Check It Out: What The Media's Saying About Novint and Valve

Unless you've been living under a rock over the last couple of days, you know that we recently announced our agreement with Valve. Highlights include Novint's very own Tom Anderson on G4's XPlay and IGN's Tech Fetish Pod Cast. Check out what the media's had to say...

http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/blog/post/686504/XPlay_Gaming_Update_062408.html

http://gear.ign.com/articles/883/883929p1.html

http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/06/25/novint-partnering-with-valve-to-make-freaky-awesome-robo-peripheral-useful/

http://venturebeat.com/2008/06/25/novint-technologies-makes-progress-with-its-3-d-mouse-for-gamers/

http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/06/25/novint-technologies-makes-progress-its-3-d-mouse-gamers

http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/technology_news/4270603.html

http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/06/25/videogames-falcon-novint-tech-personal-cx_cm_0625falcon.html

http://gear.ign.com/articles/884/884447p1.html

http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2008/06/25/novint-announcement

http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/fullstory.php?id=151956

http://pc.gamezone.com/news/06_25_08_09_00AM.htm

http://forums.gamingnexus.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=10694

http://gizmodo.com/5019634/novint-falcon-force-feedback-controller-gets-valve-support

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3168433

http://news.totalpcgaming.com/?p=118

http://snagwiremedia.com/novint-falcon-3-dimensional-controller/

http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/blackberry/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208801382

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/53328

http://www.destructoid.com/play-valve-games-with-a-robot-92472.phtml

http://www.csnation.net/view.php/press/novint-valveteam.csn

http://www.gadgetreview.com/2008/06/novint-falcon-controller-to-get-fps-game-support-and-handgun-add-on.html

http://news.bigdownload.com/2008/06/25/novint-falcon-to-support-more-valve-game-titles/

http://www.playreaction.com/?p=viewarticle&articleid=312355cb-5ea4-4f5f-b3f1-d56f341a638a

http://forumplanet.gamespy.com/in_the_news/b48785/19840096/p1/

http://blip.tv/file/1021584

FAQ: Valve, Pistol Grip, Black Falcon!

Hello everyone! This has been a VERY busy week for us. Between our Valve announcement, and information about the Pistol Grip and Black Falcon, there’s a lot going on at Novint! I thought I’d take a few minutes to answer some of our most common questions regarding everything.

Q: When will the Black Falcon be available?
A: We expect the Black Falcon to start shipping in mid to late July. The Black Falcon has an MSRP of $199.99.

Q: When will the Pistol Grip be available?
A: We expect the Pistol Grip to start shipping in mid to late July as well. It has an MSRP of $19.99.

Q: Can I purchase The Orange Box bundle now?
A: You have the option of purchasing The Orange Box bundle. You can get either the Black Falcon or White Falcon, a Pistol Grip, and a copy of The Orange Box for $189.99. You can reserve your bundle now at: http://home.novint.com/reserve/pistol.php

Q: What if I already own a copy of The Orange Box? Can I still take advantage of the bundle?
A: If you already own a copy of The Orange Box you can still purchase the bundle and we’ll substitute a different game for you.

Q: What are some of the AAA titles that are available for the Falcon?
A: We have announced deals with EA and Valve. We have Battlefield 2, Battlefield 2142, Madden NFL 08, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, NBA Live 08, Need for Speed Pro Street, Half-Life 2, Episode 1 and 2, Team Fortress 2, Portal, Counter-Strike Source, and upcoming Left 4 Dead.

Feel free to leave additional questions in the comments section below! Also, we’ll be posting more information from our Press Event in New York and I’m going to post my thoughts on the very first playables of Tiger Woods and Battlefield2!

IT'S FALCON FRIDAY!

Hello everyone! This has been a very busy week for us, and we're excited to end the week with an awesome Falcon Friday. This week's game is Cave Brain.

Can you help our caveman hero push rocks, smash crates and avoid traps as he solves each level of this arcade puzzle game? Dragons, Blue Goblins and Mad Mushrooms will do their best to stop you, but you can get rid of them by using your Novint Falcon to push boulders onto their heads, or to use your giant hammer to smash your way to victory. You’ll also use the Falcon to activate magical springs and teleporters, feeling your character’s movements throughout the diverse and magical environments. Play in two different modes: Arcade and Logic Modes. Even add your favorite MP3 music files.

The game retails for $14.99 but if you're lucky enough you might get a free copy of the game from the Message Board. Enjoy!

Live From New York!

Hello everyone! I'm blogging from New York (normally I'm based in San Francisco) and we've had a really great trip so far! I got a chance to play a very early version of Battlefield 2 and Tiger Woods. Both are AWESOME! Battlefield is even better with the Pistol Grip (sorry, I had to brag). I'll have more info on that later this week.

We had some PRETTY BIG NEWS that was revealed earlier today. A little company by the name of Valve has partnered with us to add Falcon support to some titles like The Orange Box, Counter-Strike: Source®, the Half-Life 2 series (including Half-Life 2, Episode One, and Episode Two), Team Fortress 2, Portal™ and Left 4 Dead.

We're currently taking advance reservations for a special Falcon Orange Box bundle, due later this year. The bundle will include the new Black Falcon, Pistol Grip, and a touch-enabled version of The Orange Box (a $248.98 value) for $189.99!

IT'S FALCON FRIDAY!

Hi there everyone! It's Falcon Friday!

This week's game is a bit different from our games in weeks past. This week's game is Newton's Monkey Math. It's Novint's very first educational title and we're really proud of it! Tom (Novint's CEO) has wanted to add educational titles to our game lineup for quite some time, so this is a very special project for him.

Newton’s Monkey Math is a fun, interactive title to help your child improve his or her math skills. Newton will help you learn to solve math problems quickly by challenging you to solve as many math problems as you can during your allotted time. You’ll solve the various math problems by shooting an arrow at the target with the correct answer. You’ll feel the resistance of the bow when you pull it back and the forward momentum as the arrow is released from your grasp! The challenging math problems combined with the tactile sensations encourage children to learn the mathematical concepts at a faster rate – and have a lot of fun while doing it! Newton's Monkey Math has different levels for children ages 5-15.

Check it out at Novint's Online Game Store!

More Falcon Events Coming to a City Near You!

Hello everyone! This week has been especially busy as we're preparing to to New York by storm! We'll be meeting with several members of the press to discuss a really exciting announcement that we're about to make. Trust me, it's good! We'll be sure to blog from NYC and let you know about how everything's going on the East Coast.

We're also in the midst of preperations for E3. It's less than a month away... I can't believe it! We're setting up meetings with folks to show off some of our latest and greatest prodcuts and games (including the awesome black Falcon and Pistol Grip)!

So tell us, dear readers, what magazine, newspaper, tv show, or Web site would you like to see the Falcon featured in?

IT'S FALCON FRIDAY!

Hey everyone, it's Falcon Friday! Today's game is... Talon Special Ops! This is a personal favorite of our CEO, Tom and it has made for some really fun office death matches.

Talon Special Ops is an exciting FPS game is set in the not-too distant future, at a time when the rapid advancement of technology has allowed the dream of colonizing distant planets to become reality. However, this stunning rate of expansion into new galaxies has caused these colonies to become a safe haven for the worst kinds of criminal activity. You are part of an elite strike force unit created to deal with these global hazards and crisis situations. With the Falcon, you will feel the effects of weapons, vehicles, and environmental events as you fight back against this criminal activity. Game features include an active camouflage system, neural booster, power shields, 13 modern weapon models, 5 vehicle types, extensive and diverse terrains, map editor, and advanced enemy AI. Play alone or in an up-to-32 player, 4 mode multiplayer match (Death Match, Team Death Match, Team Domination, and Capture The Flag).

Head on over to the Online Game Store and check it out! You can buy it for $29.95. And don't forget to check out the Message Boards, under the Games Section because sometime on Friday Tom will be posting a link for 10 lucky Falcon users to get a copy of Talon for free!

Falcon at Intel LANfest

Hello everyone and happy Thursday! I can't believe how fast this week has gone by! We'll be traveling to New York in a couple of weeks for a press event, so we're working hard on making that event a success.

We recently worked with one of our Falcon Friends, Kelley (aka Xeromist on the message boards), to coordinate some demonstrations at Intel LANfest. We coordinated some giveaways and made sure he was hooked up with some of the latest and greatest games for the Falcon. Here's some of the details...

Even though I just had a computer with a little sign in the middle of all the other computers, I lost count at the number of people that came to try the Falcon... several of them came back to play again when it was available. People thanked me for bringing my unit to demo and several had conversations with me about the games, the hardware, and the future of Haptics. As I was packing up one kid came by and asked me "Is that what I think it is?" and he put his stuff down and played with it for about 5 minutes :)

I really only needed Buckshot and XLR8 for demo. Those seemed to be the games that people liked and could easily get into. I mentioned other games including QuakeIV and HL2 but no one asked to play them. The more dedicated gamers enjoyed XLR8 but Buckshot was the favorite with (at one point) 6 people watching someone play.

I want to say a special thank you to Kelley for the awesome update on this event. The pictures are awesome! Would you be interested in giving Falcon demonstrations to your friends or hosting a Falcon "Tupperware Party"? We're working on setting up a program so let us know if you'd be interested!

One last thing... don't forget that tomorrow's Falcon Friday. We'll post the information on the blog at midnight PST. Happy Falcon Gaming!

A Few Falcon Announcements

Hi there everyone. Things have been really busy over here as we recently announced our Penumbra Bundle. Make sure you check it out. You can purchase Penumbra Overture and Penumbra: Black Plague for $39.95. We continue to hear a lot of great things about the Penumbra games from people like 1Up, so make sure you check them out!

Also, we also officially announced that the Chicken Hunter series of games have joined our game lineup. These games are incredibly popular in Europe, so we're very proud to introduce them to the Falcon audience. Has anyone had a chance to try out Chicken Hunter: Buck Shot?

Lastly, we're about to send out the June edition of the Novint e-Newsletter. If you haven't signed up for our mailing list, be sure to do that today!

IT'S FALCON FRIDAY!

Hello everyone! Today's Falcon Friday and we've got something kind of special lined up. Today's game hasn't even been previewed on the Web site. It's Chicken Hunter: Buck Shot. This is part of a series of games that took over Germany.

In Chicken Hunter: Buck Shot you need hunt down all of the chickens that you can. But look out! These are no ordinary chickens and they’re not going down without a fight! Your enemies will fight back and try to psych you out with every opportunity they get, so you’ve got to be on the lookout at all times!

While playing Chicken Hunter: Buck Shot, players will feel weapon recoil when shooting their gun, feel the specific force when interacting with objects, and can use their sense of touch to know when it’s time to reload with ammunition. Through its intuitive use of controls and forces, this colorful and addicting game is easy to pick up and will provide endless hours of fun!

This game is really addicting (that's coming from our Games Group) and a ton of fun. It's $14.95 at the Online Game Store. Check it out!

Penumbra: Black Plague In The News

Hello everyone! The last few days have been really busy as Penumbra: Black Plague was just launched. It looks like we're not the only one who are excited about the launch. Check out some of the great media coverage that the game's launch has received.

"This is the type of title that platforms like the Falcon needs, big-name titles from the EA catalog are certainly nice, but the last Penumbra was one of the best examples of what the Falcon is capable of." - Ars Technica

"The pairing of the Falcon with P:BP is a smart one, as the game makes rather innovative use of real-world physics to challenge players with puzzles and exploration." - IGN

"The Novint Falcon controller now has a new HaptX video game to add to the line of Falcon enabled titles. The game is called Penumbra: Black Plague HaptX Edition.” - I4U

Have you gotten a chance to try out the game? If so, what did you think? Looking forward to hearing from everyone and keep checking back here for more updates and information about Penumbra: Black Plague.