Mad Genius has launched a Kickstarter campaign to develop a most interesting controller: compatible with PC and all consoles, it is separated into two halves and each of them incorporates absolute positioning. In the form of a conventional gamepad, Mad Genius aims to unify the good of the controller of a lifetime with absolute position detection.
This controller has the advantage of being compatible with all systems on the market, from PS2 to PS4, and also Xbox 360 and Xbox One, in addition to the PC. In principle, it works with any type of game, since it contains the same buttons and levers as conventional controllers and, when separated, it is able to emulate analog movement using the absolute position of the controller, in a very similar way to how the Raze Hydra does when we use the Sixense Motion Creator software, although it is evident that, in the case of the PC, it offers very interesting possibilities that go beyond the mere emulation of movements. By the way, in the video you can see a wired prototype but the final device will be totally wireless.
As you can see, the controller looks like a black Xbox 360 controller, in fact the colors and the letters of the 4 buttons are identical. Of course, it can be seen at first glance that it is somewhat wider and that the central part is different, since the two halves of the remote can be separated and we can use it in a way that reminds us of the Razer Hydra. And that’s not the end of the similarities, since the two halves of the controller can detect their exact position in space, as well as their acceleration when we move them.
To detect the absolute position, Mad Genius claims to have a completely new technology, of which we are only told that it has an accuracy of 0.25 mm, capturing even the slightest movement. According to them, the accuracy is much higher than that of other systems that use cameras and accelerometers. It will also include software that will allow us to create, share and download profiles for the games created by us and by other users.
The campaign ends on November 18 and the devices will be shipped in November next year, and we can choose to buy the standard model or the development kit, which includes a complete SDK and the positioning monitoring software. This decision seems to us unwise, since the remote costs a whopping $ 299 and it does not seem logical to us that the development version will be raised no less than up to $ 499 for the mere fact of being accompanied by the software. The truth is that the concept of the controller seems to us the most interesting, but these high prices coupled with a final goal of $ 850,000 will greatly hinder the success of the campaign, although they have the advantage of full compatibility with all consoles.
For example, the Sixense STEM had a goal of $ 250,000 and exceeded $ 600,000, offering for $ 299 a kit with 2 controls and 5 sensors, with full access to the SDK and all the Sixense software, an offer that seems much more attractive to us. In any case, we wish you all the luck in the world and hope that you can take the development forward.
