Virtual noise reduces simulator sickness in video games?

    With the technology that we have nowadays, it is possible to recreate almost any scenario in real life and integrate it into games. One prime example is simulating rides such as flying a plane, driving a car, to even riding a roller coaster. The games give us a first person perspective point of view as the game is being played. This is as realistic as it gets to actually experiencing the real thing.
    With the simulation games comes risks as well. For individuals who are prone to motion sickness such as vertigo and nausea, virtual games may not be the best choice; however, there has been new research into this issue for potential to ease the situation. It is said that various physiological systems are the cause of simulator sickness. The real science behind motion sickness is the fact that our perceptual system does not like it when the motion of our body and our visual system are out of synch. There has been evidence that playing games which are less intense in terms of having fixed visual reference objects- such as a racer's dashboard or a cockpit controls within the user's field of view has shown to lessen the chances of developing motion sickness.
    What researchers did was astounding. They developed something called a "nasum virtualis," which was in fact a "virtual nose" which was in fact a human nose that was then placed in the middle of the video display. A study was conducted on some 41 people whom all had the virtual nose inserted into their gameplay. Whilst playing the games, none of them noticed that there was even a nose in the middle of the screen, as it did not affect their gameplay. It did however, eliminate any chances at having motion sickness as the nose acted as a frame of reference to help ground the player.
    Experts are still astounded and amazed at the success of the virtual nose. However, they are still yet to figure out the real reason behind why having it really works. According to one scientist, he says that "our suspicion is that you have this stable object that your body is accustomed to tuning out, but it's still there and your sensory system knows it."