“For RTSes, other than mouse and keyboard, the only way to play is with this,” said Sixense CEO Amir Rubin about his organization’s ambitious new motion controller.
Razer’s Hydra is a motion control device developed in concert with Sixense Entertainment, Intel, and Valve Corporation currently aimed at the PC market. The magnetic sensing technology, known as Sixense MotionTouch, has been in development for several years and tracks relative position along a three-dimensional X-Y-Z axis. The Hydra is capable of such sophisticated positional tracking that a user can literally stack boxes or other objects with intuitive ease and precision.
The Hydra will include substantial software support for its motion control system. In addition to universal support for all Valve titles using the Source engine, the Hydra will translate gestures into keyboard macros for over a hundred PC titles. In addition, thanks to user feedback, users will be able to program their own button and gesture configurations for the Hydra to fit with personal preference, then place their configuration profiles online for sharing and review by the general community.
“Anyone who can customize his Facebook page can customize the controls,” Rubin said.
The Hydra will ship this year. Stand-alone units consisting of a wired sensor and two paired handsets have a projected price point of under $100.
A Sixense Motion Pack, consisting of a set of testing levels to familiarize users with the Hydra’s capabilities, will be offered as free downloadable content alongside Portal 2 over Steam.
Trauben’s Impressions
I’ve been tracking this technology since Sixense had a prototype for demonstration out on the GDC floor last year, and I can’t express how good it is to see the Hydra almost ready to go. Having actually practiced with the GDC prototype, I’m confident than between them Razer and Sixense have developed the only motion controller I’ve ever been truly excited to see.
The device is slick. Sure, the sensor unit is attached to the PC by cable, but you know, I can deal with another cable in exchange for this sweet little machine for such a comparatively friendly price. And unlike the infrared-based motion controllers I’ve a lot of experience with, I’m confident that the Hydra actually goes where I want it to go and swings in the sweeping arcs I want it to swing. It’s almost like using your hands to manipulate the game itself.
Huneycutt’s Impressions
Damn.
Simply put, the Razer/Sixense Hydra is a different level of control. I can’t say I’m the world’s greatest advocate on the realm of motion control but Sony’s Move controller has provided me with a goodly amount of slightly-inebriated entertainment, and after demoing Killzone 3 with Move controls, I believe it has its place in hardcore gaming.
But Razer, as in their wont, is on a completely different level. We aren’t talking about a motion-control system designed for Terri the soccer mom. While Terri is busy upstairs serving Foie Gras for the Homeowners Association and her Wii Fit is gathering dust in their specifically purchased and officially licensed Nintendo folding Wii Fit Ottoman, her judgmental, angry, and very serious son is bent over a glowing keyboard, eying a energy drink that is out of his reach due to dedication to his APM. Guess where the Razer Hydra belongs. Timmy the no-joke-gamer’s eyes are going to light up when he sees this unit, tempered by the same reticence my own burned-by-motion-control heart displayed, but he’ll try it. And he’ll love it.
The simple fact that someone recognized that we really and truly needed an entry into the motion controller category that wasn’t just aimed at the PC crowd, but in fact at the hardcore gamer is breath of fresh air. I’m not sure how much this will mean to anyone outside of our tight inner circle of hood-wearing Pixelated Geek fanatics, but I’m not sure there’s ever been a more positive reception to a product. Mr. Trauben and I happen to be two of the most critical people on the face of the planet, and at this point my biggest criticism of the Hydra is that its not wireless, which was a point both rationally and justifiably addressed by Sixense CEO Amir Ruben. We were assured that research into making the product wireless was being done, but Razer refused to make sacrifices to either performance or to a reasonable price point, and that cannot be argued with. I would rather deal with wires than latency, and inasmuch as we’re dealing with a PC peripheral, users aren’t at a great distance from the product, and are usually seated.
Of course, if the Razer Hydra’s performance is what it promises to be, and we have no reason to think otherwise, I might not stay seated very long.