Sony and Immersion settle suit, rumble coming to the PS3?

Alright, so just days after trashing rumble as a "last generation feature," it appears that Sony cut a deal with Immersion (AKA the company which owns the patents on force-feed back stuff for controllers) paving the way for them to potentially add this "last generation feature" to their next generation console. Looks like Sony more or less caved here. They're paying Immersion the full sum awarded to them by a Federal District Cour, plus interest, and the two companies have agreed to enter into a "a new business agreement to explore the inclusion of Immersion technology in PlayStation® format products." So when do we finally see rumble in the PS3?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this one in]

[james @ Mar 2nd 2007 10:05AM]

Will adding rumble get people to buy the PS3? I doubt that it's the SINGLE reason why some aren't buying. I guess it is one of many reasons and one this is a step.

Personally, I don't miss the rumble.

[Scott Briscoe @ Mar 2nd 2007 10:08AM]

I really hope they dont stick rumble in the PS3...rumble is trash.

[Sam @ Mar 2nd 2007 10:10AM]

Honestly, I dont mind not having rumble. The controller is much lighter and easier on the hands. If they can still make it fairly light, and not have massive patches for every game, I would give it a go. But its still not hot terrible not having rumble...

[Abbot @ Mar 2nd 2007 10:14AM]

if you can't beat 'em (and you've already tried lying through your teeth about the inadequacies/antiquities of 'em), join 'em!

piiwii + rumble.. next they're going to have a nunchuk attachment and an X across the top.

[Scabies @ Mar 2nd 2007 10:52AM]

You know, I was wondering about the USB port on the controller. To my knowledge, you cannot host USB devices or serve power through the USB port on "device" ports. If they could make the controller port "host," that would be insane. and kickass.

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Mar 2nd 2007 10:45AM]

I also do not understand what people find in rumble.

Also, most games are implement such features in unfair way. When monster/enemy attacks me, my targeting is off. But when I point blank range shoot monster he isn't getting any targeting problems. Plain unfair. Rumble crap make that only worse.

All games I tried specifically tuned for rumble/etc (for "improved realism" as they put) were totally unplayable/unenjoyable.

[eric @ Mar 2nd 2007 10:46AM]

Make no mistake. Immersion is an evil, evil company! They have no actual products! Their entire business model is based on strong arming companies into paying a royalty for the patents they hold. The way they do this is quite despicable in my opinion. Most of the money they make is from taking their own customers to court. Not a good way to have a nice business relation with your customer. This is why Sony is constantly battling with these guys. How can someone have a patent on a motor with a metal weight on it. Pure evil!

[NHAnimator @ Mar 2nd 2007 11:43AM]

Huh?

What's wrong with licensing a held patent? Nothing.

What's wrong with charging as much as you want for the licensing? Nothing.

What's wrong with suing someone for patent infringement? Nothing.

And what's wrong with a company not having any actual, tangible products? Nothing.

Welcome to capitalism at its best.

[Jiffylush @ Mar 2nd 2007 11:00AM]

As a current PS3 owner I would not buy a new controller so I could get rumble, imho it seemed to be implemented as a novelty and not a well used feature.

Now the wii seems to be at least slightly different in that the vibration helps with typing, but I can't think of another time when it actually improved the functionality.

Now force-feedback on the other hand is a whole different animal, I really like it and it clearly improves the experience with steering wheels and flight sticks.

Not sure if force-feedback could be done well in a gamepad, but if it was I would buy one for that.

[Jason @ Mar 2nd 2007 11:17AM]

Why would I want rumble? Sony told me it was last generation. Besides, I would buy a PS3 if I could find one in stores. It's the only console that does 1080p on all its games.

[Tony Rayo @ Mar 2nd 2007 11:44AM]

"Jason @ Mar 2nd 2007 11:17AM

Why would I want rumble? Sony told me it was last generation. Besides, I would buy a PS3 if I could find one in stores. It's the only console that does 1080p on all its games."

Sorry m8, but this just isn't true. All games DO play in a HD resolution (720p, 1080i, 1080p), but sadly the PS3 does not upscale (the 360 does, but it's output is analog only... for the time being).

However all Blu-ray movies (as well as HD I believe, dunno I've only been following Blu-ray) playback in full 1080p, and newer movies have lost the mpeg-2 format for the crisper mpeg-4. Bald Phily (as I like to call him) at PS3 said DVD upconverting will be coming in a future firmware update (well he didn't say that in so-many words, but one can hope). However games like Resistance (which is the only non-Playstation Network game I have) runs in 720p, although 1080p was on deck at one point, they wanted more fluid offline/online play. If you have a super spiffy scaler you might be able to scale it up, but it's best to play in the format it was made in.

- Tony R.

[Beefthing @ Mar 2nd 2007 11:18AM]

Hahaha, you know what I really find funny here.

Last year, when Sony announced the final PS3 specs without rumble, complaints emerged from everywhere, all bashing Sony for not having this 'last gen feature.'

Today, when Sony decided to add this 'last gen feature' back into this gen's console due to pressure(perhaps?), and everyone is showing disapproval of this move and saying that rumble is no longer a feature that belongs to PS3.

How come I am feeling really sorry for Sony, they really don't do the right thing at the right time don't they?

[Philip @ Mar 2nd 2007 5:27PM]

Are you guys insane. We need rumble man! The whole game entertainment will come to life with rumble. Right now the PS3 controller is the worse of all three next gen game systems. It as light as a feather and the only cool feature is the six axis.
The reason why Wii is at the top of the list in the controller category is because it's design novelty. Lets not forget on of the main reasons why the Wii controller is #1 is because it has rumble. (Touch)Rumble = feel your game. (Vision) 1080p = See your game in crystal clear quality.(Hearing) 5.1 audio = Hear you game with amazing audio feedback. Now that leaves out two of the 5 senses of taste and smell. You don't have to worry about these senses being implemented into a game system for along time.
But, one thing Sony can also do is improve their PS3 game system's graphic card. What they need to do is pull out that RSX and put in a 8800 GTX based card.

[Muu @ Mar 2nd 2007 11:21AM]

Rumble was last generation, now it's immersive force feedback!

Controllers used to 'rumble' when you hit walls in racing games, but with Sixaxis Dualshock now they slam you with immersive forces!

[oo7ev @ Mar 2nd 2007 1:28PM]

Patent trolls discourage innovation, discourage business, and generally sap money from the economy and tie up the courts.

If you knew anything about patent litigation and new product development you would understand this. But you don't so your comments are ignorant.

How would you like it if you ran a business for years, then received a letter from some unknown company to cease and desist because they found a way to find a patent on the things YOU invented. Unfortunately it keeps happening.

[oo7ev @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:41PM]

Alone,the four points may not seem evil, but together they create the basis for a patent troll. Running a business with no goals but to profit on the innovative ideas and hard work done by others at their own risk is not something I call good business ethics. Is it capitalism? I guess so, but not capitalism at its best. In my experiences in the field, the patent system is broken, and are almost useless. If I had a patent today, a larger corporation could come in and hire a score of lawyers to work around it. This same tactic could be used in reversal, which is exactly what a patent troll is.

[SamadAgha @ Mar 2nd 2007 11:44AM]

There are a few games that use Rumble nicely. Like the MGS series. But ForceFeedback is definitely a great feature. It brings it much closer to a racing condition, and can make a decent workout from it. Just bought the F1 game. Hope when they bring FF back (or enable it), they give a patch for some of these racing game. Can you imagine having FF in MotorStorm! :-)

[kamokazi @ Mar 2nd 2007 12:08PM]

I think you missed the sarcasm in his post...

[JinKazama @ Mar 2nd 2007 11:49AM]

I thought I'd miss rumble too but I really, really don't. Actually not having it made me realize how annoying it really was.

Any game I play on my older systems I usually turn it off now. I don't mind it for a racing game so much but for a FPS where the blasted thing shakes every time you take a hit and/or shoot a gun drives me crazy now.

[Chuck @ Mar 2nd 2007 12:04PM]

Pfft... rumble is so last generation.

[Arno @ Mar 2nd 2007 12:10PM]

But rumble is so last-gen. Sony said it themselves. :p

[ps @ Mar 2nd 2007 12:16PM]

really... just to support... who CARES about rumble? it's so beyond novelty it's lame. if sony settled, just leave it alone. no one cares. you've aced the target of most ultimate resolution for high income segment - i'm sure they (we) could care less about controllers that vibrate at random. we're far too engadged in the actual game play to be distracted by a vibrating controler... that's 1048576 pixels for my mind to process for christ's sake. who cares...

[NHAnimator @ Mar 2nd 2007 3:38PM]

I guess I'm ignorant... Specifically, which one of my four points do you disagree with?

[Adrian Williams @ Mar 2nd 2007 1:37PM]

whats the diffrence between rumble and force feed back

[Zorque @ Mar 2nd 2007 3:24PM]

Too little, too late.

[Steve @ Mar 2nd 2007 5:46PM]

So with rumble, they'll actually be going BACK a generation with thier almost 10 year old controller?
The next gen starts when now? I'm confused. Is this 4d?

[Scabies @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:35PM]

I read that the ruts cut into the mud by racers ahead of you in Motorstorm will pull your vehicle along its path. It would be incedible if there was a wheel+patch that reflected this detail.

[NHAnimator @ Mar 2nd 2007 9:53PM]

Okay, thanks for clarifying. I am in general agreement with the fact that trolling is an issue. Unfortunately, it is like so many other facets of society today in which fundamental, even wholesale, changes are needed to make things right again. Not saying it can't be fixed, but typically, things have to get real bad before people wake up and do what's right.

[breni @ Mar 2nd 2007 9:47PM]

yes rumble as soon as the new controllers come out i'm getting a PS3..thats what is waiting for and also MGS4

[Galley @ Mar 3rd 2007 10:23AM]

Rumble feels good in your pants.

[Ken @ Mar 5th 2007 8:28AM]

I look forward to paying $120 for my next controller for the PS3: a wireless PS3 controller with rumble?!

Maybe the next PS3 controller over that will be the same, but with an illuminated PS button?

[LiQuiD_FuSioN @ Mar 8th 2007 12:00PM]

I remember people saying that the reason why the PS3 controllers didn't include the rumble feature was because Sony couldn't make room with all of the 6 Axis stuff going inside. But, it wasn't till' a few weeks later I learned that Immersion and Sony were falling out with each other.

Just shows how much we all tend to talk out of your asses sometimes until the facts are presented to us. I'm not even sure what/how I'm supposed to comment on stuff like this, but I assume we get to speak our mind provided we don't spam/flame anyone.

My comment for this news item would be - this would be a bummer for all present PS3 owners who missed the rumble feature. During the course of absence, I suppose all of you are trying your best to get used to it. It must have/be hard for you as rumble is an essential feature in gameplay. If not, the only feature to really wake you up is the rumble feature.

But, after reading several comments here, if they can make it as light as it is now with the rumble feature and 6 Axis working together, then that will be awesome. Or perhaps they could sell both non-rumble and rumble-enabled controllers if the crowds don't like them?

[Jason @ Mar 2nd 2007 11:32AM]

I really hate how light the PS3 controller is. Hopefully they add rumble, or just some big chunks of lead so it doesn't feel like it'll explode into tiny plastic shards in my hands.

[Mike @ Mar 13th 2007 9:12PM]

Some games actually used it. Like rumble strips on the side of the road in Gran Turismo, Splinter Cell used it for picking locks, etc. It's not a trash feature, and without it damn near every "fully backwards compatible" PS1 and PS2 game on the PS3 is a false statement.

[Andrew @ Mar 15th 2007 9:49PM]

First of all, sony shouldnt have made the controllers semi-clear after they said they couldnt fit rumble in. hold it up to light, the spots where the motors are in DualShock I/II controllers are...guess what, empty. so sony says it would interfere with sixaxis. so put in a hardware switch? i honestly couldnt believe sony when they said that, i mean, i called bullshit on that one. your making a $600 gaming console and you cant figure out how to put rumble AND tilt in the same controller without interference?

I hate sony only because of PS3. I own one, and love it, but sony is so full of crap these days. the thing i truly hate is xbox.

wait what am i doing here, i should be doing what all the xbox fanboys do: find the competing system's posts and go and tell the users that they are wrong and they dont actually have fun because they play with crap. oh wait.... we're above all that.