With the Wii's MotionPlus already old news, and Microsoft's Project Natal and Sony's PlayStation Eye-based equivalent likely to hit this year, it's easy to wonder when motion controls will find success in the PC world. ASUS's Eee Stick tried, but merely proved that strong software support for new hardware peripherals is absolutely crucial for success - which is why we're excited to see Valve, developers of hit series such as Half-Life, Left 4 Dead and Portal, showing support for Razer and Sixense's new, as-yet-unnamed motion control hardware for the PC.
Razer, Sixense and Valve have been demonstrating the system at CES 2010 using the recent hit zombie-massacring Valve game, Left 4 Dead 2.
The system uses electromagnetic fields to track movements along six axes, offering one-to-one movement and gesture support - and it's accurate to within one millimeter of position, and one degree of orientation.
Chet Faliszek, team lead on Valve’s Left 4 Dead 2 said "With this controller, Razer and Sixense have created the most immersive way to play our games. [...] For us and for our customers, this release represents motion-enabled gaming that’s more integrated and visceral than any platform has so far achieved.”
With Valve on board, we'd be surprised if the rest of the industry didn't follow suit. Any game developers in the audience who are interested in porting their existing games, or developing future games, to use the Razer/Sixense platform should contact gamedevrelations@razerzone.com.
Image via Engadget
