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Smell.
That’s right, we’ll soon have smell related gameplay in the not too distant future if various reports are to believed. We’ve already experienced the wonderful sights and sounds of video games down the years, but we have yet to be truly engrossed in our gaming experiences as we lack the necessary smells of the game worlds to give us complete realism of actually “being there”. Soon though, thanks to a new partnership between crazy industry pioneers and masters of innovation Nintendo and air freshener specialists Air Wick, us gamers will not only be able to see and hear our beloved games, but we’ll also be able to smell them as well.
Clever smell scientists, dubbed the ‘agents of aroma’ at Air Wick have been developing a special smell peripheral with the help of Nintendo with a view to having most current and future titles to be compatible. This peripheral, dubbed the ‘Smell-O-Vision’, will be like an air freshener, and will spray out subtle game-specific fragrances to enhance the game playing experience and fully immerse the player in the game world that they’re in.
Roger Fulton, head of research and development at Air Wick said, “To say we were surprised when Japanese gaming giants Nintendo contacted us with regards to helping them develop a smell related peripheral for them is an understatement of the highest order. With their unique vision for the future of gaming, and our expertise in making a huge array of different smells, we hope this peripheral will be highly successful and be enjoyed by gamers around the world.”
A Nintendo spokesperson gushed, “From our comprehensive research, we discovered that the only smell gamers tend to endure when playing games is either that of their own smelly body odour, or of flat lager, so we hope to add to their enjoyment of our games by giving them other smells to experience when playing other than their own stale aromas. The ‘Smell-O-Vision’ peripheral will be a truly unique piece of equipment, and will immerse players like never before. It will certainly be interesting to see it integrated into games like Metal Gear Solid, where you’ll not only be able to see enemies shadows as they approach, but you’ll also be able to smell the baddies too, and many of our games in the future will have the element of smell being integral to the gameplay in some form or another. Everyone ‘nose’ that the Smell-O-Vision will certainly be a peripheral that can’t be ‘sniffed’ at, ahem.”
The peripheral, which plugs directly into one of the Gamecube’s many expansion ports, has thousands of different built in smells for all the most well-loved titles; It has the smell of burning rubber and petrol for racing games, grass, sweat and pies in football games, the smell of cheap plastic in Army Men games, giant man sweat for wrestling games, Mario’s cheap aftershave, and the smell of Monkey Ball, whatever it may be, is a highly anticipated fragrance, and there are hundreds more smells to experience for a wide range of titles. Also, in an amazing move, the researchers at Air Wick have also managed to recreate the smell of rotten zombie flesh and even the smell of fear has been developed exclusively for Resident Evil titles!
Like conventional air fresheners, special smell refills will have to be bought to keep the unit smelling, and it’s hoped these refills won’t be too expensive, but they probably will be. Plus, according to the research, all the artificial smells used in the device have been thoroughly tested on monkeys, rabbits and small Vietnamese children, so will between 95-99% safe for human nasal consumption.
Naturally, the ‘Smell-O-Vision Mini’ will also be available for GameBoy Advance, which will work in a similar way to the Gamecube version only on a smaller scale (though it won’t be as effective if used outside), and some form of connectivity will no doubt be introduced between the two units, with possible exclusive smells if you link the two together.
If the ‘Smell-O-Vision’ peripheral proves successful with the masses, it is believed that Sony and Microsoft will once again steal Nintendo’s innovative ideas and develop their own smell-related peripheral for their particular consoles, but their versions will have more “adult” smells, whatever they may be.
That’s right, we’ll soon have smell related gameplay in the not too distant future if various reports are to believed. We’ve already experienced the wonderful sights and sounds of video games down the years, but we have yet to be truly engrossed in our gaming experiences as we lack the necessary smells of the game worlds to give us complete realism of actually “being there”. Soon though, thanks to a new partnership between crazy industry pioneers and masters of innovation Nintendo and air freshener specialists Air Wick, us gamers will not only be able to see and hear our beloved games, but we’ll also be able to smell them as well.
Clever smell scientists, dubbed the ‘agents of aroma’ at Air Wick have been developing a special smell peripheral with the help of Nintendo with a view to having most current and future titles to be compatible. This peripheral, dubbed the ‘Smell-O-Vision’, will be like an air freshener, and will spray out subtle game-specific fragrances to enhance the game playing experience and fully immerse the player in the game world that they’re in.
Roger Fulton, head of research and development at Air Wick said, “To say we were surprised when Japanese gaming giants Nintendo contacted us with regards to helping them develop a smell related peripheral for them is an understatement of the highest order. With their unique vision for the future of gaming, and our expertise in making a huge array of different smells, we hope this peripheral will be highly successful and be enjoyed by gamers around the world.”
A Nintendo spokesperson gushed, “From our comprehensive research, we discovered that the only smell gamers tend to endure when playing games is either that of their own smelly body odour, or of flat lager, so we hope to add to their enjoyment of our games by giving them other smells to experience when playing other than their own stale aromas. The ‘Smell-O-Vision’ peripheral will be a truly unique piece of equipment, and will immerse players like never before. It will certainly be interesting to see it integrated into games like Metal Gear Solid, where you’ll not only be able to see enemies shadows as they approach, but you’ll also be able to smell the baddies too, and many of our games in the future will have the element of smell being integral to the gameplay in some form or another. Everyone ‘nose’ that the Smell-O-Vision will certainly be a peripheral that can’t be ‘sniffed’ at, ahem.”
The peripheral, which plugs directly into one of the Gamecube’s many expansion ports, has thousands of different built in smells for all the most well-loved titles; It has the smell of burning rubber and petrol for racing games, grass, sweat and pies in football games, the smell of cheap plastic in Army Men games, giant man sweat for wrestling games, Mario’s cheap aftershave, and the smell of Monkey Ball, whatever it may be, is a highly anticipated fragrance, and there are hundreds more smells to experience for a wide range of titles. Also, in an amazing move, the researchers at Air Wick have also managed to recreate the smell of rotten zombie flesh and even the smell of fear has been developed exclusively for Resident Evil titles!
Like conventional air fresheners, special smell refills will have to be bought to keep the unit smelling, and it’s hoped these refills won’t be too expensive, but they probably will be. Plus, according to the research, all the artificial smells used in the device have been thoroughly tested on monkeys, rabbits and small Vietnamese children, so will between 95-99% safe for human nasal consumption.
Naturally, the ‘Smell-O-Vision Mini’ will also be available for GameBoy Advance, which will work in a similar way to the Gamecube version only on a smaller scale (though it won’t be as effective if used outside), and some form of connectivity will no doubt be introduced between the two units, with possible exclusive smells if you link the two together.
If the ‘Smell-O-Vision’ peripheral proves successful with the masses, it is believed that Sony and Microsoft will once again steal Nintendo’s innovative ideas and develop their own smell-related peripheral for their particular consoles, but their versions will have more “adult” smells, whatever they may be.
Nicely popped...
In all seriousness, smell-generators are actually under development. They started designing them for use with web-design packages, although I've not heard any progress reports. Apparentley these units will run off a set of 'primary aromas'. Much like primary colurs, these basic chemical smells can be cocktailed to create a huge library of whiffs... which are then released through a small unit that houses the smelly bits.
It's a nice idea, pioneered by web-marketing folk who eventually want to send you Nescafe emails in the morning that smell of coffee etc. But, at a guess, until there's a sensible use for the units, no-one is actually going to pay good money just to be advertised at.
In all seriousness, smell-generators are actually under development. They started designing them for use with web-design packages, although I've not heard any progress reports. Apparentley these units will run off a set of 'primary aromas'. Much like primary colurs, these basic chemical smells can be cocktailed to create a huge library of whiffs... which are then released through a small unit that houses the smelly bits.
It's a nice idea, pioneered by web-marketing folk who eventually want to send you Nescafe emails in the morning that smell of coffee etc. But, at a guess, until there's a sensible use for the units, no-one is actually going to pay good money just to be advertised at.
Hmmm, might as well pop it just on the off chance.
Smell.
That’s right, we’ll soon have smell related gameplay in the not too distant future if various reports are to believed. We’ve already experienced the wonderful sights and sounds of video games down the years, but we have yet to be truly engrossed in our gaming experiences as we lack the necessary smells of the game worlds to give us complete realism of actually “being there”. Soon though, thanks to a new partnership between crazy industry pioneers and masters of innovation Nintendo and air freshener specialists Air Wick, us gamers will not only be able to see and hear our beloved games, but we’ll also be able to smell them as well.
Clever smell scientists, dubbed the ‘agents of aroma’ at Air Wick have been developing a special smell peripheral with the help of Nintendo with a view to having most current and future titles to be compatible. This peripheral, dubbed the ‘Smell-O-Vision’, will be like an air freshener, and will spray out subtle game-specific fragrances to enhance the game playing experience and fully immerse the player in the game world that they’re in.
Roger Fulton, head of research and development at Air Wick said, “To say we were surprised when Japanese gaming giants Nintendo contacted us with regards to helping them develop a smell related peripheral for them is an understatement of the highest order. With their unique vision for the future of gaming, and our expertise in making a huge array of different smells, we hope this peripheral will be highly successful and be enjoyed by gamers around the world.”
A Nintendo spokesperson gushed, “From our comprehensive research, we discovered that the only smell gamers tend to endure when playing games is either that of their own smelly body odour, or of flat lager, so we hope to add to their enjoyment of our games by giving them other smells to experience when playing other than their own stale aromas. The ‘Smell-O-Vision’ peripheral will be a truly unique piece of equipment, and will immerse players like never before. It will certainly be interesting to see it integrated into games like Metal Gear Solid, where you’ll not only be able to see enemies shadows as they approach, but you’ll also be able to smell the baddies too, and many of our games in the future will have the element of smell being integral to the gameplay in some form or another. Everyone ‘nose’ that the Smell-O-Vision will certainly be a peripheral that can’t be ‘sniffed’ at, ahem.”
The peripheral, which plugs directly into one of the Gamecube’s many expansion ports, has thousands of different built in smells for all the most well-loved titles; It has the smell of burning rubber and petrol for racing games, grass, sweat and pies in football games, the smell of cheap plastic in Army Men games, giant man sweat for wrestling games, Mario’s cheap aftershave, and the smell of Monkey Ball, whatever it may be, is a highly anticipated fragrance, and there are hundreds more smells to experience for a wide range of titles. Also, in an amazing move, the researchers at Air Wick have also managed to recreate the smell of rotten zombie flesh and even the smell of fear has been developed exclusively for Resident Evil titles!
Like conventional air fresheners, special smell refills will have to be bought to keep the unit smelling, and it’s hoped these refills won’t be too expensive, but they probably will be. Plus, according to the research, all the artificial smells used in the device have been thoroughly tested on monkeys, rabbits and small Vietnamese children, so will between 95-99% safe for human nasal consumption.
Naturally, the ‘Smell-O-Vision Mini’ will also be available for GameBoy Advance, which will work in a similar way to the Gamecube version only on a smaller scale (though it won’t be as effective if used outside), and some form of connectivity will no doubt be introduced between the two units, with possible exclusive smells if you link the two together.
If the ‘Smell-O-Vision’ peripheral proves successful with the masses, it is believed that Sony and Microsoft will once again steal Nintendo’s innovative ideas and develop their own smell-related peripheral for their particular consoles, but their versions will have more “adult” smells, whatever they may be.
That’s right, we’ll soon have smell related gameplay in the not too distant future if various reports are to believed. We’ve already experienced the wonderful sights and sounds of video games down the years, but we have yet to be truly engrossed in our gaming experiences as we lack the necessary smells of the game worlds to give us complete realism of actually “being there”. Soon though, thanks to a new partnership between crazy industry pioneers and masters of innovation Nintendo and air freshener specialists Air Wick, us gamers will not only be able to see and hear our beloved games, but we’ll also be able to smell them as well.
Clever smell scientists, dubbed the ‘agents of aroma’ at Air Wick have been developing a special smell peripheral with the help of Nintendo with a view to having most current and future titles to be compatible. This peripheral, dubbed the ‘Smell-O-Vision’, will be like an air freshener, and will spray out subtle game-specific fragrances to enhance the game playing experience and fully immerse the player in the game world that they’re in.
Roger Fulton, head of research and development at Air Wick said, “To say we were surprised when Japanese gaming giants Nintendo contacted us with regards to helping them develop a smell related peripheral for them is an understatement of the highest order. With their unique vision for the future of gaming, and our expertise in making a huge array of different smells, we hope this peripheral will be highly successful and be enjoyed by gamers around the world.”
A Nintendo spokesperson gushed, “From our comprehensive research, we discovered that the only smell gamers tend to endure when playing games is either that of their own smelly body odour, or of flat lager, so we hope to add to their enjoyment of our games by giving them other smells to experience when playing other than their own stale aromas. The ‘Smell-O-Vision’ peripheral will be a truly unique piece of equipment, and will immerse players like never before. It will certainly be interesting to see it integrated into games like Metal Gear Solid, where you’ll not only be able to see enemies shadows as they approach, but you’ll also be able to smell the baddies too, and many of our games in the future will have the element of smell being integral to the gameplay in some form or another. Everyone ‘nose’ that the Smell-O-Vision will certainly be a peripheral that can’t be ‘sniffed’ at, ahem.”
The peripheral, which plugs directly into one of the Gamecube’s many expansion ports, has thousands of different built in smells for all the most well-loved titles; It has the smell of burning rubber and petrol for racing games, grass, sweat and pies in football games, the smell of cheap plastic in Army Men games, giant man sweat for wrestling games, Mario’s cheap aftershave, and the smell of Monkey Ball, whatever it may be, is a highly anticipated fragrance, and there are hundreds more smells to experience for a wide range of titles. Also, in an amazing move, the researchers at Air Wick have also managed to recreate the smell of rotten zombie flesh and even the smell of fear has been developed exclusively for Resident Evil titles!
Like conventional air fresheners, special smell refills will have to be bought to keep the unit smelling, and it’s hoped these refills won’t be too expensive, but they probably will be. Plus, according to the research, all the artificial smells used in the device have been thoroughly tested on monkeys, rabbits and small Vietnamese children, so will between 95-99% safe for human nasal consumption.
Naturally, the ‘Smell-O-Vision Mini’ will also be available for GameBoy Advance, which will work in a similar way to the Gamecube version only on a smaller scale (though it won’t be as effective if used outside), and some form of connectivity will no doubt be introduced between the two units, with possible exclusive smells if you link the two together.
If the ‘Smell-O-Vision’ peripheral proves successful with the masses, it is believed that Sony and Microsoft will once again steal Nintendo’s innovative ideas and develop their own smell-related peripheral for their particular consoles, but their versions will have more “adult” smells, whatever they may be.