Razer Hydra

Razer Hydra
ManufacturerRazer
TypeVideo game controller
Input
  • Weak magnetic field 6dof tracking system per controller
  • 2 controllers, each has:
    5 × Digital buttons
    +1 analog stick/button
    +1 bumper button
    +1 analog trigger
ConnectivityUSB for PC
PowerUSB

The Razer Hydra (previously known as Sixense TrueMotion) is a motion and orientation detection game controller developed by Sixense Entertainment, a company founded in 2007, in partnership with Razer USA. It uses a weak magnetic field to detect the absolute position and orientation of the controllers with a precision, as stated by its developers, of 1 mm and 1°; it has six degrees of freedom. The original release is wired,[1] but a wireless version was also in development.[2]

The game controller has been showcased many times with different video games and 3D modeling applications, most prominently Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Portal 2, Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead 2, World of Goo, Call of Duty: Black Ops and Half-Life 2.

A partnership with Valve was announced, and said company appears as a partner, alongside Razer and Intel. No word has been said by the game developer but they helped Valve modify Left 4 Dead 2 and other Valve games to be played with the Razer Hydra Motion control, and an official SDK is available for download in Steam's 'Tools' page.[citation needed]

It was subject to a demo under the name Sixense Truemotion and tested to a close focus group of PlayStation Underground Members in August 2008, where its full functionality in various types of games was shown.[citation needed]

The Razer Hydra was released through Steam and Razer's official website on June 16, 2011, for US$139.99. It was sold in a bundle with Portal 2, which has exclusive content for those with the controller.[3] Support for many other games is either implemented or planned. According to a forum post,[4] from December 2010, Sixense is also working on musical control with the controller.

  1. ^ "Razer Hydra Store Page". Store.razerzone.com. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
  2. ^ "Joystiq Impressions at CES". Joystiq.com. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
  3. ^ "Razer Hydra Gets Own Portal 2 Version". Rockpapershotgun.com. Retrieved 2011-02-10.
  4. ^ "The Most Versatile Musical Instrument". Sixense.com. Retrieved 2013-11-01.