Controllers that are hot or cold add another layer to gaming

Sometimes, gaming companies inject a little oomph into video game
controllers. Vibration, motion control and — if it catches on — 3D are
all designed to draw the player in more. Now, MIT adds to one more ploy to that list: heat.













The controllers would heat up or cool off a few degrees in either
direction depending on what's going on in a game. Racing through a snowy
climate would have chill players' hands, for instance, and an exploding
barrel nearby would warm them up.

From MIT's Technology Review:

A
pair of thermoelectric surfaces on either side of a controller rapidly
heat up or cool down in order to simulate appropriate conditions in a
virtual environment...The temperature difference isn't large — less than
10 degrees heating or cooling after five seconds, but the researchers
involved discovered that...just a little sensory nudge can be enough to
convince involved participants in a virtual environment that they are
experiencing something like the real thing.