Hayes Urban designs steering wheel Pongle for Wii
The once-called-“Revolution” console gained success because it used technology to innovate game interaction, instead of game visuals. The Wii wand (or Wiimote) became a favorite for both young and old because it allowed people who weren’t originally interested in gaming to give the idea of playing a try.
Now the Wii is becoming so popular that it’s just too hard to grab one in stores. It’s a great source for exercise, it’s fun, and it can easily be used by the whole family. But Hayes Urban, a designer that puts innovation and art first in his list, decided that some games for the Wii could still be played in the usual joystick and driving wheel way.
His solution? The Pongle. Okay, aside from the funny name, it does look rather dandy. Sleek silver look and curves you wish your woman had…err…I meant that give a futuristic look to the controller, the Pongle is certainly eye-candy. But can it perform well? That has yet to be figured out.
However, the Pongle does remind you of the old Atari joystick, doesn’t it? The new lay-out could make things a little difficult to use the Pongle, but Urban assures you that all buttons on the Wiimote are also present in the Pongle. It’s just that buttons 1 and 2 are hidden in the push-pull outer ring of the big Knob there.
And look: it even sports it’s own built-in speaker and LEDs to indicate what player (from four players) the controller is set up for. It uses the same gyro technology from the Wiimote, so it can do just about everything the Wiimote can do, too. Except slimming, we guess.
The once-called-“Revolution” console gained success because it used technology to innovate game interaction, instead of game visuals. The Wii wand (or Wiimote) became a favorite for both young and old because it allowed people who weren’t originally interested in gaming to give the idea of playing a try.
Now the Wii is becoming so popular that it’s just too hard to grab one in stores. It’s a great source for exercise, it’s fun, and it can easily be used by the whole family. But Hayes Urban, a designer that puts innovation and art first in his list, decided that some games for the Wii could still be played in the usual joystick and driving wheel way.
His solution? The Pongle. Okay, aside from the funny name, it does look rather dandy. Sleek silver look and curves you wish your woman had…err…I meant that give a futuristic look to the controller, the Pongle is certainly eye-candy. But can it perform well? That has yet to be figured out.
However, the Pongle does remind you of the old Atari joystick, doesn’t it? The new lay-out could make things a little difficult to use the Pongle, but Urban assures you that all buttons on the Wiimote are also present in the Pongle. It’s just that buttons 1 and 2 are hidden in the push-pull outer ring of the big Knob there.
And look: it even sports it’s own built-in speaker and LEDs to indicate what player (from four players) the controller is set up for. It uses the same gyro technology from the Wiimote, so it can do just about everything the Wiimote can do, too. Except slimming, we guess.