One of the most exciting announcements to come out of this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, and there have been many of them, has been that Elite: Dangerous developer Frontier Developments is partnering with gaming peripheral designer and manufacturer, Thrustmaster, to create a joystick especially for their virtual reality (VR) space simulation videogame.
Elite: Dangerous and Thrustmaster fans alike, though it’s likely there’s a good deal of overlap, are getting very excited about the partnership between the two companies. It’s no wonder, really, since it’s been said that the joystick is apparently “perfect” for virtual reality gaming as it’s “the most natural and intuitive way to sit in a cockpit” which makes it the perfect accompaniment to sophisticated flying simulator Elite: Dangerous.
The stick, officially called T.16000M FCS HOTAS, which stands for ‘Flight Control System’ and ‘Hands On Throttle and Stick’ has an ambidextrous design, a Flight Control System and Thrustmaster Weapon Control System, and it is compatible with PC using a USB for Windows Vista-10. By trawling the E3 show floor, VRFocus has been able to get a photo of the Thrustmaster joystick in action, as well as a photo that details some of its features both of which you can see below.
From from what we can see here, playing Elite: Dangerous with the Thrustmaster joystick certainly looks like a comfortable gaming experience. The price for the T.16000M FCS HOTAS will be at a suggested retail price of £99.99 GBP, €129.99 EUR, or $129.99 USD and it will be available from September.
For more news on Elite: Dangerous and the T.16000M FCS HOTAS keep reading VRFocus.
