WOW a very cool new toy! I thought Thrustmaster was done - they have been pretty much off the radar for quite a while, now we know why.
cactus-yeh, I was wondering the same thing...modded uber NXT Cougar go in on 4 yrs now, but sure would love that throttle setup.
Looks like TM finally got a clue and replaced the crap gymbal-pot system they were using - something serious gamers were doing to their Cougars almost immediately. (A game like AH will wear the oem stuff out in 6 months or less.)
An NXT mod + Hall sensors + original HOTAS although a thing of beauty when complete, could cost somewhere around $700 -- kind of psychotic if ya stop to think about, but then again that's what "justification" is for.
From the preliminary pricing it looks like TM is shooting for ~ $ 200 less than that figure. I guess they figure enough people spent considerably more to mod the original Cougar, so they will pay $500 for it in the box with all the goodies. Makes sense but a lot of (relatively sane) people would balk at that number??
Interestingly, looking at that picture, I think they eliminated the entire gymbal system (which would be a good thing) or miniaturized it to fit in that tiny base..there can't be any springs in there either...hmmmm wonder how they engineered the resistance in and got 360 degree ROM and 2 Hall sensors in there??
I guess I could spend $500 to find out, but that's just crazy talk!!