Virtual Sword Fighting

Faeton writes "SIGGRAPH is on, and Extremetech has the scoop on it. From Nvidia's N30 to ATI's monster 4x Radeon 9700 render board, the coolest thing was the virtual sword fighting simulator. With a VR headset and a gyroscopic force-feedback "sword", you could really be the badass knight you've always dreamed of. I want this at a local arcade soon!"

Re:I watched Highlander a bit too much

[flewp]

Eventually, we decided not to, because odds were that eventually, we'd want to play with them, and one of us would end up badly injured or dead. I think we made the right choice. Further evidence Darwin, and his theory of natural selection, is indeed, correct.

Re:Not at a local arcade near you

[White Shadow]

Actually, Namco has a virtual sword fighting game called Mazan : Flash Of The Blade [system16.com]. It's not force feedback, but you get this stub of a sword and you swing it at bad guys on the screen. It's pretty neat to watch.

As for arcade games having tough times, Namco and Konami are keeping them alive by offering games that aren't quite as good on consoles/PCs as in the arcade. Examples of games like this are Dance Dance Revolution (unless you build your own hard pad, it's not the same as the arcade), Percussion Freaks (play drums, like DDR except with a drum set), and Para Para Dancing (wave your arms around). Yes, arcades aren't as popular as they used to be, but that doesn't mean the arcade is dead yet or that they're crappy.

Re:Not at a local arcade near you

[colmore]

actually Arcades are doing wonderfully well.

to combat the increasing power of home consoles, they've added large site-specific attractions that can't be replicated at home. dance dance revolution, that boxing game, the snowboarding simulater etc.

arcades are doing fine

the problem with this, for many slashdotter, i'm sure, is the people at the arcades. these kids never played kid icarus. they weren't into the video games/action figgures/comic books scene as little kids. no, they got together on the weekend and played sports. *sports* for god's sake! and now they're in arcades, our turf. it hurts.