Thrustmaster Enters Console Peripheral Market

Wednesday Thrustmaster said it intends to start making video game peripherals for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. The company says it plans to unveil its line at the upcoming E3 show in May and to ship the products in the third quarter of '98.

While specific products were not announced, the company says that its first console product will likely include a racing wheel and "innovative" gamepads.

"Expect to see the same quality of product we offer for PC gamers, but remember that we are on the cutting edge of peripheral development as well, so we have a few surprises up our sleeves!" John Sauer, console product marketing manager for Thrustmaster, said in a statement. "Unlike many of our competitors, our console products will not be simple replicas of our PC products. We understand that console play is very different than PC play, and we are designing our controllers to suit the console game audience - with significant consumer testing - an important point of differentiation. We are out to create a new standard of excellence."