Mar 08
Smell Your Video Games with Sensory Acumen and Scent Science’s New Gaming Gear
Posted in: gaming, peripheral, Today's Chili, video games, Weird News
Smell-o-vision has been a long-standing joke about television technology: something that in the early days of television every futurist thought would come true, but simply never made it into reality, partially because it’s a ridiculous idea. Still, that hasn’t stopped two companies, Scent Science and Sensory Acumen, from showcasing their new devices that both use atomizers and a connection to your computer or game console to spray specific smells into the air that correspond with the games that you’re playing.
For example, if you’re playing a racing game, the gadgets will spray the scent of burning rubber into the air so you feel like you’re at the racetrack. In fact, this was the example both companies used at the Game Developer’s Conference last week when showcasing their devices.
Both devices would allow users to load cartridges that contain the essential oils required to create smells for specific games. This way game publishers could sell the newest Gran Turismo game, for example, with a scent pack that smells like rubber and gasoline.
As interesting an idea as this is, it’s doubtful if it will ever catch on. Both companies claim their devices would retail for between $60 and $70, but cartridges will have to be sold separately. Also, racing games are great, but I don’t know too many people who would want to buy the cartridge for a game like Dragon Age or Duke Nukem Forever. Still, the cartridge for Cooking Mama would probably be a treat.
[via DVice]
