I see a future for ubiquitous gaming and it probably starts with the Nyx controller, an Alienware project. The gaming PC maker gave me an early glimpse of the device, which is more of a concept than a product, just ahead of CES 2023, where it’s being officially unveiled. Simply put, this controller could affect the future of PCs and even gaming for years to come.
To understand why Alienware (a part of Dell), is messing around with gaming peripherals, you need to know a little about the Concept NYX, Alienware’s experimental platform for gaming around the home. To support this, Dell is working on hardware and software concepts that, for example, let you take PC gaming from your desktop and laptop to the biggest screen in your home: your TV.
Playing PC games on your TV has never been easier. Most gaming computers aren’t connected to family room TVs (unlike most consoles, which are), and it’s a test to get your gaming laptop working with the best 4K TV.
For Alienware, the solution is a home gaming server of sorts and then an attractive controller: the Nyx Games Control.
At a glance, the controller looks like a marriage of Xbox and PlayStation modern controllers (with a bit of Google Stadia). [RIP] thrown in), but it offers a range of features that anyone on future console systems might want to adopt.
Below the Alienware logo is a built-in fingerprint reader. The authentication system can be used for games or to access your NyX controller profile and related customizations.
Instead of a D-pad, there’s the OmniPad, a circular trackpad that responds to various gestures and provides haptic feedback.
Along the back edge where your thumbs can rest is an easy-to-reach pair of wide scroll wheels that you can use for multi-tasking (switching between different open apps and games). Bumper buttons let you quickly switch between arms and the traditional-looking thumb rods provide adaptive resistance levels based on activity and arms use. Variable resistance goes down to triggering resistance to different types of weapons.
Alienware has spent a lot of time fine-tuning the overall haptics for the wide frequency range of advanced rumble features that can reproduce everything from gunfire to heartbeats.
More importantly, the rechargeable NyX controller is not designed to replace a game controller, but the keyboard and mouse you typically use with PC games. Using a combination of a D-pad and Shift button that act like the Shift keys on a keyboard, the NyX controller, company representatives claimed, could manage ninety-five different functions. This is close to the number of actions required to change keyboard input.
Because it’s part of an all-encompassing gaming concept, the Nyx controller is screen agnostic and designed to transfer gameplay to whatever screen you point it at. Imagine your Xbox controller doing this.
Barring all the bells and whistles, it’s a just-right-sized, comfortable-to-hold, and exciting-looking controller (thanks to the customizable LED lighting).
While I didn’t get a chance to play any games on it, I was surprised at how well the Alienware representative was able to flick between big-screen gaming activities.
Disappointingly, the Nyx Games Controller will never be an actual product. Alienware tells me that Project Nyx serves a different purpose. This is all essentially an experiment to help Dell and Alienware envision future scenarios. With it, they can envision a future of ubiquitous home gaming and inspire others inside and outside the company to create products that will make it a reality.
I hope Microsoft and Sony are paying attention.
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