One of the latest announcements to come from this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is that Frontier Developments has decided to partner up with Thrustmaster to create a joystick for the the space simulation videogame, Elite: Dangerous.

Thrustmaster is unveiling its newest flight simulation joystick alongside partnering with Frontier Developments, and it will provide a complete space sim solution that maps directly into the videogame. It has been said that the joystick is “perfect” for virtual reality (VR) as it is “the most natural and intuitive way to sit in a cockpit”. The stick, the T.16000M FCS HOTAS, which stands for ‘Flight Control System’ and ‘Hands On Throttle and Stick’, and is developed by the hardware manufacturers who have been developing flight sim controllers for 25 years.

Gilles Raulet, Thrustmaster’s Development Director, explained how the two companies came together: “Working with Frontier who are at the forefront of the Space Sim revival with Elite Dangerous, comes naturally for us, as Thrustmaster is a pioneer in the flight sim controller industry.”

Raulet went on to describe what the target audience of the joystick is: “The T.16000M FCS HOTAS has been designed for advanced fliers looking for comprehensive, realistic controls as an alternative to using a mouse and keyboard.”

“Elite Dangerous players have been looking for a HOTAS joystick with an accessible interface at an affordable price. I believe Thrustmaster’s new T.16000M FCS HOTAS fits the bill perfectly,” stated Jo Cooke, Frontier’s Director of Marketing in a press release.

“Elite Dangerous is a sophisticated flight simulation and our players want precision control. The T.16000M’s magnetic sensors, numerous buttons and axes provide the precision our pilots need to hit their targets, carry out complex maneuvers in crowded asteroid fields, change elevation or strafe to avoid incoming fire, and have fast access to the game’s advanced controls in their cockpit.”

The T.16000M FCS HOTAS has an ambidextrous design, has a Flight Control System and Thrustmaster Weapon Control System, and it is compatible with PC using a USB for Windows Vista-10.

The price for the T.16000M FCS HOTAS will be at a suggested retail price of £99.99 GBP, €129.99 EUR, or $129.99 USD and it will be available from September.

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