The revolutionary aspect will once again be found in the controller itself. (...) Haptic technology is a form of tactile feedback used to simulate the experience of touching different objects shown on screen. The player can move their fingertips across a surface and clearly feel the difference between soft, smooth or rugged textures. Electronic companies across the world have been conducting research in this field for years. It’s been rumored that Apple is close to patenting a similar technology, and we’ve seen the Toshiba demonstration of ‘New Sensation UI Solution’, that applies a thin film over a screen in order to achieve a haptic effect. (...)
You have to try Nintendo Feel to really understand. But the idea itself is very easy to sell, no matter if you are aiming for hardcore players or the wider audience that was first introduced to games through DS, Wii or Kinect. (...) Remember Vitality Sensor? It will most likely make a comeback at this year’s E3, though not as a peripheral for Wii, but as a key feature of Nintendo Feel.
The author goes on to imagine stroking and feeling fur in ´Nintendogs´ or drawing patterns in the sand in ´Legend of Zelda´, feeling the cool river, hot lava or the structure of the bark of an old tree.
You may remember that an early haptic accessory, the Novint Falcon, has been mentioned a number of times before the Wii was fully unveiled.