Panasonic has figured out a plan how to sell off its $70,000, 103-inch TVs in a tough economy. Sell them to companies in the business of building other niche applications, and have them put together a gadget that an even fewer number of people can appreciate.
That doesn't sound economically feasible at all, you say. But I bet you didn't take this into account: The plan's begat a multi-touch version of air hockey! Sounds like a great plan to me.
First previewed at the Integrated Systems Europe 2009 show in Amsterdam last week (the European version of CEDIA), Multi-Touch Air Hockey is a venture between Panasonic and U-Touch. The hardware tweak was supplied by U-Touch, adding multitouch-capabilities, and the software was built by London-based ui Centric.
The way you play is by 'holding on' to a virtual air hockey mallet using your fingers, just like you would with the regular grip for air hockey. Already, some people have noted that the mallets don't react fast enough to hand movements and that you probably don't get the same satisfaction from hitting like in the real game.
What's interesting about this is that using a touch screen changes up the spectator tension originally present in the game. Before, you'd watch in the off-chance that a hard-hit disc would spin out of the table and smack someone in the head. Here, players will inevitably use their upper body to put a lot of pressure on each of their touches, which will surely lead to fractured screens and too-excited players plunging through.
At the moment, the touch hockey game will be used as a demo at various functions to show off the technology. It isn't yet on sale.
And to be fair, Panasonic actually has been more successful selling this giant TV in the last year than we're letting on. They've fit in perfectly in various Las Vegas casinos, sports stadiums, and big-company headquarters. So don't cry for them yet, and instead pressure them into building an ever bigger version of the table with their 150-inch TV. Giant touchscreen pong anyone?
