In yet another example of taking gaming way too seriously, KontrolFreek (the world leader in pointless gaming accessories) is coming out with a brand new gaming appartus that is supposed to help console FPS players get a better grip on aiming.
The product is like a small thumb stick that attaches to the top of the Xbox 360 controller’s thumbsticks that are already in place. This raises the point that your thumb hits the controller by a half inch or so. They claim that aiming accuracy has been proven to be very difficult within the first 20 degrees of motion.
IGN gear recently tested out the so called ‘FPS Freek’ controller and confirmed that not only is it in fact more difficult to aim in the first 20 degrees without the FPS Freek, but the extra height provided by the FPS Freek does actually help considerably.
The thumb sticks are currently $9.99, and are available for preorder on KontrolFreek’s website. Even though the product works, I can’t imagine there’s going to be an extreme amount of interest. Things like this are a pointless purchase, because you’ll probably use them once, think they’re OK, and then they get eaten by your cat or lost under the couch.
Besides, there aren’t that many hyper competitive FPS players on consoles; that tends to be the PC crowd. Now, invent a device that allows for easier aiming and more control in a PC FPS, and you’d have yourself a million dollar product.
These aren’t a bad idea, but the main thing that interests me isn’t their uses in making control easier in an FPS, but rather in real time strategy games. Subtle touches and redirections are one of the biggest problems facing the console RTS, and maybe these things could actually help. Personally, I’d be interested in seeing it tried out. Maybe KontrolFreek will be nice enough to send us a pair and I can try it out…
[via Gizmodo]
