World's "first interactive football pitch" unveiled
Soccer's answer to the dance mat - oh dear
Thrustmaster have unveiled what they describe as the world's "first interactive football pitch for video game consoles", the catchily named 2002 FIFA World Cup Football Stadium. The controller is made up of a non-slip mat "designed like a soccer field to totally absorb players in the game" (in other words a small piece of tacky looking green plastic) which is fitted with three vertical sensors "based on the latest technology". These detect your feet (or any other part of your body for that matter) as you move them over the sensors, translating your movement into in-game actions as you shoot, lob, pass and tackle an imaginary football. Depending on how long you keep your foot hovering over the sensor, the power of your shots can be adjusted accordingly. Yes, it's essentially a high tech sporting equivalent of the infamous dance mat, and as such is almost guaranteed to make you look incredibly stupid, as the photo above amply demonstrates. To make matters worse, you still need to keep hold of your gamepad while precariously balancing on one foot on the mat, because the Stadium only controls a handful of actions. Little things, like controlling which direction your player runs in, are apparently beyond it. "We have created the 2002 FIFA World Cup™ Football Stadium for all soccer enthusiasts, eager to get hold of an interactive gaming accessory which means that they can really live out the biggest sporting event of the year", according to product manager Jocelyn Denis. "Now they can enjoy the game, not only on a real pitch but in front of the console too, with family and friends!" If you have a burning ambition to make a total tit of yourself, you will be able to buy PSX / PS2 and GameCube versions of the diminutive Football Stadium for £35 in May. Related Feature - Thrustmaster obtains World Cup 2002 license
