Reuters is reporting that Sony recently got a pie-in-the-sky patent on using ultrasonic waves to beam sensory perceptions, like sights, sounds, and smells, directly into the brain. So in a sense, Sony's patent is an improvement on The Matrix and the traditional cyperpunk notions of a sensory-enabled network that inspired it, because Sony's method is non-invasive and doesn't require you to "jack in." I suppose you could say it's "wireless," to use a current buzz word. From the Reuters coverage:

The technique could one day be used to create videogames in which you can smell, taste, and touch, or to help people who are blind or deaf. The U.S. patent, granted to Sony researcher Thomas Dawson, describes a technique for aiming ultrasonic pulses at specific areas of the brain to induce "sensory experiences" such as smells, sounds and images. "The pulsed ultrasonic signal alters the neural timing in the cortex," the patent states. "No invasive surgery is needed to assist a person, such as a blind person, to view live and/or recorded images or hear sounds."

Sony hasn't yet built a device that works based on the ideas presented in the patent, so this is all theoretical. In fact, according to the New Scientist, Sony hasn't even conducted any experiments to see if this works. Nonetheless, most of the reporting on this patent (see the Times Online and the original New Scientist peice) claim that some independent experts have said that the idea is plausible. There's no word yet on whether or not tinfoil will stop the ultrasonic brain rays.

At any rate, I expect that the budget for an a game that takes advantage of this technology, smells and all, will be more than the GDP of a decent-sized country. I'm sure at least one game company that I can think of will start taking preorders for such a game sometime next year.