During E3 last week, Ubisoft dazzled us with a new game called R.U.S.E., one of Ubisoft’s most anticipated games coming out next year. The game trailer we got to view in one of their presentations presented two guys sitting across from each other on a very special table. This very special table, that this game is supposed to be played on, is an LCD table, instead of a mouse and keyboard. You literally reach down and grab the tank you want to move and move it, or you shove a battleship in the right direction by using hand gestures. I do have to say this presentation blew me away. Of course I want that game; I want to play it just like they were playing, but that is where the problem is.
The table Ubisoft choose to demonstrate the game with is made by Intuilab. The table’s name is Intuiface. Well, come to find out, the table runs roughly around $20,000 to buy, not to mention you need another 50 dollars for the game. So, we’re looking at $20,050 for a somewhat sweet-looking, real-time strategy game. I don’t know about you, but the last 20K peripheral I bought was my, hmm, let me think, oh – I have never paid that much for one. All my peripherals put together don’t cost that much. I thought the Xbox360 Elite console at $699 was ungodly expensive. I don’t even think I can fathom spending 20K for a table to play any kind of real-time strategy game, interesting or not. My ex-wife would not have minded me throwing down that much cash on a dining room table of course, but that is a different story all together.
After checking this story out, I have decided Ubisoft has just chosen to hit an untouched gaming market (a gaming market in dire need of a couple of 20K games). They are going after the billionaire gamers; yes, it’s basically an untouched market. Ok, so I might be pulling your leg a little. Actually, the developers are telling us that the technology scales very nicely. We are told to expect to see it on tablet PCs when it ships in early 2010, but somehow I kind of doubt this will ever happen. The game is currently being marketed for the Xbox360 and the PS3 consoles. Wait, last time I checked, neither of them had touch screen technology. Maybe the wealthy have an Xbox with a 60-inch touch screen that we lowly peons don’t have access to; maybe that’s the real story here.
Popularity: unranked [?]
One comment