A very hungover day two is finally done, so here’s a quick list of what went down in the hallowed halls of CES today:
Polaroid is making a comeback with their new Snap line of cameras. For now they can only print 2×3 photos, but they’re surprisingly high quality with a “zero ink” technology that eliminates drying time and smudging. At $99 for the camera and about 37¢ per sticker-backed photo paper, it can make your hipster dreams come true at a decidedly hipster price. www.polaroid.com
Laser Tag Pro had some of the biggest brass ones I’ve seen yet. Admittedly the most advanced and customizable laser tag setup I’ve seen, they appear to be stuck between a straight to consumer model and a mass market rental facility deal. A battle rifle that looks straight outta Halo with a flip out phone mount HUD looks good and feels great. 12 year old me would have done horrible things to be his hands on one. Hell, so would 30 year old me. But $350 per gun with another $140 for the head sensor to register hits? There’s no way I could convince one, let alone three other friends to buy this setup over a game console. I love the idea and really want them to succeed. I just don’t see it happening without a major price drop. www.lasertagpro.com
Chinese company E-3lue is bringing their (apparently popular in Asia) gaming chairs to the U.S., and I give em a ‘meh’, on a scale of ‘eh’ to ‘mmhmm’. They have good neck and lumbar support, which would definitely be noticed around the 6 hour mark of a good romp through the wasteland. But the lean-back locking mechanism on the first one I tried was completely shot. The chair material could have been softer, and the frame should have felt more solid. With a little homework and a few field tests, it really wouldn’t be hard to find a comparable, if not better office chair. And an extra $100 for weight activated LEDs is just ludicrous. They do look pretty sweet though. www.e-3lue.com/int
CES is all about the tech, but there can be some video games surprises stuffed among all the VR headsets, smart water bottles, and bluetooth stuffed whatever. While in the Sony pavilion we got to see Street Fighter V and knocked around a few rounds, but were pretty surprised by the pre-alpha build of Shadow of the Beast. While that name won’t ring a bell to most, those from Europe and with an Amiga in the early 90s will know this classic title well. It’s still early, but what we played showed a lot of promise. This is one to keep your eyes on.
Of everything we saw today, nothing stuck out in our minds more than what we saw over at Panasonic. Tucked away in a dark little box of a room was something pretty groundbreaking. Panasonic showed of the prototype of their high-speed projection mapping technology. The projector can track a person and allow for user interaction on a number of levels. It can map your body so to only project an image on the person, while still having an active image behind them. Cool tech that is sure to change the dance and art game in the near future.
#Panasonic high-speed projection mapping. Pretty amazing! #CES2016
A video posted by J. Luis (@retroguy1985) on
Obviously there was a lot more going on, but that’s all I have patience for today. Stay tuned for the inevitable rundown of low and high end VR from a guy that doesn’t know shit about dick. And that’s the way the yard-long margarita crumbles.
About Author
For $350 you get the gun and head set with phone bracket and scope from LaserTagPro when purchasing the BRX if you scanned the QR code. Head set is always includes