Razer And Sixense Join Hands For Wii-Like Control On The PC

Razer has generally been known best for its hot gaming mice, and more recently, keyboards. But clearly the company has expansion in mind, and with the high-end peripheral market booming (Rock Band instruments, anyone?), there has never been a better time to dabble in the world of motion sensing. At CES 2010, Razer teamed with Sixense and Valve in order to showcase a new technology that's much like the Nintendo Wii Remote, but for the PC. Interested? You should be.

Detailed as a "true-to-life, next-generation motion sensing and gesture recognition controller for PC gaming," the controller system was shown with Left 4 Dead 2, and the results were said to be impressive. It's one of the first devices to really get PC gamers up out of their seats; for years, those gamers have relied on a mouse + keyboard combo, one that has yet to be replicated in flexibility on the console side. But it's hard to ignore the general allure of motion sensing, and the Wii has proven that consumers are into it.

The companies put their heads together in order to create ultra-precise one-to-one motion sensing controllers that use electromagnetic fields to track precise movements along all six axes for use in current and future generation PC games. We're told that the absolute controller position is tracked to within a mere millimeter for positioning and to a degree for orientation, so PC gamers worried over precision (snipers, we're talking to you!) shouldn't be concerned. Razer is also dumping $20m into a Razer-MDA IDM Lab for the research into next generation user interfaces for gaming, so we wouldn't be surprised if this is only the beginning. There's no set release date or price for this tech, but considering the press it drew, we would expect engineers to working around the clock in order to create a marketable product.

"We are really excited to be working with Razer to bring motion gaming to the PC world. This technology collaboration will allow PC gamers to experience true-to-life gaming in a different dimension," said Avi Arad, chairman and cofounder, Sixense. "This is a strong partnership that will not only enhance the entire gaming experience, but will truly revolutionize how games are played on the PC."

Working together with Valve, Razer and Sixense will be presenting a first glance into the future of PC Gaming with Left 4 Dead 2, a co-op team based tactical FPS game that is available on the Steam network, with a technology demonstration of what is slated as the first true one-to-one motion sensing and gesture recognition platform for the PC, which adds a totally new dimension to the Left 4 Dead 2 experience. Technology demonstrations with prototype motion sensing controllers will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall 4, Meeting Room #S215. Products utilizing the motion sensing technology showcased at CES will be launched later in 2010.

"With this controller, Razer and Sixense have created the most immersive way to play our games," said Chet Faliszek, team lead on Valve's recent best-seller Left 4 Dead 2. "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."