SGRL, a relatively new Ohio-based peripheral manufacturer, stopped by the GameSpot offices yesterday with some of its upcoming products in tow. The company is currently working on two gaming peripherals of interest. The first is a virtual skate/surf/snowboard that players actually stand on while playing sports titles. The second is an update of SGRL's earlier Titans Sphere joystick, logically called the Titans Sphere II.

　　The skateboard gaming device, called The Board, is designed specifically for surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding titles. The prototype we saw was made of machined wood, much like a skateboard, and had thick rubber lining running down its center for increased traction with the players' shoes. To cut down on the Board's weight, however, SGRL will be using plastic instead of wood for its final product.

　　Attached to the Board is a five-button controller (with throttle) that is molded to fit either left- or right-handed people. The Board itself has three axes of control: Players can lean back and forth, left and right, or they can twist the Board in a yawing motion. An accelerometer device developed by Analog Devices detects board movement and then translates those moves into signals that games programmed for the device can automatically recognize. At this time, the number of said games is light - currently only Activision's Pro Boarder, Extreme Winter Sports, Extreme Boards & Blades, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater offer support for the device. SGRL is evangelizing its product to a number of game developers and promises that The Board will have increased software support when it launches this fall.

　　SGRL also showed off the Titans Sphere II, a smaller version of the original, which features two main components that rotate against one another, much like Microsoft's upcoming Dual Strike. The company also had a prototypical version of Power Set, a nickel hydride battery pack for the Game Boy Color that doubles its standard playtime to just shy of five hours.

　　The Board, which will retail for US$99, and the Titans Sphere II will both be available for the PlayStation and PC this fall.