the games we play

There has been a lot of discussion lately about whether games are becoming too complex and inaccessible, especially for people outside the core gamer demographic. Some people feel that games shouldn’t require hours of commitment and high-levels of skill to play. Nintendo has opted to develop content to appeal to people outside what is typically considered the average gamer demo, and has been successful with titles like Brain Age, which has sold over 4 million units to date worldwide. With the growing success of casual games, and products like Guitar Hero and EyeToy, even Microsoft seems to be rethinking their strategy, offering up broader content, like Viva Pinata, and “smaller games” through Xbox Live Arcade. Of course, with only 20% of all game releases accounting for 80% of revenues, and development budgets rising to new heights every year, who wouldn’t want to court the audience of gamers and potential gamers who want to play, but may be intimidated by the investment of time and money many AAA titles require?

What do you think? Do you think games have gotten too complex? What game(s) are you currently playing? What platform(s) are you playing on? How many hours, on average, do you play each week? What kind of player do you consider yourself: hardcore, core, casual, or something else? Is there something, in particular, that makes you want to purchase a new game or game product?

There also seems to be a sea change occurring with regard to how games are distributed. An increasing number of products are being offered for sale as digital downloads. Do you downloaded games? How do you feel about downloading versus purchasing from either a traditional brick and mortar store, or an online store? So many questions… Tell us what you think.

changing the game

Greetings Falcon fans! It has been a busy month and you can expect lots of exciting news in the weeks to come. If you haven't checked out our recent press, visit the News section of our website to view recent articles from BusinessWeek, and additional post-E3 press raves.

For those of you who follow the game industry news, there has been a lot of discussion lately on the state of the business. Analysts and pundits alike are debating the merits of Sony's PS3 strategy, and many are questioning where the next real innovation in gaming is going to come from. What do you think? Bored with the current offerings? Can't wait to break-open the piggy bank for a PS3?

Of course, our response is to introduce people to the Falcon and the concept of touch in games. Whether you're a hardcore FPS player, or like more casual games, 3D touch adds a whole new dimension to your experience, and presents tremendous new creative and business opportunities. Everyone who got the chance to try the Falcon at E3, or at another event, may already see the potential, but we still have lots of work to do to get more developers to integrate our technology into their games. Novint will be at CES in January and at GDC (Game Developer Conference) in March, to continue evangelizing 3D touch. In the meantime, we'd love to hear what games you think would make cool haptic titles. We’d also like to enlist those of you who’ve tried the Falcon to tell people about it. I know some of you have already posted your thoughts on blogs or in response to reviews. Thanks. We really want to bring something new to gaming, and we can’t do it without your support. We've been truly amazed and gratified by the incredible enthusiasm and support we've received so far and want to keep hearing what you think. If you're a developer, or know one, or if your name is Gabe Newell or John Carmack :-), talk to us about titles you have or are working on (games@novint.com). Keep posting!

welcome to the novint blog

Greetings to all and welcome to our new blog. There has been an incredible amount of interest in the Novint Falcon, so we've decided to create this forum to let you know about what we're up to, and as a place to discuss 3D touch, gaming, and, of course, the Falcon. If you haven't visited our web site lately (www.novint.com), take a peek at the great press we've been getting, or pick-up copies of the July issues of PC Magazine and Computer Gaming World, which both have nice articles on the Falcon. We're still basking in the success we had at E3. For a small company, hidden away in Kentia Hall, I think we had more traffic, per square feet of booth space, than some of the mega-companies in the humoungous South and West Halls. Our Half-Life2 (Haptics-Life2) mod was a big hit, converting traditional FPS players and non-players alike. We can't wait to get an audience with Valve, to show them how much 3D touch adds to the game. If there are any Valve folks out there reading this, lets talk. Winning IGN's Best of E3: Gear Award was the icing on the cake. Being recognized in a category that included the Nintendo Wii-mote, a Sony PS2, and PS3 controller, validates what we've been working towards since the start of the company. Seeing the anticipation and support of the media and game community is truly rewarding. It is amazing how excited everyone is about the Falcon, and nice to know that innovation is still recognized and appreciated. Thanks for your interest in Novint. We look forward to an ongoing dialog.