SNIPE - More Than The New Duck Hunt

Warriors, you did hear about the new interactive app based on nerf target practice, right? In amongst all the other announcements coming from and during the Toy Fair, the upcoming Snipe app started getting attention as well. This is another one of those endeavors to combine foam dart shooting with tech advances. Check out the little teaser video that X N Touch put out:

It looks like a really fun concept. We've seen a lot of technological development with NERF and foam blasters in the last year. You've probably seen our coverage of the concepts behind Tek Recon, Attacknid and now Tek Strike too.

The folks behind Snipe say they hope to change the way people play shooting games. They suggest that family members will no longer fall victim to your foam darts if you have alternative targets like Snipe will provide. LOL, yeah right!

As I look at SNIPE, I can't help but think about the old game I used to play on the original NES Nintendo console; Duck Hunt. You would plug in a toy gun controller and shoot at ducks on the screen. So at first I was kind of feeling like Snipe was taking a step back. Why do I need all of this tech (Ipad, new darts, new app) when I can just shoot at somebody? But stop and think about it. You can integrate this thing into all sorts of games. The boys on Nerfcast were talking about it too.

There's no way that Snipe should replace other Nerf gaming in general, but I think this system has awesome potential as an augment to Nerf Wars all over. You could test different weapons at check-in if you are renting or letting someone get used to a blaster you are loaning them. You could integrate Snipe into a course as targets that keep track of hits. Settle your arguments about who is best with a purely objective judge using their target tree. The possibilities are awesome.

They have a completely new dart type that they are adding to the mix along with the app. These darts look very similar to the earlier N-Strike Suction darts (not Elite) with the large suction cup on the front. You can see the spiral design they've incorporated into it. This is apparently mostly for the unique look, but I am looking forward to seeing if that helps the aerodynamics in any regard.

X N Touch says that the SNIPE DART is designed to be a safe, app-integrated projectile. Both the foam and the rubber tip are conductive to ensure that your touch-screen will register a hit. However, that hit is reported to register even less force on your device's screen than your hand typing on it.

The makers say that the dart can fit into most NERF blaster and other blasters as well. I figure they mean most front-loading blasters. You probably don't want to be sending these darts through your clip-system blasters.

X N Touch says they should be ready for pre-order by April. Do you think you want to be on that list? ~Chris