Smell-O-Game

IF YOU’VE EVER WONDERED whether what was missing from your first-person shooters was the smell of gunfire, then GameScent is here to fix that. As you play, it puffs out an odor. It’s basically a fancy essential oil diffuser. The hexagonal box holds six cartridges, five scents, plus what it calls ‘clean air’, which acts as palate cleanser between smells, of which you have explosion, gunfire, forest, racing cars, and storm. Coming soon will be grass, blood, ocean, and sport arena.

So how does it know what scent to use? Customization for every game would be quite a task, so it’s AI to the rescue, analyzing the game (via Wi-Fi) to supply the appropriate scent by tapping the audio feed. It will work on a variety of devices, including consoles, and even televisions.

Smell-O-Rama, in various guises, has been around since experiments in live theater in 1868. Since then, we’ve had dozens of attempts, none successful, yet the idea won’t die. Despite enthusiastic testimonials from Twitch streamers, we have to remain skeptical. The iSmell from 1999 used 128 base odors to mix countless variations. GameScent is stuck with five. To be really effective, you need variety, so this could get old fast. It is currently on Amazon for $150, plus you’ll need extra cartridges at some point. These are pretty chunky, and last for 4,000-5,000 sprays, but we’ve got nothing on their prices yet. First reports from real people say it is technically functional, but scents aren’t particularly accurate, or wholesome.