After wading through the ocean of smart homes and camera drones (with a couple stops for free press booze), I finally made my way to the gaming section of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. VR absolutely dominated the area, but there were a few other peripherals worth noting.
My first stop was with Oregon-based case makers, Toast. They laser engrave custom wood and leather cases for phones, laptops, tablets and consoles. At $59 for a console, with an extra $5 for custom etching, it’s not a bad investment for someone that transports their Playstation as much as I do. Multiple choices for wood types and inlays make for some good looking-protection. Check em out at www.toastmade.com
Next up was sound giant Audio Technica. Everybody knows their headphones and earbuds are top notch. But I only just learned they also make gaming headsets, and unfortunately they’re overpriced garbage. Their one redeeming quality is comfort. I could wear those things for days, and probably forget they’re on after a few hours. Sound quality was fine, both for game and chat. But there was no switch for self voice monitoring, and no independent controls for voice and game sounds. If you’re looking to spend north of $200 for a gaming headset, just get Astros. Their A40 TRs are the best thing to happen to me in a long time.
Outdoor Tech didn’t have anything to do with games, but they earned a shout out with free Jameson and a bowl full of condoms. Rugged waterproof speakers/power banks (with surprisingly good bass) ranging from $40 to $200 along with wireless headsets integrated into beanies and helmets make this cool ass company worth a serious look. www.outdoortechnology.com
Virtuix’s Omni, the premiere omnidirectional treadmill had a strong presence, showcasing the same shooter-with-a-gun-peripheral game they had at last year’s E3. The most obvious improvement was their concave platform’s lack of foot grooves, allowing for sidesteps and other more natural movements. However, tap shoes atop a plastic surface still made for some awkward as hell movements, with a serious lack of precision and speed. It’s still gonna be a few years before I’ll be standing my fat ass up while playing the latest shooter and/or RPG. www.virtuix.com
Enter Infinadeck, an actual treadmill that moves on a 360 degree plane. While still in its early “proof of concept” phase, it’s a motherfucking masterpiece of machinery. Two belt systems working in tandem under a stabilizing harness with room for VR and controller cords actually gives some motivation for a walk across Tamriel or Thedas. This is definitely my number one company to keep an eye on so far. www.infinadeck.com
That’s all I feel like writing about today. After all, Vegas parties await. Check back in tomorrow (probably) for more cool stuff and dumb opinions. Hamilton, out! CES 2016 day one recap in the books!
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