Sanwa Denshi, manufacturers of the PlayOnline brand, has today issued details of a USB controller designed specifically for use with Final Fantasy XI. Dispensing with standard joypad buttons and features rendered obsolete by FFXI’s apparently simplistic controls, the new joypad will be a minimalist one-handed affair.
Retaining only a D-pad and 4 buttons wrapped around the diminutive peripheral, gamers will be able to game away with one-hand free to do other stuff with. There’s clearly no need to make any suggestions as to what could be done with the other hand, but if you’re stuck for ideas: you could, for example, tear unwanted hair from a nostril. Or perhaps you might wish to play FFXI concurrently on two separate machines. The choice is, quite literally, yours.
The FFXI one-handed controller is due for release in Japan on September 13th, and will be compatible with all games don’t need those extra controller features. 2D shooters, 2D platformers, Track and Field type games and special adult titles from Japan would all fit that bill rather nicely.
More news on bandit-friendly peripherals may be forthcoming in the future. Alternatively, it may not.