Stupid video game accessories.

[Anchuent Christory]

So was in my local Game today, and I spotted these.
Call of Duty: Ghosts, gamer glasses!

Key Features

• High contrast lens increases subtle game details and improves shooting accuracy.
• Optical quality lens with +.20 diopter enhances game graphics and increases visual clarity.
• Engineered frame design provides extended comfort and improves product durability.
• Curved lens cuts down distracting peripheral light improving focus and attention to game detail.
• Anti-glare coating reduces reflections and improves screen view.
• Hard coating reduces scratches and extends the life of the lens.

After reading the blurb on the back of the box, I nearly burst out laughing in the middle of the store, "improves shooting accuracy" are people really that gullible?

So it reminded me of lots of other vidya related crap that the industry has put out over the years.
Power Glove anybody?

It's so bad!

What dumb accessories have you seen over the years, or better yet, owned yourself?

 

[Pikonic]

This thing.

Waste of money IMO. It's not hard to play a DVD on an xbox controller. It's a universal remote for about twice the price.

 

[c-no]

Would this count?

What would make it count as a stupid video game accessory would be this blurb from Wikipedia.

However, the peripheral would often malfunction and fire at any background noise, which led to the negative reception the LaserScope eventually received.

 

[homerbeoulve]

Stupid game accessories you say. Two things with two words:

These morons haven't learned ANYTHING from the Virtual Boy.

 

[Anchuent Christory]

This thing.

Waste of money IMO. It's not hard to play a DVD on an xbox controller. It's a universal remote for about twice the price.

I've always thought so too, I got a remote with a bundle when I bought a ps3 years ago and it doesn't do anything the joypad doesn't already.
What's even funnier is the fact that Microsoft have made an official media remote for the Xbox one, the console that's entirely designed around the Kinect 2.0 control interface that supposedly makes stuff like this obsolete! (as well as skyrocketing the price of the console)

 

[Stuff and Things]

So was in my local Game today, and I spotted these.
Call of Duty: Ghosts, gamer glasses!

Key Features

• High contrast lens increases subtle game details and improves shooting accuracy.
• Optical quality lens with +.20 diopter enhances game graphics and increases visual clarity.
• Engineered frame design provides extended comfort and improves product durability.
• Curved lens cuts down distracting peripheral light improving focus and attention to game detail.
• Anti-glare coating reduces reflections and improves screen view.
• Hard coating reduces scratches and extends the life of the lens.

After reading the blurb on the back of the box, I nearly burst out laughing in the middle of the store, "improves shooting accuracy" are people really that gullible?

I've seen those glasses before at wal-mart, but i think that they had a different name, and they were advertised as just "gaming glasses" or something like that, not just CoD glasses. I think Rio mentioned them on the mchat a few days ago.

Also, "Gaming" computer hardware. You can slap the word "Gaming" into anything, and now you can sell it with it's price doubled.

 

[A-Stump]

There was a type of 'motion controller' for the Genesis that I used to have as a kid. The concept was simple; It was a vest you strapped on and your body movement dictated your moves. All I remember is playing a wrestling game, wildly flailing my body like a retard, and accidentally punching my sister in the face. It was a piece of shit.

 

[Da Pickle Monsta]

^ I think it's the Sega Activator.

It was kind of a strange precursor to the Kinect. On paper, you could punch or kick and your character would do the same on the screen. In reality, each sector of the Activator corresponded to a direction on a controller . . . so you would have to twist and turn all over the place to play games. And you had to calibrate it every time. And you couldn't use it in a room with high ceilings or with ceiling fans.

Or how about R.O.B.?

He was supposed to help you play games and keep score by moving little red and blue discs. In reality, it just slowed you down.

Or how about . . . gaming chairs? For when a Lay-Z Boy just won't cut it.

My brother got one of the POS's for Christmas when he was 10. It broke within 30 minutes. He was heartbroken.

 

[Anchuent Christory]

Would this count?

What would make it count as a stupid video game accessory would be this blurb from Wikipedia.

God damn, this thing! For the uninitiated, this is the "Konami Laser Scope" It worked with the NES like the Nintendo Zapper, but instead of pressing a button to fire, you had to shout "FIRE" into it's microphone.

Stupid game accessories you say. Two things with two words:

These morons haven't learned ANYTHING from the Virtual Boy.

I understand peoples skepticism when it comes to these, but everybody who's tried them has walked away impressed. Gabe Newell, Markus Persson, and John Carmack all put their own money towards the kickstarter and Carmack eventually left id to join Oculus. Then Zuckerberg dropped $2 billion to acquire it.
The Virtual boy was shite because we didn't have the tech 20 years ago, now we have tiny, light, high resolution, low latency screens and infinitely better motion sensing and 3D capabilities. I personally think VR's going to be in the next couple of years what they dreamed it would be in the early 90's.

 

[homerbeoulve]

God damn, this thing! For the uninitiated, this is the "Konami Laser Scope" It worked with the NES like the Nintendo Zapper, but instead of pressing a button to fire, you had to shout "FIRE" into it's microphone.



I understand peoples skepticism when it comes to these, but everybody who's tried them has walked away impressed. Gabe Newell, Markus Persson, and John Carmack all put their own money towards the kickstarter and Carmack eventually left id to join Oculus. Then Zuckerberg dropped $2 billion to acquire it.
The Virtual boy was shite because we didn't have the tech 20 years ago, now we have tiny, light, high resolution, low latency screens and infinitely better motion sensing and 3D capabilities. I personally think VR's going to be in the next couple of years what they dreamed it would be in the early 90's.

Just because big personalities dropped huge money on it, it doesn't assure the success of the said device. I refer you to Rupert Murdoch and his acquisition of MySpace and we know how quickly it dropped the stock price of that website from $570m to $57m. Gaming is all about convenience, not edginess.

 

[A-Stump]

Yeah except MySpace isn't a relevant example as it was already in decline due to shifting consumer trends. It's completely unrelated.

 

[Anchuent Christory]

Just because big personalities dropped huge money on it, it doesn't assure the success of the said device. I refer you to Rupert Murdoch and his acquisition of MySpace and we know how quickly it dropped the stock price of that website from $570m to $57m. Gaming is all about convenience, not edginess.

See that's the thing, I don't think it about edginess and I don't think it's going to be driven by the "me too" crowd who just want the next thing but will drop it a couple of days later when it gets boring, I genuinely think it's going to be something that drives gaming forward because, for the most part, we've plateaued when it comes to offering new gameplay experiences, adding more processing power and polygons isn't enough any more.

I think it's main barriers are going to be 1: cost, they ain't gonna be cheap, and 2: skepticism, as in getting people to try it. Maybe I'm a dreamer, and if I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but I'm hopeful personally.

 

[Francis E. Dec Esc.]

This thing:

 

[homerbeoulve]

See that's the thing, I don't think it about edginess and I don't think it's going to be driven by the "me too" crowd who just want the next thing but will drop it a couple of days later when it gets boring, I genuinely think it's going to be something that drives gaming forward because, for the most part, we've plateaued when it comes to offering new gameplay experiences, adding more processing power and polygons isn't enough any more.

I think it's main barriers are going to be 1: cost, they ain't gonna be cheap, and 2: skepticism, as in getting people to try it. Maybe I'm a dreamer, and if I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but I'm hopeful personally.

They could have waited for a couple of years more. Having that big of a headset just for the sake of new "experience" is hazardous to health. Sure, VR maybe in a decade or two will be the norm in gaming but with all the technologies that we had right now, it's still not yet plausible. You see, gamers nowadays have this mantra; "If it's cool, play it. If it's going to get you in the in crowd, do it.". Well PS Morpheus and Oculus Rift are the ultimate "cool" accessories for these gamers. Just like how fake geek glasses and pseudo-nerdy shirts are today.

 

[c-no]

This thing:

A piece of plastic. I do wonder how much they sold it for. Please tell me they sold it for a dollar or the equivalent of a dollar.

 

[Arkangel]

I remember the good ol' days of the PS2. If you wanted to play with four people, you needed one of THESE:

The Multitap. It makes me wonder why Sony didn't just make the console with 4 ports in the first place.

 

[Fialovy]

NSFW:

Spoiler

Things people come up with these days...

 

[OR 345]

It's an inflatable boat. An inflatable boat that you plunk down in front of your Kinect and jump on.

 

[exball]

Stupid game accessories you say. Two things with two words:

These morons haven't learned ANYTHING from the Virtual Boy.

Except the virtual boy was almost 20 years ago.

 

[Bgheff]

They could have waited for a couple of years more. Having that big of a headset just for the sake of new "experience" is hazardous to health. Sure, VR maybe in a decade or two will be the norm in gaming but with all the technologies that we had right now, it's still not yet plausible. You see, gamers nowadays have this mantra; "If it's cool, play it. If it's going to get you in the in crowd, do it.". Well PS Morpheus and Oculus Rift are the ultimate "cool" accessories for these gamers. Just like how fake geek glasses and pseudo-nerdy shirts are today.

Why wait? they have the money to develop it and to take the market lead. It would be pretty naive not to do so. I am pretty sure people that will pay the money for this aren't going to do it to be "trendy", it will be because they want a more realistic feel to 1st person games. Your example of shirts and glasses doesn't really fit since you'd likely be alone in a room using this while playing online.