pee pear two sell bacon desense!"
        --

        • TeamLeader says: "Hooray! Alpo tea map roach debase Rama vest. Bay techno wide sighter cove randy pee pear two sell bacon desense!"

          Actually that's a brilliant idea.

          simulate radio noise/interferance/jamming by jumbling the text.

          speech to text is not bad right now, given training, and so this may be practical in a year or two.

          But this is where the command macros could be useful. a single word or letter combo translates to a full string of text. etc.

  • Oh, my, lord. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by anotherone ( 132088 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @07:34PM (#2438950)
    People say the X-Box controller is big...

    I'm gonna be the first to say, I WANT ONE OF THESE FOR COMPUTER. Heck, you've got all the basics in one package. VERY nice.

    I'd say that it looks more like you hold it on your lap rather than in the air like a normal controller.

    • Re:Oh, my, lord. (Score:3, Insightful)

      by WillSeattle ( 239206 )
      Hmm, makes you wonder if they're going to push email and web access with that baby, no?

      Yup, you can see where they expect to make money.

      Why buy a PC?

      • Yeah, that's it. They plan on making money from web access and email. That's why it doesn't come with a modem or ethernet. Besides, it's a third party controller.
    • I'm gonna be the first to say, I WANT ONE OF THESE FOR COMPUTER. Heck, you've got all the basics in one package. VERY nice.


      You already do. It's called your keyboard.
      • my keyboard doesn't have built in analog joysticks. This thing would be SO perfect for first person shooters- with the standard keyboard+mouse combo, you have to move your running/strafing hand to hit keys for items and stuff. With joysticks/gamepads, there's never enough buttons.

        With this thing, you can move your hand quickly to slap the Holoduke key (or whatever) and then get right back to the controller to aim/run around.

    • Or on the desktop like a regular keyboard. All I'd need is a keyboard with "wings" that flip up so it's like using a regular controller, with different halves in each hand.
    • I'd say that it looks more like you hold it on your lap rather than in the air like a normal controller

      RSI Anyone?

    • People say the X-Box controller is big...

      But remember its not the size of your controler but how you use it...

  • You know (Score:5, Funny)

    by sllort ( 442574 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @07:35PM (#2438953) Homepage Journal
    My big problem with this controller is, when I throw it at my television in frustration, it might break something.

    I hope they work hard to keep the weight down. Maybe it's made of carbon fiber?
    • As far as breaking your TV is concerned...

      I participated and help set up this year's BotBash here in Phoenix, AZ - outside, we set up a bunch of TV's and other junk for Christian Ristow's machines to rip apart... Fast forward to end of show...

      Some TV's were lying around - various people were trying to kick the TV tube's face in - one huy was wearing steel toe boots - it took about twenty extremely hard kicks before the tube would implode.

      A controller being thrown at a TV, even a keyboard, would likely do nothing to bust the screen, or the TV - might scratch it, and yeah, it could break other things - but the TV picture tube - nope.
      • Yeah, a friend of mine once swung a mike stand (rather heavy base) at a monitor and it had no effect whatsoever.

      • Re:Actually... (Completely OT) (Score:5, Funny)

        by OmegaDan ( 101255 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @08:55PM (#2439286) Homepage
        I've had a similar experience :)

        I work as a sysadmin, and one of my guilty pleasures is tossing out old equiptment :) We have a raised loading dock, and adjacent to the loading dock is our (not raised) steel garbage bins ...

        It was a particularaly (sp?) good day because I got to toss out some old macs (I don't really care for them) on the docket was an old quadra 990 (IIRC) and 2 of those *REALLY* old B/W 20+ inch monitors ... so ya gotta imagine Im close to 6' tall, and the trashcans are 3' below my feet, so I topple a monitor from my cart down into the empty trash bin and it makes a fantastic noise but dosen't break! So I pickup the second monitor, raise it above my head, and throw it down into the bin, it makes a terrible noise, still, tube is intact ... by this time im uber pissed so I grab the quadra (and its not a dinky one either, its one of those early 90's dealies with the thick aluminum cases) and I throw it as hard as I can at the two monitors! ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG! they still didn't break :)

        By this time, everyone in the parking lot is staring at me :) People have come out of their upstairs offices all to see what the 3 loud bangs were ... defeated, so I pack up my cart and head inside :)

        • > quadra 990 (IIRC) and 2 of those *REALLY* old B/W 20+ inch monitors
          > ... so ya gotta imagine Im close to 6' tall, and the trashcans are 3'
          > below my feet


          If you're lifting them like that, those aren't the *old* ones. . . .


          I had an Ehman 19" back in 1989 for my SE/30. Moving it around was done by staggering, not walking.


          When it went bad, I sent it back under warranty. They told me to send it back in the original packing material? Huh? I explained that it came on a shipping pallet with a sheet of cardboard wrapped around it and a boxtop over that, all strapped together. He groaned. "Oh, one of those".


          hawk, who still prefers greyscale to color

      • Some TV's were lying around - various people were trying to kick the TV tube's face in - one huy was wearing steel toe boots - it took about twenty extremely hard kicks before the tube would implode.

        That is why you kick them in at the back. The neck is really easy to break, even accidentally.

        • A good science experiment is to implode a plastic garbage bin...

          Take one monitor/tv (bigger is better).

          Remove the back of the case to expose the neck.

          Place into a plastic wheelie bin (one with a flip open lid) face down / neck up.

          Get besser-block (oversized brick for retaining walls).

          hold up the lid of the bin, underside facing up.

          place the block on the top.

          now, swing the block/top closed so the block falls into the tube's neck and breaks it.

          The lid will be pretty much shut, and when the vaccum seal breaks (tube shatters) the whole bin will implode with much force... good fun for the whole family.

          oh yeah, dont forget to run away quickly... get someone else to film it / take a photo.

          • These anecdotes demonstrate something about the tube construction. You can't easily break the CRT from the front -- even dropping another extra-heavy monitor on it won't crack it -- but a brick dropping a few inches onto the neck will implode the tube.

            The curved rear glass is only as strong as it has to be to support the air pressure. 14.5 psi * area of the tube probably = a few tons, but it's formed as a 360-degree arch shape, so all the glass is in compression. Glass is surprisingly strong in compression; any little cracks that start are forced closed instead of growing.

            The nearly flat viewing area has to be very thick, since air pressure will be trying to bend the center of the screen inwards, and glass is not great at resisting bending. (Pushing in the screen stretches the outside surface around the edges and the inside surface around the center, and this will pull cracks wider.)

            Also, when electrons are accelerated through several thousand volts and then stopped suddenly in the phosphors, they tend to emit x-rays. So you need a thick glass plate with lead (oxide?) dissolved in it to stop the x-rays. X-rays may also be emitted sideways, but it costs and weighs less to wrap the sides of the tube in lead foil than to use thick glass there.

            Making the exposed part of the tube hard to break is just a fortunate side-effect of the mechanical requirements...

    • Re:You know (Score:5, Funny)

      by ewhac ( 5844 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @07:50PM (#2439043) Homepage Journal

      What you can't see in that photo is that the KeyStickBoardPad (or whatever they end up calling it) has an aerodynamic form similar to that of a boomerang. So when you chuck it at the TV, it'll circle right back around and konk you in the head.

      Schwab

  • Wow! (Score:2, Funny)

    by conebrid ( 324421 )
    I'll have to grow some longer arms before I can even reach both sides of the controller at once, but hey, once I do, PSO will be taking up even more of my time!

  • It can be held... (Score:5, Funny)

    by neema ( 170845 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @07:35PM (#2438957) Homepage
    The page asks is the thing can be held. Of course it can... space your hands about 1 feet away from each other in the air, palms facing each other.

    Ok... now start twindling your fingers as if you're playing a game!

    Ok, got it? Seems comfortable enough doesn't it? Ok, now scream something you'd scream during game play. Like "COME ON! I HAD THAT!" while moving the imaginary controller around like a mad man.

    There you go!

    Congratulations!

    You successfully look like an idiot.
    • I think a better question would be, can it be held for (semi-)long periods of time without strain on your arms? I know that on the rare occasions when i play consoles (or with a gamepad on my PC), i don't rest the controller on my lap, i like to hold it in the air. Judging by my keyboard, I dont' think that thing would be good or hold in air for very long, although i suppose you would put it on your lap periodically to type (something else i find rather uncomfortable).
  • And you thought it was a pain to take your hands off the keyboard to use the mouse!

  • Thoughts from a video game junkie (Score:4, Interesting)

    by MBCook ( 132727 ) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @07:36PM (#2438966) Homepage
    Well, I'm not quite sure what to say. The idea of the keyboard is a good idea for PSO, but I think that it would be very unweildly to use to move around in the game if you have to do that much (I haven't played the game because I'm too cheap to buy it, I only rent. It's not rentable because the serial number of the game is tied to the serial number of the DreamCast, but I digress). I know that it's the name of the company that probably made it (since they're an old controller company), but it seems a little funny to put "ASCII" on the top of a keyboard.

    On a slightly different note, I think that if (read: when) someone hacks the gamecube to run Linux/BSD/etc. and X, this would be a great keyboard/mouse combo.

  • huh?! (Score:5, Funny)

    by SuperFlaco ( 214663 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @07:36PM (#2438968)
    So would you type with your nose?

    • Re:huh?! (Score:2, Funny)

      by amuro98 ( 461673 )
      Forehead, acutally...

      I have this image of someone holding the controller with both hands then realizing they need to type something, so they mash their face against the keyboard.

      I can see it now:

      Player A: Let's team up, what do you say?
      Player B: dse 3 nma w54dgem8eyu
      Player A: Hey, buddy, this is an ENGLISH server!

    • Re:huh?! (Score:5, Funny)

      by tourvil ( 103765 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @08:40PM (#2439241)
      Actually, you would type with something else, but since Nintendo markets more towards kids, they can't show you.

      tourvil

      • I can't type with mine, but I can hammer a six-inch spike through a board with it.
      • Actually, you would type with something else, but since Nintendo markets more towards kids, they can't show you.

        ..thus showing this is not a tool for the female gamer. But then again, some of them.... naaaah, not gonna go there.

        -'fester
      • Actually, you would type with something else, but since Nintendo markets more towards kids, they can't show you.

        And some of us would be able to type more than others.

        I've heard of the "hunt and peck" style, but "hunt and pecker"? That's outrageous!

  • hmph.. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by PopeAlien ( 164869 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @07:39PM (#2438984) Homepage Journal
    This just looks like some of the wireless keyboards I've used with integrated track ball and buttons on both sides.. Works fairly well for basic mouse manipulation, but I can imagine doing anything fast or precise with that controller- There's something strange about haveing your hands that far apart.. Is this just a slow plodding point-and-click game?

  • A further improvement... (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Get rid of the sticks on each side and
    let the user type JKL; to move about
    like any other good game.

  • More bits! (Score:5, Informative)

    by UncleOzzy ( 158525 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @07:43PM (#2439010)

    Now, the game is coming to GameCube, a system with more bits, which results in larger words filled with more characters who have more lines of dialogue.

    Dialogue like:

    w00t! My b0X0r h4Z m00r B1tZ +heN yuRz!!

    Stellar.

  • Will the new Cube controller have

    CTRL - ALT - DELETE?
    hmmm, That's probably reserved for the xbox ...

    How bout Scroll lock?
    ACk! they outlawed side-scrollers years ago!

    What are we gonna do with a keyboard then.........

  • To start with, the unit has the acronym "ASCII" emblazoned loudly above the keyboard. This is cleary unfair favoritism toward the ASCII character set, and a misrepresentation of the unit's capabilities.

    I'm certain the scancode output from the keyboard portion of the unit could just as easily be represented by the EBCDEC character set. Unless they're careful, IBM may decide to sic their P.R. machine on these guys.

    That aside, this thing looks like a stingray. Ah! There's a use... take it down to the neighborhood pool, toss it in, and watch small children swim for their lives! Just 30 minutes in the oven on "warm" and its usable for gaming again.

    Disclaimer: If you can't find any humour in this, you should game more often... ;-)

  • Geez, I thought the XBOX controler was huge [penny-arcade.com], but this is, this is fucking huge
  • I don't know much about the game it's for, but the way i see it, wouldn't the good ol' tried and true FPS keyboard/mouse combo work better? It might avoid embarrasment, laughing, and suggestions that the designer(s) of that monstrosity[sic?] were on crack too.
    • actually, the dreamcast also had a ctrl alt delete feature for a soft reset so you're not quite as creative as you think you are...also, the american gamecube has the handle too.
  • You really think this is serious? Has the pun really gone over your heads?

    ... Now, the game is coming to GameCube, a system with more bits, which results in larger words filled with more characters who have more lines of dialogue. ...

    And since when has 'ASCII' made controllers? And doesnt "This is not a joke." make it an even more obvious joke?
    • Actually, ASCII (AKA Asciiware) has made lots of controllers over the years. One of their best pads they ever put out was their SNES AsciiPad. They also made an NES Advantage-like joystick for the SNES, cleverly titled the "SNES Advantage". They also made this neat one-handed RPG controller released in Japan for the SNES that let you eat/write while playing RPGs and other command-driven games.

      Here's a picture of a Dreamcast controller they made. [auctionwatch.com]
      Here's a PSX version of the one-handed RPG controller. [ipixmedia.com]
    • Ascii has made accessories for a very LONG time, one of my first controllers for the NES was an Ascii controller.

      As for this keyboard.. look at the keys compared to the thumbpad -- those keys can't be much bigger than a laptop's keyboard. Would be quite good for typing and whatnot.

    • And since when has 'ASCII' made controllers?

      Since, like, 1988...
    • I'm with you. If anybody wants more, the ends are suspiciously exactly the same as the standard controller, and that image looks familiar. Plus, I like the photo credit to gparra.com [internic.net].

      But, as everybody already said, ASCII [ascii.co.jp] does make controllers, as well as a very sharp Hello-Kitty themed home page.


      Ok, enough of my fanboy/google ski11z/karma whoring shit already. I don't even play these games anymore. All I want is the next Mario Kart.

    • "And doesnt "This is not a joke." make it an even more obvious joke?"

      No, the phrase "This is not a joke" makes me think it is not a joke.

      PERSON1: "There's a guy somewhere round here with a gun shooting stuff up. This is not a joke"

      PERSON2: "Oh, I get it! hahahahah-"
      **BLAM!**

      PERSON1: "Stupid *&^%&@"

      BTW, for just one os many sites that sells ASCII controllers, Try here [hiphip.com]

  • Two handed? (Score:5, Funny)

    by GiMP ( 10923 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @07:54PM (#2439071)
    You can tell this is for children friendly market! No one-handed typing :(

  • Hardly much of a change (Score:5, Interesting)

    by cgenman ( 325138 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @07:54PM (#2439072) Homepage
    The inherint problem with any controller of this type is that you have to radically change hand position when going from chatting to movement, both of which should be common in an online rpg. It has to be rested upon something to type, but movement requires that you hands be wrapped around the sides and back. Even mice are manipulated from the top like a keyboard, and yet all online rpg'ers find the transition annoying. This new controller is the aesthetic and gameplay equivalent of gluing a controller and a keyboard together with Elmer's white. While that might have some post-modern artistic appeal, I doubt it will be anything but kludgy in practice. Why didn't ascii design something that could be controlled entirely from the top, designed specifically for pso?
    • For my games I re-assign the keys so that I can simply put my hands on the keyboard as if I were typing.

      Now this is when the reader says, "But you still have to take your hands off to use the mouse!"

      And I respond, "Nope, I am using a Thinkpad and the Trackpoint is very natural to use with just a slight tilt of your right hand."

      Of course playing Diablo on a Thinkpad will give you a serious case of RSI.

  • Dude for MMORPG's, this is near huge. I'd sit-down and figure away to drop most of the used keys and drop a ergo track ball on it, and make it lightwieght but mantain some respect of tactial feel. But I'd drop the handleheld idea(too much "grip" changing)for a laptop or desktop model. It would make playing MMORPG's a dream, keeping your hands close together to cover everything.

  • Similar controller idea (Score:4, Insightful)

    by DahGhostfacedFiddlah ( 470393 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @08:02PM (#2439109)
    What about something similar, but it would "telescope", so that it would act as a regular controller if you wanted it, but you could pull it out for keyboard functionality? Just another stupid idea.
  • Can't wait till they release the next generation controller called UNICODE.
    Of course Micro$oft will release it's own closed source version. A keyboard with the letter's blacked out. And of course the open source version will have over a hundred keys to you can customize it to your hearts content.
  • Notice the arrow keys... they are much like how I remember old apple computers - up-down-left-right all in a row. Obviously the arrow keys would not be used as much as the controller for the gaming, but there might be times where you want it setup better.
  • Ok, it looks cool. I mean, besides the fact that it's a foot wide, it does, as many have stated.

    But I think we need to take off our slashdot goggles and think who this is marketed to.

    The n64 was eventually marketed to little kids, come on, pokemon rights were bought exclusively by nintendo. My little brother has one and it's all he plays.

    My question is, if they can't type, is it supposed to hold their sippie cup?
  • As far as PSO is concerned (or even other games), why not just release a new version of the game that allows you to use a mouse in combintation with the keyboard? I've played a bit of PSO, and it annoyed me to no end that you couldn't map keys on the keyboard to act as buttons on the controller. There is already a Dreamcast mouse (There is a Dreamcast version of Quake3 and Unreal Tournament.)

    Seems to make more sense than producing that monstrosity of a controller.

    Personally, I think online RPG's like PSO work much better on the PC. But for those who can't afford a high end PC and a broadband connection, it's a fun alternative.
  • Blimey, looks like the controller for my Jaguar. Hope this one dosen't cripple your hands like that one used to. My thumbs are still aching from all those late night Alien vs. Predator sessions. And Doom too, natch.
  • ...I mean really? It just a keyboard with a joystick on the left and some buttons on the right!

    Do this: take your keyboard and put it in your lap. Then take your hands and place them at the left and right respectively. Is that so uncomfortable? Actually I think it feels great, specially for games where you have to type.

    And of course you can hold it up in the air... but why? I mean, if you are going to type a lot, might as well just leave it on your lap! And we don't know how heavy it is yet!

    Hell, if it's heavy, it'll be a good workout for those geeky arms you have! j/k
  • I remember every Christmas when younger, I could tell which were gameboy games, NES games, then came SuperNES or Genesis packages under the Xmas tree. I knew the exact weight, size and shape of each console game package. Wow, I think this honkin thing might make me think my parents got me a baseball bat or soemthing.

    It sure would throw me off, if this monster comes bundled with PSO that is...
  • Hmm. HMMM!!! It Looks very interesting.

    it gave me the next idea.

    Maybe this idea also will work: integrate a mouseball in the bottom of a keyboard. get rid of the rubber thingies and a keyboard will slide. add some extra keys as mouse-buttons and hey-presto ;)

  • Name It (Score:3, Funny)

    by CleverNickName ( 129189 ) <wil@wil[ ]aton.net ['whe' in gap]> on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @09:02PM (#2439309) Homepage Journal
    So is the controller going to be called "The Dvorak" or "The American Simplified"?

  • it isn't so strange (Score:2, Insightful)

    by mrbkap ( 517255 )
    This controller, although it looks completely insane, is completely sane for the reason that it was built: to help someone play Phantasy Star Online better. In fact, I could see many uses for it if a lot of games start going online. Can you imagine attempting to DM some goulish monster and try to type out a message for help on a standard 4-5 button gamepad? It would be almost to completely impossible. Perhaps it looks strange now, but I can definately see multiple uses for such a controller sometime close in the future. Just my $0.02 worth
  • I've never played the games mentioned in the article, but I'd love to have a keyboard that had a gamepad built in.

    Why limit yourself to an 8 button gamepad?
    I'd assign every key to a Tekken Tag 10 hit combo.

    And I'd figure out how to play as the creature when using unknown and assign that to a key as well.
  • In related news, Logitech announced today it's new KeyMouse XP.

    From the press release:
    The KeyMouse XP is the worlds first mouse to integrate a 120 key keyboard inside a mouse. This gives the user the advantage of not having to switch between keyboard and mouse - a repetitive movement which costs the user time and productivity.

    The keyboard is located between the left and right mouse buttons.

    When asked how difficult this new mouse would be to handle Logitech would only say that the user would need a really big-ass mousepad.

  • When I click the link, Konqueror barfs. Oh well.

  • why couldn't they... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by psxndc ( 105904 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @09:21PM (#2439370) Journal
    have tried something like the nokia 5510 [nokia.com] or The RIM blackberry [rim.com]???

    Why does it need to be a full sized keyboard. You can type pretty fast on these with just your thumbs after a little while.

    psxndc

  • No Linux Drivers, I hope... (Score:5, Funny)

    by wirefarm ( 18470 ) <jim@mmdCOWc.net minus herbivore> on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @09:22PM (#2439374) Homepage
    Good lord, think of what EMACS could become if something like this were supported in *nix:
    "To paste text,
    simply hold down [esc]+[meta]+[alt]+[ctrl]+[shift],
    while banking thirty degrees to the left..."


    (BTW - this is my 200th post! [slashdot.org] )
    Cheers,
    Jim in Tokyo
  • This is a bit off-topic, but what a console controller really needs is a small, built-in trackball. Maybe off to the right, it would be a godsend to FPS players. Freelook with the trackball on the right, move/strafe with the d-pad on the left, and use the triggers for shooting and/or jumping. Finally, console players could hold their own against the PC elite in Quake!
  • I usually give you credit for have some good brain power but "Something like this looks like a great idea to me." Are you nuts? It might be a good idea if you want to serve breakfast in it or use it as a model in a space movie but jeez!
  • Chances are that this is a Bluetooth keyboard/controller hybrid. It's be a funky way to use your PC.

    Mind you, I use a Logitech cordless keyboard pro and my mouse mat is an old SNES mouse pad, so I guess I'm a little biased.

  • MICROPHONES, anyone? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Vegan Pagan ( 251984 ) <deanasNO@SPAMearthlink.net> on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @10:35PM (#2439541)
    Hasn't anyone heard of a microphone? Sega made a Dreamcast game where you could speak to other players with the microphone, Alien Front Online. If you play that, you'll know that speaking with a mike is 10 times cooler than typing. It's so much simpler, so much more effective, and so much more fun! I mean, what's more fun, IM or talking on the telephone? Really, online gaming needs to ditch keyboards and get with the voice.
  • Looking at it and doing a little judging, it looks about the size of a standard keyboard. I took my keyboard and held it as if I were using that keyboard and it didn't feel awkward at all. The only drawback is having to put down your keyboard in order to type something in, but I guess there is no other alternative unless there are arrow keys on the keyboard that will allow movement and such.
  • I would love to play this game on my new 100" TV!
  • But Sega says that Phantasy Star Online has a player base of 300,000. That rivals Everquest and Ultima Online in size. I would imagine the manufacturer of this control to be very pleased is they can sell this thing to a quarter million or more people.

  • Console MMORPGs & The HORROR of input (Score:3, Funny)

    by MA17 ( 309062 ) <MA17@geocities.com> on Tuesday October 16, 2001 @11:24PM (#2439688)
    This keyboard/controller looks like a pretty sound idea, and holding it in your lap does indeed seem to be the intended method of operation...which is all good and fine, but underneath all this is the question of "Why do consoles insist on keeping their beloved D-Pad and thumb buttons?"

    If you have a keyboard in front of you, you can navigate throughout the game without any additional controller foolishness on the sides. The keyboard alone can more than cover all the functions of any game pad. WASD for motion/navigating menus, plenty of keys to replace controller buttons, etc.

    Also, for the height of console adventure/PRG tedium, fire up Raiders of the Lost Ark on your Atari 2600, and take joy in finding that one joystick is for moving Dr. Jones, and another is required to manipulate your inventory! Little brothers are finally useful for something!
  • ... is going to require it be water resistant or completely waterproof. (Among other liquids that may come from the lap of a Slashdotter with a keyboard in hand. Har har. :p)

    (note to Slashdot: the controller is a joke.)
  • OK, so I don't know if that picture is a hoax or not, but for a game requiring text input I don't see why this is such a big joke. Has anyone seen those keyboards that are coming with the new set tops for interactive TV? They are basically the same thing (interactive buttons on left, remote control buttons on right, keyboard in middle.) Of course I wouldn't use this controller much, if at all, but I usually stick to sports and shoot 'em up games. I think people who like games that include chat or other text interaction could really use such a controller.

  • This looks like the perfect keyboard for Vishnu!

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