The award-winning HOTAS (Hands-On Throttle and Stick) Warthog flight controller and T 500 RS racing wheel were among the new products on display by Guillemot Corporation at CES.
Both the Warthog and T 500 RS are aimed at high-end simulation gamers. The Warthog, awarded the Innovation Award at CES, replicates the controls of the A-10C Warthog and has been licensed by the U.S Air Force, while the T 500 RS is the official high-end racing wheel for the Playstation 3’s Gran Turismo 5.
The HOTAS Warthog has been sold to military flight trainers and uses 3D magnetic control detection. It is packaged alongside the T.A.R.G.E.T software suite, allowing users to program the controller for other uses. It retails for $499.
The T 500 RS features 1080 degree control, 3 metal interchangeable Rally-style pedals, and force feedback. It retails for $599.
Also on display were several audio products, including the XPS 101 multimedia sound system and the DJ Console 4-Mx, both high-end audio products. The DJ Console 4-Mxis a professional digital DJ deck with 4 output levels, compatible with CD and record players through time-code vinyl and bundled with Virtual DJ LE 7.
Guillemot markets a selection of successful hardware peripherals for simulator gamers under the brand name Thrustmaster, and a wide variety of audio, video, wifi and network products under the Hercules brand name.
Trauben’s Impressions
I was very impressed by both the Thrustmaster peripherals. The T 500 RS seemed to transform the experience of a racing game with its fluid controls, turning the simple experience of driving the car dynamic. The HOTAS Warthog intimidated and amazed me with how responsive and elaborate the controls were — it makes the experience far more intense and immersive for a dedicated sim player.
Huneycutt’s Impressions
I’ve spent a good deal of time trying to tick every box in the Man’s Man merit badge list. I know how to grill a steak and throw a punch, but I have yet to achieve mastery over the elusive ‘Stick Shift’. I am not proud of this.
So when it came time to test Thrustmaster’s new T 500 RS, I was both tentative and excited. And immediately embarrassed by a 12-year-old girl who followed my test-run up. I will say that I was exposed to the force-feedback in good measure, due to the repeated spin-outs and unfortunate collisions with various and sundry cars, walls, cacti, and pretty much every other single entity present in GT5’s rally environment.
Complete ineptitude as an aspiring rally driver aside, the T 500 RS is a serious piece of hardware. Its rugged, huge, without any shred of subtlety (also true of its price point). I don’t feel particularly well-suited to analyze either piece of hardware, but as a hardcore gamer, I was pleased with the units build quality, style, and performance. The closest thing to a complaint I have is really dedicated to the paddle shifters: compared with the level of build-quality of the rest of the product, the faux-chrome finish and its sprayed-on feel, combined with its less-than-satisfying resistance and return rate was off-putting. Not a major complaint, but when faced with a $599 price tag, I would rather have no reservations than a tiny one.
The HOTAS Warthog is something of a childhood dream. When I was very small I had an A-10 Flight Simulator, and played it religiously. I was in love with the idea of a big ugly functional machine, and that’s why the HOTAS Warthog is such a target of nerd-glee.
I won’t bore you with the technical details: its a painstaking replica, and all that entails. You could see in the eyes of the two techs who were presenting and maintaining the flight controller that there is a very serious and dedicated team of obsessive personalities (and I mean that in the most complimentary of ways) behind this project. Like the warthog, its not pretty and its not cheap, but frankly anything that Thrustmaster produces is a ‘If you have to ask how much it costs its not for you,’ situation.
To be fair, the remainder of the products we viewed were both less impressive, and less exciting, and honestly, less applicable for our audience. The turntables would have wowed an audiophile (I think) and while I intellectually understood their features, I couldn’t manage to get excited about either.
On the whole, I’m conflicted about the Guillemot line. Thrustmaster has always been an impressively well-built and high-quality if pricey line of products, but I’m not well-versed enough in the arts of the turntable to really judge the Hercules line of DJ gear. The mock-up speaker set from Hercules was stylish, but when one cannot hear speakers, one cannot judge speakers.
On the whole, I have to say I’m far more impressed by the established high-end line than anything else, but I’ll certainly follow the organization with interest. They’re certainly very knowledgeable and enthused about their product.