14 DAY TRIAL // Early next year, the gamers' rumble-enabled controllers and motion-sensitive peripherals will be so last gen, as TN Games will be launching their "3rd Space vest that mimics the feeling of G-forces and turning pressures for flight and car games," but also "shots, stabs, slams, and hits," according to Yahoo Games.
The 3rd Space vest "was originally designed as a medical device," according to Mark Ombrellaro, a US surgeon working on a "tele-health" breakthrough who told AFP they were going to let gamers try out the vest at the E for All Expo in Los Angeles. "To give medical exams via the Internet to prisoners, the elderly, those in rural communities and other isolated people", he commented.
According to the piece up on Yahoo Games, "the medical version of the vest is more sophisticated, enabling doctors sitting at their computers to prod, poke and press patients' bodies from afar and get feedback on what they are virtually feeling", as Ombrellaro himself has confirmed. The vest has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as a pending, claiming they want to make sure that the diagnosis are reliable, as far as the respective model is concerned.
Here's Ombrellaro again, saying a few things about "tele-health", just to give you a better picture of the man's work: "You can teleconference with patients but you are missing the hands-on", he said. "Being able to do that is the last step to tele-health."
TN Games, based in Microsoft's home town of Redmond, Washington is also looking to find more exciting games to match the 3rd Space vest, already having sent one to Microsoft's "people" to "check it out" according to the surgeon.
So the 3rd Space vest is not only "the last step to tele-health", but also the latest step to gameplay experience which, although not as new as some may think, clearly represents the first attempt on such a big scale.
According to the same piece, the vest will make its debut in the US this November, bundled with "Call of Duty" ("a special edition of Call of Duty II" according to Gizmodo) and "a custom-made title", going for $189.
Remember, the vest that mimics the feeling of G-forces, stabs, shots, hits and pressure is due out early next year as a standalone product. Hopefully, TN Games confirms it for both PC and consoles so everyone can enjoy the experience.