We first broke the news about the innovative foot-based PC peripheral called the 3DRudder in late 2014, and then we had a chance to try it out at CES in January. There hasn't been much news about the company since CES, until today. Pre-orders are now open for the 3DRudder VR Edition, and the company will be shipping to customers in early 2016.
The 3DRudder is a unique and innovative new way to control movement in 3D space. You use your feet to move forward and back, side to side, and up or down. These motions are performed with simple, intuitive gestures. During our test with it at CES, the gestures proved to be very easy to pick up and master.
When we first reported on the 3DRudder, the company was going through an Indiegogo campaign and was asking $110 for the peripheral. It expected to ship the first batch of 3DRudders to backers in May of 2015. The current pre-order page lists the 3DRudder VR Edition for $175 USD, which is obviously a fair bit more money than previously expected, but the new device has been refined significantly.
The original prototype was very bulky, but by the time the company showed off the 3DRudder at CES, it was already slimmed down quite a bit. The product coming to consumers looks much sleeker, and appears that the 3DRudder will be offered in multiple colors. The pre-order page doesn't currently have any color options.
We were already impressed with the responsiveness of the prototype that was shown at CES, but according to Stan Chesnais, CEO of 3DRudder, "The new version is even better, smoother, more responsive."
The 3DRudder can be ordered through the company website, and deliveries are expected by the end of Q1 2016. If you are in Paris this week, you can try it out for yourself. The company is showcasing the 3DRudder at Paris Games Week 2015 in Hall 1 at stand 1B058.
Update, 11/2/15, 12:45pm: 3DRudder let us know that U.S. customers can now order the VR peripheral for $175 at the company's own commerce site. The original article has been edited to reflect this information.
Follow Kevin Carbotte @pumcypuhoy. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.
