Titans Sphere - The Failed 3D Game Controller for PC

[@brianahoneybee2487]

Clint getting genuinely frustrated with an oddware is a new one. Sometimes they are gimmicks, other times they are actual crap.

[@novelezra]

Hearing him swear is so funny. I've been watching him for a decade now and I swear to God he has cursed like, 3 times.

[@norkshit]

@@novelezrayou swear he’s sweared 😂

[@Johnny2Starz]

I laughed so hard at that. He was so visibly frustrated.

[@gabrieldias3479]

I mean, I was getting frustrated with him as well. Never seen Clint angry and that made me angry as well 😂

[@McTwistedTwisties]

CHUCKLE OF FAILURE

[@dougsisk619]

“It’s a piece of s***” - Clint is normally so reserved this really cracked me up.

[@davidc1878]

Me too, lol. I remember seeing ads for this or maybe in the stores and it looked like an abomination.

[@MalikATL]

first time seeing this and it's two years older then me @@davidc1878

[@bntrs]

"This thing is definitely not based - it is baseless"

[@johneygd]

If i had a shredder,i definitely would,ve shredded this controller,if i had a crusher, i definitely would,ve crushed it,what a huge waste of plastic🥲🥲🤣

[@thetechsavvy01]

Bro you know he is mad when he starts swearing

[@frozyre7854]

This is probably the most expressive I've seen LGR be. We hear him become gradually disappointed every Sims 4 expansion pack. We hear him get jokey and witty in similar retrospectives like this. We hear him become educational and step by step in restoration and building. This one is just raw and to the point.

[@j_c_93]

I feel like he was extra disappointed because the idea behind this great, and it could actually work really well for some games, but the execution was atrocious.

[@Ultimatebubs]

I hope that he starts calling Sims 4 expansion packs "pieces of shit", because maybe (just maybe) Maxis and EA would stop making them!

[@JayMaverick]

"Can almost see the use case for it." For 90s tech startups, this means all the green lights.

[@ExtraThiccc]

Nowadays you don't even need a use case for any new tech! Just look at crypto and nft startups

[@markfacebook]

Wow, so I assumed on the surface that the gimmick of the wheel design was that you could use the wheel center as some sort of early accelerometer, and roll/pivot the controller itself to mimic degrees of motion. This isnt even that. This is just two joysticks bolted to an obnoxious hunk of plastic.

[@ilya_ash]

I won't be surprised that it supposed to have gyro and some kind of forced feedback, but the cost of production made it unfeasible, they cut all that down and that's what left

[@remkovanalphen5294]

Indeed, my first thought too, gyroscope! 😁@@ilya_ash

[@Ezullof]

I thought it would be some kind of specialist joystick for some kind of airplane simulation or maybe a space game. But it's not calibrated for anything. It's crazy.

[@el_cartolel]

Yes i also thought on that, its really dumb to put this controller on this uselles "sphere"

[@JamesC1981]

if you flick your nail on the plastic it you can hear how cheap this thing is lol

[@sam08g16]

Clint, don't you dare delete any of the old LGR videos. They are pure gold!

[@cornsyruptrucker]

"Clint hates himself "

[@alexandredevert4935]

It's such a perfect sample of mid-90's consumer PC stuff : box art rendered with 3DS Max, grand premises with WTF execution, ends up gathering dust after a month of frustration

[@lurchilurch5507]

So true, although a month seems optimistic! 😅

[@Zodroo_Tint]

So a new industry standard indeed.

[@ababa9668]

I love you LGR, seriously. In this complex life, simple videos like yours really just put a smile on my face. No algorithim, no explosions, no 100,000 dollars. just pure grade, and relaxing retro stuff. My favorite ❤

[@LGR]

Thank you, I’m glad to hear 😊

[@ababa9668]

@@LGR 😉❤️

[@DOSStorm]

This is why I love the late 90s era of electronics. They were trying all sorts of interesting things before set standards existed, and most didn't stick but its cool to look at in retrospect.

[@KairuHakubi]

risktaking created the best economic time in history. even if you failed, bankruptcy was a lot easier.

[@82726jsjsufhejsjshshdjso]

It’s like interwar aircraft or pre dreadnought battleships. Nobody knows what the fuck works well yet 😂

[@cujoedaman]

When you die to the first mob on the first level of Duke3D, you know you have something special in your hands.

[@creato938]

"Talk to em Goose" "I can't, i have a Titans sphere" Oh, that was a good one.

[@MrKanjidude]

"We re confident in our abilities as innovators to produce products that will challenge gamers' minds at every level"

[@isaace436]

They technically achieved what they set out to do then...

[@mialemon6186]

They weren’t wrong though! It is a mind fuck how this ever made it to market! 😂😂😂

[@first__last]

The lighting is so bright. It looks like he just descended from oddware heaven.

[@lamronjr8785]

And he did. He brings salvation

[@KenzertYT]

I love it

[@tarron3237]

It's Oddware Jesus! 😂

[@darkidz24]

Our oddware Lord returns!

[@IntegerOfDoom]

The one true god.

[@bennyfactor]

"mountain dew presents extreme [type of sport or game]" is perhaps the most late 1990s title possible

[@carlklitzke9455]

Boards and Blades was the first game I had for my first non-used/outdated computer and I tried so hard to enjoy it.

[@BadWallaby]

I literally played it on a DELL 2350 with integrated graphics at 30fps LOL desperate times those @@carlklitzke9455

[@fragglet]

When something is this bad you have to wonder if they skipped the prototype stage and just went straight to manufacturing without ever testing it

[@OwlTowel]

Kinda like the Virtual Boy?

[@jolibethrodriguez7471]

The difference was that the VB was long term the sacrifice of a bishop to secure a knight

[@hitempguy]

Literally the concept behind children's toys for the first 50 odd years of the concept

[@Velo1010]

Wouldn’t doubt it 😂

[@olaf3140]

That's what I thought, there can't be a single person who tested this and thought "woahh this is sooo good, we got a hit on our hands here" It's just mind boggling to think of the whole process of coming up with the idea, producing it, marketing it, and actually putting this somewhat out on the market

[@pauld2810]

Somewhere in the world, there is a framed award on someone's office wall that reads: "Novelty controller of the month."

[@nlm2nd]

ITS SPHERICAL! Yeah, I'd rather use a regular controller while using one of those under the desk cycle machines.

[@nukeum9535]

and TOTALLY practical!!

[@TheBathrobeWizard]

OKAMA GAMESPHERE!

[@blanchehermine]

Who loves orange soda? Kel loves orange soda!

[@dantehchad2227]

@@TheBathrobeWizard came here to say this, and lo, you beat me to it lol

[@jolibethrodriguez7471]

Make it two

[@hugovangalen]

Company: "It's not a joystick!" Device: *shows up as 4 axis, 4 button joystick*

[@AndyGaskin]

Love the raw honesty at 13:00. Yeah I remember these 90's gadgets, they seemed to be everywhere, always cheap quality, and confusingly unnecessary. The mouse and keyboard generally did wonderfully.

[@Galantium]

with the alternating caps on the box it looks like it's mocking itself "TiTaNs sPhErE"

[@jolibethrodriguez7471]

Graphic desing is my passion meme twenty years before it was cool

[@FluffyTheGryphon]

Was that late 90s EdGe that was all the rage.

[@gruntingskunk2237]

Booty p0rn

[@charlesswansonii9319]

Ah yes, what we call "TorgoType". ThE MaStEr WoUlD ApPrOvE.

[@ThumpertTheFascistCottontail]

that explains it. when they made this thing, they were just being sarcastic.

[@fuzzix]

Ha, looks like an ergonomics nightmare - reminded of that Simpsons line when the kids are in the arcade: "My doctor says I have the wrists of an 80 year old". That USAF segment was hilarious.

[@klauskervin2586]

My mom was a manager at Phar-Mor in the 90s. Your channel always surprises me with the waves of nostalgia that hit me while watching.

[@hannesofficial]

As soon as I saw the CE sign, I thought: Oh, it was sold in Europe! Then I saw "Der Grüne Punkt" and thought: Oh, it was sold in Germany :D This piece of oddness sure took some trips around the world. Like your video. Greetings from Germany :)

[@tomyyoung2624]

yes so fast, let's set up this bit

[@frool76]

I was thinking it might come from Germany based on the name. Titanssphere without the Apostrophe sounds like a very German translation.

[@tomyyoung2624]

@@frool76 Yes one seems to have said this, but this peripheral is yes only spherical, but it looks very much like a human head with large ears! Talk about pulling ones ear.

[@atomsbudgetreviews8713]

Hahaha “I keep jumping because it’s a piece of shit” hahaha best statement ever Clint ! 😂

[@IOSam]

Clearly a lesson in ergonomic design... (one in how NOT to design and "3D" controller) On another note, it was so cool to see Loyd Case's review of this contraption at CGW Magazine (he would go on to write for Ziff Davis, PCWorld and MaximumPC later on)! He basically nailed (as he usually did) the few Pros and many Cons of this product perfectly.

[@The8bitbeard]

This looks like the kind of thing I would have bought on clearance as a kid, and I would have been so enamored with the idea of it I would have tried my absolute hardest to convince myself that it was the best thing ever, no matter how terrible it actually was.

[@Zodroo_Tint]

Are you the kid from our street I knew.

[@The8bitbeard]

@@Zodroo_Tint I might be. Though I think every street had that kid.

[@LordGagamog]

I grew up in the Akron area, this controller is the most Barberton thing I've ever seen.

[@mialemon6186]

My partner is from Ohio and I had to ask where Barberton was. Even he had to ask where it was. As soon as I read this comment, the lightbulb went on. “Ahhh that explains everything.” 😂

[@RobCamp-rmc_0]

Word, I was surprised to find it was based there, but it fits perfectly. Like _magic,_ you could say.

[@ianlapidakis9566]

Straight outta babertucky

[@jongeo]

Flat-bottom SGRLs, you make the Oddware go round!

[@mjodon755]

I did not expect to hear Barberton, Ohio mentioned in a LGR video. I was a teenager there in the 90s do not recall ever hearing about SGRL (Second Generation Research Laboratories, Ltd.) or the Titans Sphere.

[@tardis9436]

“If it didn’t suck, it could be good.” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Simte]

[Spherical Jazz Music] is absolutely the best music to have for this piece of oddware.

[@hafizuien]

The moment I look at the thumbnail, I immediately remember 'The Orb 360' controller you reviewed a looooooooooooong time age that I happen to watch just last night.

[@FiXato]

The UT segment reminded me of the period I played that game using my old Wacom tablet because my mouse had broken 😂 You should give that a go too, Clint 😅

[@joshuawright8990]

$129 for a controller in 1998? that’s crazy expensive for back then

[@olinezra1506]

Very rare! Clint normally never uses expletives. This device did made him do it. Classic!

[@2down4up]

“Oh really?! Got knocked out of the way of the rocket and now I’m still alive. How unfortunate!” lol awesome! Sums it up quite well I think.

[@GoddessOfMisfortune]

It would absolutely benefit from a central deadzone to remove those centering issues. Also, a method of rebinding the axis for steering in racing games would honestly make this potentially usable.

[@Gojiro7]

my favorite part of these kinds of is the ways Clint finds the ways to hold the controller that isn't anymore comfortable but works better, I swear that chin method makes me think whoever made this watched the Light Cycle scene from Tron, looked at how the actors sat to steer them and said "THAT!!! I'M MAKING A CONTROLLER LIKE THAT!!!"

[@gmirwin]

The Tron theory was my family's consensus as well.

[@sutorippuwebmaster8783]

You know something sucks when even LGR in his infinitely forgiving sense of humor calls it a piece of shit.

[@johnnymnemonic69]

I love seeing a new LGR episode so much. Thanks man. 😊

[@GregBadabinski]

"It's not based!" had me cackling. Loving this episode so far.

[@guardiane]

23:22 XD omg - "talk to me Goose" had me dying. It's like they designed this thing just for YOU.

[@JamesPotts]

In what universe would this be better than the Sidewinder Force Feedback?!

[@johnnyringo35]

Universe 616

[@mrf160]

What I find especially strange is that the dead zone is so large - the primary advantage (if deliberate) being that it would center more easily. Yet it doesn't center at all.

[@volvo09]

They probably couldn't get the manufacturing tolerances close enough so they made the dead zone real wide. It's so plasticy I can't imagine anything else 😂 a big dead zone sucks.

[@kathrynradonich3982]

Wow didn't expect to hear barberton OH mentioned. Had no idea they existed or were there and I grew up running around that small town.

[@ShinoSarna]

I love how looking at it for 5 seconds you realize how useless the ball part is. Like, I am pretty sure if it was just two analog joysticks strapped to a surface without the ball part they'd be onto something, in 1998 dual-analog controls were still pretty new.

[@iansragingbileduct]

Clint becomes Duke Nukem for one second at exactly the right moment 7:16

[@Philosophocat]

Great content as always ✊🚩 Thanks Clint ☀️

[@LordOfCrabz]

I had one of these as a kid! It didn't work well but we used it for Whacky Wheels and Descent!!! It just didn't roll easily at all and, if memory serves me right, it split down the middle and that was that. It was cool though.

[@galeng73]

When you were verbally stumbling around near the start, I wanted to remind you that 'spheroidal' is a perfectly acceptable word. I admit, I'm weird like that. But, it's a perfectly good word. This is one of those weird (odd, if you prefer) devices that look like it'd be great if it worked properly and you took the time to get used to it. Great video as always. I see a new LGR video? I click it.

[@Takato]

I think the intended way of using this was really to rest it on your lap, or put a small mat underneath it if you're using on a table, but it feels like the only way for this to be ergonomic and functional is to use it on your lap or between your legs.

[@umbrellacorp.]

Whenever I see an LGR video I feel like I'm home. Relaxed. 😌👍💯 .... wait a minute, I am home!. 😅 Clint videos are always relaxing to watch, you know.😂

[@ken131]

OMG THAT PHAR MOR SHIRT MADE MY BRAIN TRAVEL BACK IN TIME I NEED IT

[@npntransistor1505]

"We're more than just a drug store.......... We're super.... We're phar more........."

[@rollingtroll]

Watching this hurts my hands and my brain in equal measure. If it wasn't for you being equally frustrated I would not have been able to finish this video. The smooth Jazz calms me down, thanks for that.

[@Anoyomouse]

I would love to see the guts of this thing, and see if the axes can be properly independently mapped, and if the buttons are separate, or just all bundled together. I know the sidewinder was analogue, until you used a driver to kick it into digital mode, so maybe this thing could do the same with a driver (maybe). Or even get it to talk to an Arduino and map to usb and make a silly "functional" (well, non-functional) thing for modern PCs from it

[@rogero8443]

LOL when you were playing Duke I was tempted to start commenting 'hey why no try decent" but then I realized I watch WAY too many of your videos multiple times, so I knew you'd get to it. Hahaha. Love seeing you trying to find SOMETHING out of old tech like this.

[@olofiswatching]

"Talk to me goose!" had me crackin xD

[@thejunkman]

I can't I have a Titans Sphere

[@EddyDisaster]

The PCs wallpaper just unlocked a core memory for me. Thank you

[@eamoncournane]

Me too, just looked for a while and couldn't find it!

[@EddyDisaster]

@@eamoncournane search "Windows 98 Inside Your Computer"

[@05Matz]

@@eamoncournaneI remember that being part of editions of Windows ME with all the extra themes, as part of the "Inside Your Computer" theme pack, if that helps. Or maybe it was the Win95 machine we had? Not sure. We never used Win98 at that point, but the machine in the video is apparently running it, so it was probably in multiple editions of Windows around that time, if that helps. I KNOW I used that background for a while.

[@eamoncournane]

@05Matz yes that does help! I'm going looking again!

[@deterlanglytone]

Honestly, the idea if it had a proper weighted flat base without the sphere portion could've been interesting to see. And of course, you'd need to re-set where those buttons are as well. Basically, if the controller was completely different and , infact, a different product it could've been good. Something like that Playstation analog controller with the two joysticks.

[@jannesaranpaa1138]

Thank you so much for making this content! It takes me back in to a time when the world was so awesome! :)

[@JayMaverick]

Filming directly against a sunny window and making it look good? Clint is truly a master at his craft.

[@WalrusFPGA]

Wow, first time hearing about and seeing this one! So many wild peripherals in the late 90's and it's cool to see yet another zany creation. Would love to see you cover more crazy pc peripherals like the Sidewinder Strategic Commander, lol. Someone even made drivers for that to work on modern windows OS'

[@matthewgagnon9426]

This controller looks wheely bad.

[@mrsnippysnoopa8300]

I gotta thank you. oddware has been an amazing help, giving me hindsight on how i truly wanted to game on pc. I will soon be picking up a brand new joystick, alongside a trackball. this, i hope, will not just future proof me, but allow me to revisit old games without pondering how to make the steam controller work with them. so from the bottom of my heart, bless you.

[@SutorenjiKamereon]

Evil corporations harvesting titans for their spheres...

[@nestromo83]

I have nothing to add other than the usual awesome friggin' job... but how about that Pharmor shirt? That's a pleasant blast from the past. Rented many an NES game from one in Charlotte for the weekends, on the cheap. Good times.

[@LGR]

Heck yeah, the one we had in Winston-Salem was a childhood staple

[@brianfix4404]

Didn’t think Phar-Mor existed that far south.

[@MissMTurner]

​@brianfix4404 we had them in Pennsylvania in the early 80s and it came eventually to Florida in the late 80s/early 90s.

[@PorscheGTIII]

Dude. Phar-Mor! I had not thought about that store for ages until I saw your shirt. I think my parents still have some toiletries with Phar-Mor price tags on them 😂

[@MPWard1]

Phar-Mor went out of business after the company president embezzled millions to prop up his professional basketball league for shorter players. No, really.

[@Magilla.Guerrilla]

I didn't want to remember this atrocity, so thank you for reviving the horror.

[@pjousma]

"talk to me, Goose" "I can't I have a titans sphere!" rofl best review ever

[@SMlFFY85]

Trying to imagine an airline pilot flying a Boeing 747 with this controller.

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

Why would you boast that your controller is "challenging"? That's the last thing you want in a controller. You want it to be directly controlling the game

[@rredeyee2460]

Thanks for the video Clint. ❤

[@JeepusChrystler]

IT'S SPHERICAL *_SPHERICAL_*

[@RocketboyX]

Oh my titans!

[@DrCorndog1]

For two days I've been laid up on the couch with a stomach bug, and watching LGR videos is the only thing I've felt up to doing. The subject matter is nostalgic and the tone is so soothing.

[@SanderEvers]

What if you made an oversize controller based entirely around JoyCon drift

[@Quake120]

I think we need another LGR channel: "LGR Unfiltered" where Clint just goes off on bad products like this one. I remember seeing this thing and it always looked so bad.

[@Golbez1991]

All your Baseless are belong to us.

[@Lansolot]

"it had to be better back in the day" I didn't own this but I owned a few third party controllers growing up back then and I can assure you that some of them shipping out in this condition.

[@doclouis4236]

Another certified product from Ohio😆

[@wiredupretro]

I liked the plane flight part the best! TALK TO ME GOOSE! XD I definitely like mine for the fact that it's a nice conversation piece. Making my video required doing some mapping adjustments to the analog axes with my Cronus Max Plus. What a crazy controller! Thanks for the shoutout, btw :)

[@Ben-do1bf]

2:20 "Its such a solution in search of a problem type of deal" ah I see nothing has changed in technology in the past 25 years.

[@volvo09]

Also looks like it could be designed to fool people into buying it... As a teen back then I would have thought (especially for the price, that wasn't cheap) you would roll it side to side like we can do with phones now... I would have returned it, or if it was a gift i'd never use it again. It's disappointment unboxed, haha

[@LittleZombieMike]

Didn’t expect to hear Barberton called out in an LGR video. 😄

[@anthonyferretti28]

Maybe its the greatest controller ever for Marble Madness?! Great stuff as usual Clint!

[@DrewSwenson-zy4zq]

Well, I was certainly not expecting a Phar-Mor shirt when clicking this episode! That certainly takes me back lol.

[@metern]

The Descent 2 game took me back in time 🥰. Duke Nukem 3D is my favorite FPS game of all time.

[@ThomCote88]

Your Phar-Mor shirt... dang that brings back some very early memories.

[@prberg2]

Enjoyed the video. Love the PharMor T-shirt! I remember that place! I think we used to rent video games from there. Oh the memories...

[@MrLinker13]

its always a pleasur to watch your videos

[@NoPixelLive]

I've actually managed to get this thing to work before using remapping software that was meant for a wii controller. It was an absolute pain tricking it into thinking it was a motion controller/nun-chuck but with a little finess I was able to map what it thought was motion inputs for the grips twisting motions and set them to whatever keys I wanted. Had to tweak intensity because they are basically overly complicated analog sticks but it works albeit with a little lag with the 2 remapping programs it has to run through.

[@JustSomePasserby]

Looking at the way you hold it and the way the controls map, my first thought is that when you hold the device away from the table, the two joysticks' motions are supposed to oppose each other. Like if you twist the right joystick all the way clockwise, then the other joystick would start to pivot (also clockwise from its perspective) because that is the only other thing holding the controller up. The same for tilting them in/back and rolling in/out. By mapping these opposing actions together, the creators reduce the degrees of freedom you can actuate the controller in by half, converting its motion into the equivalent of a single three-axis joystick. That is probably why you can't get the full range just by working one of them. And why when it is sitting on a table, you are able to default to using one side as a traditional joystick. If this theory is correct, then not only is the execution bad with many flaws, the design itself is fundamentally pointless. It's just a flightstick, but with extra steps.

[@kirkh4205]

LOL man, the apostrophe was the first thing I noticed when you showed the box!

[@seapunkandroid]

Holy crap, a Phar-Mor T-Shirt? That takes me back. I think I remember going to a big one regularly that even had a video rental section (because everyone had video rental at some point back in the day) and renting games with the instructions condensed into a label stuck to the back of the case.

[@garyhay6771]

The Microsoft forcefeedback joystick was the only joystick that ever impressed me. I really don't know why the line was stopped

[@animeman2]

What a strange contraption, though I imagine if young me saw that in a store I would have bought it just because it looked cool. Man, the Sidewinder, we had a couple of those because I believe Mechwarrior 3 came with them, absolutely loved how that game worked with that joystick, really made you feel like a mech pilot.

[@ambostralian]

Every time I see something like this I think "someone had this as their only controller and they loved it"

[@snowstorm9310]

I've been watching LGR since the DR Pepper intro's from back in the day. Damn man, gray hair looks good on you.

[@Streetsvillainy]

Honestly it *seems* like something that should be a hit with a niche of 6-degree movement / Simulator fan type gamer. It *seems* like a great idea when you look at it. I could imagine something very similar to this being great for contemporary VR where you sort of need 30 buttons on a controller that can take motion control - with that big drum in the middle being used as a haptic/speaker delivering kinetic and sound feedback.

[@joshConnolly]

Oddwear makes me so happy and this is one of your bests!

[@hamboneneurosis995]

I'm really impressed! Oddware so bad that you had a bad time!!!

[@37Kilo2]

I inspected every page of every tech magazine from those days, and I do not recall ever seeing this monstrosity.

[@UmmerFarooq-wx4yo]

That text on the box seems familiar