There is a lot of focus on peripherals at the moment, with successes like the Guitar Hero franchise, the anticipated drums for Rock Band, and Buzz and Scene It. Not to mention the general success the Wii has had in the last year, which has offered what most peripherals aim to deliver; a different way to play. I thought it would be interesting to look at what other peripherals we might see in the future, but first I thought I'd list what we have already seen, and what has been announced for the near future.

I was going to list every peripheral for every console, but that would be an effort in tedium and I'm sure I would miss something anyway. So I'll just list types of peripherals which may have appeared on multiple platforms over various generations, which all aim to play very similarly. Some are unique and I'll list the product. For the purpose of this article, I define a peripheral as an input device that is not like a conventional game pad (as the Wii itself uses a non-conventional control scheme as standard, its controllers will not be listed here) or an accessory designed to add immersion.

Light guns
Power Glove
Dance Mats
Activator
Game code Modifiers (Game Genies etc)
Guitars
Drums
Microphones
Cameras
Mouse
Buzzers
Maracas
Bongos
Beatmania boards
Fishing Rods
Racing Wheels and cabinets
Rumble (which became a standard feature)

I do find it interesting to note that some of these peripherals are, in essence, conventional gamepads with a different shape. For example, a Guitar Hero game can be played with a conventional controller, and the Guitar Hero controller adds nothing that can't be done with the conventional controller (besides the accelerometer, and you can still forgo that anyway). However, I've never played Guitar Hero with a conventional controller, nor do I have any intention to. Some of the peripherals may share the same functional buttons and control interfaces, but their design is what can immerse you in the game. Similarly, there is absolutely no reason that Buzz games can not be played with a conventional controller, yet this option is denied. There are some distinct design choices at work here; the USB hub allows for multiple players, and answers are listed in a vertical fashion (and would look weird if answers were mapped North, South, East and West on-screen, where you would find the face buttons a standard controller), but nevertheless, a standard controller could function.

On the Horizon

There are several announced peripherals heading to a number of platforms, most of which I am excited about. I imagine the two upcoming peripherals on most peoples minds are the drum kit for Rock Band, and the Wii Balance Board. In my limited knowledge of video game history, drums aren't anything new; however, I doubt there was anywhere near as much interest in those products as there is in Rock Band. Looking around the forums, people either love or hate the Balance Board. I'll be giving it a shot when it comes out. Other peripherals on their way are mostly stuff we have seen before; new versions of guitars, microphones, buzzers for Scene It and the PS3 version of Buzz (or perhaps the old versions will work; I have not investigated), Guncon, the Wii Zapper. The other unique addition are cards for Eye of Judgement. I find it hard to believe that this has not been done at least in a Japanese arcade somewhere (swiping barcoded cards through a scanner or somesuch), but I imagine this is the first product of its type that is hitting a home console.

Looking to the future

So what peripherals could we look forward to in the future? Here are a few I have thought of, or been inspired by others ideas, with my pros and cons.

Billiard Cue (Wii specific)

I don't think it would be terribly difficult to make a casing that could be used to replicate a Billiard Cue for the Wii. It would require one end to attach to the nunchuck (which you would hold with your leading hand) and a sliding bar for the remote. Use the nunchuck analog stick to rotate the table, aim where you want to hit the white ball, hold steady, slide your remote forward toward the nunchuck at the desired speed to achieve the desired power.

Pros :
Once assembled, it should prove very intuitive to use.
I was going to say 'limited use' in the cons, but with a little thought, perhaps not. It could be used for any number of 'pumping actions'. Pumping a shotgun. Pumping a water cannon. Pulling it back to extract something. The Wii Zapper certainly can't make you feel like you have a rocket launcher over your shoulder.

Cons :
Design would need to allow sliding, while still maintaining access to all buttons.
Sliding components could easily be prone to breakage.

Body Suit

Next generation or the one after, I see this as definitely being viable as a control method, at least from a technological standpoint. We see these currently used for motion capture. Why not use them realtime instead?. This could really let you do anything (given that developers make good with utilising the control method in their games of course) and make immersion go through the roof. Participate in some athletic events like javelin or discus with your friends or online. Take boxing games to a new level. Actually roam around the 'sandbox' world you are in. Bad guy in your face? Punch, kick or even headbutt that guy out of the park!

Pros :
Immersion. Immersion. Immersion.
Potentially different colours or schemes. Suit up as your favourite mascot!
Force feedback could be included in various areas in the suit for more pinpoint feedback.

Cons :
You actually have to suit up before you play.
You may look rather silly wearing the suit if you have visitors.
They would need to be available in different sizes. This might mean that one suit will not be able to be used by multiple players in one household.
There will of course be multiple sensors in the suit. One broken sensor may ruin your game experience and require (probably costly) repair.
There are likely to be negative implications applied to software that uses this 'controller' to perform actions that replicate illegal or immoral acts in real life.
This control scheme may not suit some existing genres of games.

Smell-o-Vision

For decades we have had sound and vision feedback in video games. For the last decade, feedback via touch (rumble features) has also been a regular feature in home consoles. The thought of adding the olfactory sense to the equation has long been on my mind. I'd also like to clear something up; while the term 'smell-o-vision' is perhaps instantly recognisable to people, it is really a misnomer. We don't want to turn smells into pixels, we want to create odours. I'm sure I read or heard about potential developments in this area when I was younger, but can't recall having heard about it for some time. So I thought I'd do some light research. (Note, some of this research was done a couple of months ago, and I can no longer find the appropriate links)

The technology is available. The olfactory senses, according to my light research, seem to be the least understood of our senses, and that research is ongoing to learn more about them. Some examples of research and applications;

Sorting folders of photos on a computer. Users assign a smell to the folder which would remind them of its contents. When rolling over the folder, an odour is emitted from the device, which can help the user quickly identify whether these are the files they were looking for.

Creating an 'odour cannon'. This was experimentally used as an advertising technique. For example, a bakery may set the machine to create a smell associated with its food. This particular device has a camera mounted with face detection. Periodically it will single out someone's nose, and 'shoot' an odour to within a few centimetres of their nose. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4834

I also discovered this little tidbit which I found quite interesting; research was intended for gaming purposes as early as 1999, with an indication that products might launch in 2001. http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4024075-110837,00.html

http://www.aromajet.com/comp.htm
This press release history of the company Aroma Jet also indicates they actually presented this idea at the Game Developers Conference in 2000. However, that is also the date of the last press release on their website I have been unable to locate any Gamespot coverage of any such presentation. So what has happened in the intervening years?

I certainly see the benefits of using smells in games. Maybe the monster you are chasing in a first person shooter leaves a smell behind; if you lose its trail, the smell will disappear to let you know you need to go back and find it. It could be useful in stealth games to let you know when it may be safe to pass. Adventure games get a new way to give you clues. Perhaps smells could be incorporated into sports games, with different degrees of smell indicating how tired (sweaty) your player might be. You could smell the burning tires in your favourite racing games. And what the Japanese can do with aromas and minigames, I'm not sure I want to know.

For any of those benefits, I don't think we will be seeing this technology in gaming consoles in living rooms for at least 15 more years (although I speculate there will be small growth in the PC market), and doubtfully ever as a standard device in my lifetime. There are a number of factors. First, it requires chemical consumables. Video and audio are digitally delivered, and we absorb the costs of running our consoles, TV's and stereos into our electricity bills; after we've purchased our hardware and games, I'm sure the vast majority of us never consider this ongoing cost of our gaming. Having to go out and purchase chemicals to restock the device is a lot more apparent, as well as inconvenient.

As I said at the beginning of this section, what someone considers a nice smell, someone else might consider nasty. I guess this is true of graphics and sound as well, but I imagine that the range regarding the olfactory senses is a lot wider (No basis in fact, just my conjecture). Your playing environment could also have existing ambient smells, which might mix with the chemicals to produce unwanted aromas or otherwise confuse the issue. Similarly, you would not want the device to leave an unwanted ambient smell after you have finished playing.

I assume there are also allergies to consider. As far as vision goes, the two major conditions I can think of that may affect video game playing are color-blindness and epilepsy. I can't think of any condition that might affect someone in regards to audio. There are of course, scores of allergies, and I assume this barrier will be too difficult to overcome.

I'd love to hear other users thoughts on these suggestions, and also any other peripherals or accessories that they would like to see, either now or years into the future.