NOVINT

News

“For those of you out there that have not tried the Novint Falcon technology, it’s one of those things that you simply can’t convey on television because it’s touch. It’s absolutely amazing I think it’s really going to enhance a lot of games.“ Adam Sessler, Host, G4’s XPlay

“There’s no question that the Novint Falcon has an opportunity to become a must-have controller for hardcore PC gaming fans.“ – PC Gamer

“The Novint Falcon is more advanced than any gaming peripheral on the market, period.“ – PC Magazine

Media Highlights

IGN.COM

"The Falcon 3D-haptic force feedback controller has been one of IGN Gear's favorite peripherals for a while noThe Falcon 3D-haptic force feedback controller has been one of IGN Gear's favorite peripherals for a while now, as there's no denying that it's one of the most unique and powerful controllers there's ever been. Of course, controllers aren't much fun unless there are great games to play, and as we discussed in our Falcon review, AAA-title support for the Falcon is what we believe to be the key to the product's success... Novint looks to be on a roll, having now brokered deals with EA and Valve…”

RATED 9.0 OUT OF 10

“The Novint Falcon is just as exciting in final release as it was in prototype a year and a half ago. The hardware is stylishly designed and quite capable of delivering entirely new and exciting gameplay experiences. Anyone going hands on with a Falcon can't help but be excited by the sudden bridge between real and virtual made possible by 3D touch feedback, even if it's experienced solely though tech demos and somewhat rough mini games. With Half Life 2 the Falcon truly shines as an innovative new control option that adds a great deal of depth to what is already a fantastic visceral experience.”

“The hardware is certainly capable of ushering in an entirely new style of videogaming well beyond recent innovations built upon the Nintendo Wii's controller.”

VENTUREBEAT
	“The Novint Falcon is an entirely new type of interface for PC games. It’s a small robot that lets players feel 3-D touch sensations in games that exploit its features. I thought it was cool the first time I saw it, and it drew a lot of attention at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show. But I also knew the company would have an uphill climb convincing game developers to exploit the newfangled device.
“Still, the Albuquerque, N.M.-based Novint Technologies has done a good job getting the gadget off the ground. Today, it announced that marquee game developer Valve will add support for the Falcon to a number of games. “The Valve deal on its own is impressive. But Novint has also managed to get the current $189.99 Falcon into chains and e-commerce sites including Tiger Direct, Fry’s Electronics, J & R Music, CompUSA.com, CircuitCity.com, and Amazon.com.”

PENTHOUSE MAGAZINE

“Video gaming is getting a lot more interesting these days – and physical too. First Nintendo’s Wii put the player’s body in charge of the onscreen action, bringing the user into the game. Now, the Falcon plunges us even further into the virtual world by bringing elements of the game to us. Unlike traditional Xbox or Playstation gamepads that vibrate to add realism to the action, this one lets players feel the weight, texture, and shape of objects.”

CRUNCHGEAR
	“A while ago I posted about how Novint, an innovative and ambitious peripheral company took their freaky-deaky Falcon controller straight to EA instead of standing around like some kind of techno-wallflower. Well, it worked out pretty well and they’re leveraging it into more deals: they’re teaming up with Valve to add Falcon support to a ton of their games.
“As befitting my skeptical nature, I’m withholding judgment until I get my hands on one, *but to be honest if it’s good enough for Gabe Newell* it’s probably good enough for me. Valve has seen fit to add support for the Falcon to the entire Orange Box, probably the best set of games for $40 in history. Of course, if you buy it bundled with the Falcon, the price goes up by about $200, so it’s not as much of a bargain, but this thing may just be a representative from the future of controllers.”**

G4’s XPLAY

“Novint Technologies, creators of the Novint Falcon, a device that enables 3D touch in video games have partnered with Valve Corporation. This announcement is in addition to an announcement with EA. Novint is also introducing a new Pistol Grip attachment allowing users to feel realistic recoil.

“For those of you out there that have not tried the Novint Falcon technology, it’s one of those things that you simply can’t convey on television because it’s touch. It’s absolutely amazing I think it’s really going to enhance a lot of games.

PC GAMER MAGAZINE

“The most tactile feedback we ever get in games is limited to a bit of grind and rumble from a gamepad. The folks at Novint have spent years perfecting an answer to this unacceptable situation, and that answer is the Novint Falcon, a mouse/joystick replacement controller that looks like a robotic Hershey’s Kiss that waddled straight out of Portal.

“I downloaded Haptics-Life 2, a “mod” for Half-Life 2 that adds “haptic”– or touch effects- to one of the best games ever made for the PC, and makes it even better. Landing from a high jump in your buggy causes the grip to jerk wildly with ever impact and you’d better brace yourself when switching from the relatively delicate pistol to the Magnum, because the kick delivers a hell of a meaty punch to the palm.

“There’s no question that the Novint Falcon has an opportunity to become a must-have controller for hardcore PC gaming fans. As places like Nova Prospekt and the islands of Crysis look more detailed and realistic, we expect our ability to interact with them to become more detailed and realistic as well, and haptic effects remove one of the last barriers between you and your game worlds.”

1Up
	Featured as 1Up's "Six technologies that may shape PC gaming's future." “Novint is demonstrating a knack for finding smart matches for its Falcon interface. Feelin' It: Gish and Penumbra: Overture HaptX Edition handle as though they were designed for haptics from day one, and as Novint's Steam-inspired online library grows, so too will the incentive for gamers to adopt the gizmo.” http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=0&cId= 3167794

PC MAGAZINE

“For those who thought the Nintendo Wiimote was a big eye-opener, be warned: Your peepers are liable to pop right out of their sockets when you see the Falcon.”

“Believe me when I say that the Falcon doesn't politely ask for your attention, it demands it.”

“Overall, the Novint Falcon is a marvel and currently a controller in a league of its own.”

“This beautifully crafted controller provides a uniquely immersive gaming experience. The Novint Falcon is more advanced than any gaming peripheral on the market, period.”

CNET.COM

“…this is really cool and you could use it for all sorts of different video games.”

“The limits to this are almost endless. Any game could integrate this into their gameplay system. And it would make a huge difference on how you would play any kind of video game.”

MEN’S JOURNAL MAGAZINE

Featured in 97 Perfect Things

“Whatever your feelings on tech’s march toward replicating reality, the Novint Falcon represents an impressive unity of the digital and the tangible. The PC-only video game controller delivers a smorgasboard of haptic delights, allowing your Cheetos-stained paw to experience texture, weight, and force in three dimensions. Hold the small orb, load up the archery game, and feel the string tauten as you pull back. Unleash a shotgun blast in Half-Life 2 to experience kickback so strong your shoulder tightens. Kill enough men onscreen and you won’t be sure if that trembling in your hands is the Falcon or just your nerves.”

Tom’s Games
	“The Falcon is undoubtedly one of the finest PC gaming peripherals I've ever seen. The device oozes top-shelf quality with a stellar design that's comfortable and fun to use, despite some occasional drawbacks. But it's not just about the device design; as we've seen with the Wii, you can make a sleek-looking controller that may be pleasing to the eyes but it fails to accurately translate the action to the screen. Novint, however, has developed the software drivers to make sure that the Falcon is synchronized to perfection with its games. Yes, the controller is expensive, but this isn't some cheap plastic peripheral that will crumble under heavy use within a few months. It represents true innovation in gaming, which is a rarity. For gamers looking for the next generation of PC gaming peripherals and haptic controllers need not look any further - the Falcon is here.” http://www.tomsgames.com/us/2008/04/25/ novintfalcon_review/page2.html

NY 1 NEWS

“The Novint Falcon could forever change video games. The controller, which is similar to a mouse or joystick, lets users feel what they are seeing and doing on the screen. The Novint Falcon’s developers describe it as a mini-robot.”

“It’s hard to explain just how different this new controller is from those rumble controllers that vibrate any time you do anything. This really does give you a sense of weight and shape and texture and dimension.”

BLENDER MAGAZINE

Gizmo of the Month

“PC gamers haven’t had much in the way of new gear to get excited about since the invention of the scrolling mouse wheel. Enter the Novint Falcon, a mouse replacement that lets players feel their virtual environment. Grab the Falcon’s orb-shaped handle the experience vibrations that mimic the texture of a stone wall, the viscosity of med or the recoil of a rocket launcher in a way that no puny vibrating controller could ever hope to do. But, this Falcon doesn’t fly cheap-the gizmo plus a pack of 24 touch0enabled minigames like table tennis, fishing, bowling and golf, will set you back $239. Then again, blasting monsters in Half-Life 2 has never felt more disturbingly real.”

POPULAR MECHANICS
	“Novint Falcon Haptics Controller Could Be Wii 2.0.” “Playing with the Novint Falcon feels like nothing you've tried before.” “This 3D force feedback controller nudges back against your hand when you fire a pistol in Half-Life 2, like a more powerful version of a game console's internal rumble. But switch to a shotgun, and the grip slams back—not as hard as the real thing, but enough to throw off your aim—even making you a bit nervous before firing another round. The grip also twitches when you take damage, giving you a sense of where the shot came from, or how hard you just hit the ground after falling.”
For the first time ever, using a bow in a game felt completely right. This wasn't anything like waving a Nintendo Wii controller at the TV and hitting a button.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS
	“A first-person shooting game makes one feel the impact when the character whacks a crowbar against a wall, or the recoil from a shotgun when firing at an enemy. It's so real; it's hard not to feel a pang of guilt when splattering foes.“

COMPUTER GAMING WORLD
	*Best Peripheral Ever* *“Forget Nintendo’s Wii-mote; Novint Technologies’ Falcon is a three-dimensional controller that adds a whole new layer to gaming.* With this haptic device, you can actually feel the weight, shape, dimensions, and textures of objects. Each of the three servo-motor arms exerts a force, so if, say, you’re shooting a basketball (as in o ne of the tech demos), not only can you tell how hard you’re throwing the ball, but you can feel its weight and when it leaves your ‘hands.’” “The big shock came from a modded version of Half-Life2: Crowbarring a crate felt a whole lot different from hitting a wall or chain link fence, and shooting a .357 magnum provided a satisfying kickback.”

G4 TV
	*Attack of the Show* “First up is the Novint Falcon. We’ve seen it before at CES, but after all these years, it’s available for purchase. The Falcon is a revolutionary breakthrough in gaming tech, which some are calling the Wiimote 2.0. The controller, which connects to the PC via USB is the first ever that give the users the ability to feel on screen objects.”

ARSTECHNICA.COM
	Novint inks deal to bring Falcoln support to Valve's biggest games "This is an impressive deal, and the upcoming bundle is even better: for $189 you get the Falcon, the touch-enabled version of the Orange Box, and the Pistol Grip. This is yet another big move for Novint, and I'm looking forward to playing Left 4 Dead with haptic feedback."
Novint rising: how the Falcon landed on EA “Novint is on the right track, and with 48 projects already in internal development, EA titles with haptic feedback coming to the Falcon, and more deals coming that the company is not ready to talk about yet, it may succeed where other peripherals have failed. Intel is also on board; the CPU maker has entered into a marketing agreement for "the further potential development and marketing of Novint's haptics (touch) technology…Novint has powerful friends, and if the game library continues to grow—and EA is one hell of a first step in that direction—we could be seeing a new world opening for consumer-level haptics devices. “ Finally, the gold after all the garbage “While I usually don't like to give away how I'm feeling about a product during a demo, I'll admit my face had a large grin on it the entire time. I was hooked… The bowling in the Sports Pack is great fun, and the Duck Launch game in *Newton's Monkey Business* is fun on a surreally addicting level. While the Half-Life 2 mod showed what could happen in a first-person shooter with the Falcon, Penumbra offers a much slower, in-depth use of the technology…It's an amazing experience.

AWARDS FOR THE NOVINT FALCON

Novint Falcon wins E for All People's Choice Award E for All attendees cast their votes for what they felt were the best products at the show. The Novint Falcon was selected as the Favorite Accessory.

Novint Named DigitalLife Innovator Class of 2007
Members of the DigitalLife Innovators Class of 2007 are companies that are pushing the envelope, leveraging technology to make consumer's lives more fun, more safe, and more manageable. The DigitalLife judges believe that these companies and their products will take a big leap towards broader consumer adoption and provide some of the hottest technology of the year.

Novint Wins R&D 100 Award
Often referred to as the Oscars of Invention, this award is a result of R&D Magazine's search for the 100 most technologically significant products introduced to the marketplace over the past year.

Novint Falcon Named Innovations 2007 Design And Engineering Awards Honoree
The Consumer Electronics Association named the Falcon an Innovations 2007 Design & Engineering Awards Honoree in the Electronic Gaming category. This award honors outstanding design and engineering in cutting edge consumer electronics.

Novint Falcon Wins IGN Best Of E3: GEAR Award
In a category that included the Nintendo Wii-mote, a PS2 controller, and the Playstation 3 controller, IGN has awarded the Novint Falcon their Best of E3: Gear Award.

Gamespot Selects Falcon As Finalist For E306 Editor's Choice Award: Best Hardware
Novint Falcon selected as a finalist in a category that included the Wii console and Playstation 3 controller.