The Switch is no stranger to an arcade racer or two. While it's all well and good playing these with a standard Joy-Con or Pro Controller set-up, this latest dock prototype from Far East Pinball has left us firmly of the belief that the likes of Out Run should be played no other way.
Is it a pure novelty? Maybe. But the independent manufacturer's arcade-inspired add-on at least appears to be the most authentic way of capturing that driving cabinet feel from the comfort of your own home (albeit on a much smaller scale).
The dock does away with regular button inputs and swaps in a miniature steering wheel and shift lever instead. As you can see from the demonstration video below, the prototype (which was showcased at Game Antique 2024 in Nishikujo, Osaka, last weekend) has the wheel take care of directional commands while the lever is used to change gears. In this model, the buttons on the wheel control acceleration, though the manufacturer has confirmed that it plans to leave this up to the shift lever in a future mode.
It's true, the 3D printed prototype might not be the snazziest-looking piece of kit out there, but in principle, this looks really rather sweet — and we can't help but be faintly reminded of SEGA's Out Run tabletop edition in the process.
Aside from spicy Switch add-ons, Far East Pinball also recently showcased a light gun-style attachment for the Mega Drive Mini 2 Cyber Stick (which you can read about over on Time Extension). Neither this nor the racer set-up is currently available to buy, though the manufacturer plans to make both purchasable soon.
What do you make of this Switch dock? Would you pick one up? Drive down to the comments and let us know.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 10
This is one of the most impressive Switch peripherals I’ve seen in a few years. Seems a bit tiny to be ideal, but its really capturing that novelty that would still make me want to play games entirely with it.
Too bad Switch doesn't recognize Analog controls!
Makes the "low to turbo" not work right.
Playfulness like this is one of the reasons, why I love gaming.
Wouldn't get it myself if it were on sale but still, pretty cool, kudos to the creator!
Nice but using the big button on the steering isn't that ideal for racing. I would prefer an actual brake and pedal like the Mario Kart 8 steering wheel. I guess if you want novelty with your racing games in tabletop mode then this would do it.
Reminds my of that Tomy Turbo Racing toy from the 80s.
mmmmmmmmm
that looks nice
The wheel needs to be under the screen instead of being off to the side
This looks cool, it would be nice if it gets realised in Europe
@Ristar24
Absolutly, i need that haha
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