Emotiv's press conference was less than stellar (if you recall). Technical problems plagued the presentation, making us walk away saying "wow" ... but for all the wrong reasons. We were skeptical about brain controlled gaming, and Emotiv's conference did little to change our jaded expectations. The test subject utterly failed to produce the results the company expected, much to the dismay of the presenters. Watch the awkward silence that fills the room as we wait (and wait) for the test subject make a block disappear with the power of his mind!
Afterwards, the company was forced to continue with a brave, but awkward presentation where we're encouraged to use our imaginations in lieu of a working demonstration. Ultimately, the company blamed the "very high power, frequency-hopping, spread-spectrum technology" headsets used by the sound crew for all the technical glitches. Hmm. Whatever caused the problems Emotiv faced, the night ended up being rather surreal, and we hope this video can capture a little bit of the awkwardness that filled the theater.
GDC08: Watch Emotiv's 'performance anxiety'
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Reader Comments (22)
Posted: Feb 21st 2008 3:44AM ThornedVenom said
Kindergarten hasn't taught you how to count yet.
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Posted: Feb 20th 2008 11:00PM (Unverified) said
Well, maybe. Could be that the signals for large muscle movement are easier to detect than the ones for pure thought.
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Posted: Feb 20th 2008 11:01PM NukeAssault said
Totally embarrassing. And that guy was really loud. O_o
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Posted: Feb 20th 2008 11:10PM (Unverified) said
i love a good old fashioned train wreck, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
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Posted: Feb 20th 2008 11:28PM (Unverified) said
Sure the technology isn't ready, but am I the only who thinks the concept is extremly cool? Especially if they can do without a headset that looks like a rugby helmet?
Thats the thing about innovation, you always have people laughing at you for a while before they line up to throw their money at you.
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Thats the thing about innovation, you always have people laughing at you for a while before they line up to throw their money at you.
Posted: Feb 20th 2008 11:42PM Jeremy White said
I'm still not down with flailing around like an idiot. Sometimes games are supposed to be mindless fun.
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Posted: Feb 21st 2008 12:47AM (Unverified) said
I wouldn't say the failure of presentation made it awkward...I would say it was the guy showing off his voice emodulation problem. Besides, it's hard to take a guy with a pony tail that long seriously...
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Posted: Feb 21st 2008 12:44AM (Unverified) said
Technology failure aside, that was pretty entertaining, and not nearly as awkward as I had expected. The second presenter's gusto and levity seemed to transform an extremely embarassing situation into something resembling a humorous piece of performance art. Which I suppose is pretty surreal for a press conference, though I wouldn't call it a train wreck; not if you compare it to the Jamie Kennedy/Activision debacle, anyway. :p
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Posted: Feb 21st 2008 1:40AM (Unverified) said
LOL, the guy in the second video is quite weird.
Also, Kotaku, is this your new video player? I've never seen it before.
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Also, Kotaku, is this your new video player? I've never seen it before.
Posted: Feb 21st 2008 9:35AM GewurztraminerX said
Powered by Sony laptop batteries?
oops, this is 2008.
Reply
oops, this is 2008.
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