As the video game industry continues its inevitable march towards complete immersive technology, one of the leading frontiers is haptics. Currently though, outside of boutique VR accessories and the smartwatch on your wrist, haptics are still a relatively unexplored technology in personal electronics.
But that’s about to change thanks to a collaborative effort from D-Box and Cooler Master. Hoping to make haptics more than just a video game gimmick, the two companies have combined to build what might just be the future of in-home entertainment.
The companies call Motion 1 “the world’s first haptic engine gaming chair” (Razer’s haptic Enki Pro Hypersense chair, also powered by D-Box, has yet to launch). Teased by Cooler Master a few years ago, and debuted at CES 2023, the Motion 1 chair was showcased and officially demoed at Computex for the first time this weekend.
This collaborative effort between the two companies looks impressive. It uses more than 65,000 haptic effects such as movements, waves, vibrations, and textures. All of these supposedly combine to simulate the entertainment you’re experiencing on screen. And just in case you’re concerned about ergonomics, the Motion 1 includes magnetic lumbar support and a headrest as well. So at least you can save your actual body even if your in-game body gets pulverized in the virtual world.
Included with the Motion 1 chair is access to all of D-Box’s movies, TV series, and games, which will be coded for compatibility with the chair’s haptics. They’re also releasing beta software called Adaptive Gaming and Adaptive Audio Modes. These programs will allow you to use the chair with any movie or game, even if they weren’t coded by D-Box previously. Video from CES earlier this year shows people coming away impressed with the chair, but it remains to be seen how well the tech and corresponding software work in reality.
The chair is already up for pre-order on Cooler Master’s CMODX website retailing for $2,229.00. That’s more than the Herman Miller Aeron ergonomic wonder-chair so you’ll need to really be invested in the haptic technology to justify the expense. But at the end of the day gaming is about having fun, and a chair that makes the experience more immersive looks like a hell of a lot of fun.