Logitech International SA says it will ship its first force- feedback mouse for games users in time for the Christmas holiday season. The mouse, based on the FEELit haptics technology Logitech licensed from San Jose, California-based Immersion Corp last year (CI No 3,486) is expected to cost under $150.
Force-feedback is already in use on joysticks for racing games, but a lack of suitable controllers has stopped the technology spreading much beyond that. Developers can use Immersion’s Feel Foundation Classes, which are compatible with Microsoft Corp’s DirectX software API, for adding force feedback to any capable device. The mouse will support the 300 or so DirectX compatible force feedback titles already on the market. Web developers will also be able to add feel sensations to their pages.
The new three button mouse has a USB interface, and requires Windows 98 running on a Pentium system or greater. The mouse will be demonstrated this week at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, California and at Cebit in Germany.
