If there’s anything my sordid past spent reporting on console games has taught me, it’s that haptic feedback is pretty neat. Sharp Corporation appears to agree with me, announcing a glove-shaped solution for bringing similar tactile feedback to PC gaming and virtual reality.
Though not every PlayStation 5 game leverages the DualSense’s haptic capabilities, the ones that do enjoy a whole new avenue of sense for worming inside my brain. After pausing for breath in Returnal, only to feel the pitter-patter of raindrops in my palm, and playing Astro Bot’s five hour hand massage—free with every console—I do find myself missing this gameplay gimmick on PC.
That said, I’m not sure I’m quite desperate enough to don Sharp’s VR glove (via GamesRadar+). Though pitched with an AI-generated image of giving head pats to an anime girl, I can’t deny I am at least as intrigued as I am horrified. “Reach out and touch Faye [Valentine],” indeed.
The VR haptic controller can be bought in a pair for the provisional price of ¥ 100,000 (about $667 or £504 at the time of writing). For that amount of moolah, Sharp talks an expectedly big game, offering not just touch feedback but also texture. Besides the price, pitching your product via the fantasy of poking, prodding, or dragging around an anime girl inspires immediate scepticism from me—and then there’s the extensive list of Sharp’s own disclaimers too.
Sharp is quick to say via the website that the VR glove is only in the early stages of development, with the machine-translation of its disclaimer reading, “Please note that development may be discontinued due to various circumstances, making it impossible to provide the products and services.” The website also clarifies that the glove, should it ever ship, will not be capable of force feedback, fine-tuned finger-tracking, or creating sophisticated sensations of temperature like hot and cold.
Still, how would Sharp be hoping to bring this realm of sensation to VR? I’m so glad you asked! Underneath each fingertip is a small, segmented panel designed to vibrate in a number of ways in order to create different touch sensations (and yes, the machine translation does call this a ‘vibrator’ at least once, further highlighting the fact I should have paid an actual human translator).
Naturally, touch is communicated through more than just your fingertips, but it’s an intriguing approach to sensation mimicry. Sharp also intends to allow folks to edit tactile data via software pitched at users with varying degrees of coding experience. Personally, I’m trying really hard not to think about what fresh nightmares for the flesh might be conjured with this bit of kit.
Anyway, pre-registration for Sharp’s VR gloves has already closed, but this is far from the first bit of kit attempting to get all touchy-feely in virtual reality. For one thing, streamer GingasVR has an incredible VR setup that simulates both weather effects and actual bodily pain, demonstrating the wealth of kit that’s already available. But beyond haptic vests and Razer’s Sensa haptics stuff, there’s also plenty of scientific projects like Shiftly, a transforming tactile feedback device, also pushing the boundaries.
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