CES 2007: Golf-Launchpad lets you play against the pros in real-time

CES 2007, Gaming, Sport
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golf-launchpad.jpgYou may have heard about Electric-Spin’s Golf Launchpad product already: it’s a golf product for PS2, PC and Mac that lets you swing proper golf clubs to take your shots. It measures your swing speed, path and angle, and then translates it into shots in EA’s Tiger Woods PGA Tour game.

Anyway, at CES, Electric-Spin was showing off the next version of the product, which is a collaboration with digital TV firm NDS. It’s a set-top box edition of Golf Launchpad, which will let you play along with golfers during televised tournaments. Take on Tiger! And then look like a buffoon when you trail in 72 shots behind, obviously. That’s it there in the photo, by the way.

It works by connecting Golf Launchpad to NDS’ XTVReady software, which is apparently already inside millions of set-top boxes in US living rooms. The new edition will be available in June in the US, although there’s no news on when (or if) it’ll come to the UK – presumably this depends on NDS either making digital set-top boxes here, or licensing the XTVReady technology to someone who does.

In the meantime, check out this video of someone using the existing Golf Launchpad product at CES. Get in the hole!

Stuart Dredge
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