ACT Labs Force Feedback Wheel Getting Closer

GameCenter have a nice article up about the upcoming ACT Labs Force Feedback Wheel, so this revolution might actually happen. They also confirmed they’ve licensed Immersions’ Force Feedback and that pricing should be around $149.

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To the dismay of high-tech gamers, the much-anticipated force feedback revolution has for the most part consisted of too much discussion, too many rumors, and not enough product. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the area of driving peripherals, a seemingly natural market for the new technology.

But if recent developments are any indication, all that should change in 1997. One of the companies expected to be on the front lines is Vancouver, Canada-based peripheral designer ACT Labs, which has just announced a partnership with force feedback developer Immersion Corporation to create a high-end force feedback driving wheel.

It doesn’t have a name yet, but the prototype of the ACT Labs FF wheel will debut this June at Atlanta’s E3 show, and should be in stores by the end of September. Says ACT product manager Joel Sanderson, “We went with Immersion because of their advances in force feedback…they’ve been into it for ten years. Their technology offers effects like dampening, where the feedback is graduated, not just on-off.”

But force feedback won’t be the only innovation in the ACT Labs wheel. Standard features include six programmable buttons, a four-way programmable directional pad, a Formula 1-style gear rocker, and a foot pedal unit for gas and brakes. Says Sanderson, “Each button is 10-in-1 programmable, so in Interstate 76 for example, if you want to look left then fire two weapons, you can do that with one button press.” Sanderson adds that the foot pedals include a vertical gas and a horizontal brake, and are built to minimize slippage.

While a non-force feedback version of the ACT Labs wheel will be available for $100, the force feedback model is tentatively pegged at $149, a seemingly low price point for such a full-featured rig. Sanderson comments, “I know it’s low, but we design high-quality products keeping in mind the user doesn’t want to spend, say, $200 on a joystick.”

“We buy every competitor’s wheel and play it with every single game, leaving no stone unturned. There’s no bungees or springs in the force feedback version. As a matter of fact, it feels better than springs, I can guarantee that.” ACT says its wheel will be fully upgradeable as new versions of force feedback are released.