Immersion to pay Microsoft $21 million, Sony groans

Immersion, the company that owns virtually every vibration and haptic tech on earth, is getting a taste of its own medicine now that it owes Microsoft $21 million. You may remember back in 2003 when Microsoft floated an unknown sum of cash in the direction of Immersion in order to include patented vibration technology in its Xbox 360 controllers. Around the same time, Sony told us all that we don't need no stinkin' vibration and passed on paying up. Last year, though, Sony bowed to customer pressure and paid Immersion $121 million in order to unleash the Dual Shock 3. Immersion was supposed to share some of that Sony booty with Microsoft -- and they didn't. So there we have it: we all got a piece of Sony and we have the DualShock 3. Everyone happy now?

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 27th 2008 11:43AM]

If I remember rightly, MS settled out of court and gave immersion the balls to take on the giant that is sony. Given that they won against MS it was common sense to suggest they would get their way against sony. Unfortunately MS was playing them both off each other and had a clause that get them most of the cash they injected back if they won. At least, thats what i remember of it.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 27th 2008 11:47AM]

That´s got to be the most expensive Vibrator on earth ladies!

[Eric Mendes Posted Aug 27th 2008 11:48AM]

@Chris

Don't spread your misinformation, last quarter Sony's gaming division, AKA the Playstation family, was in the black with a profit around 50 million.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/29/sony-profits-dip-games-division-way-up/

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 27th 2008 11:57AM]

The important thing to note, is that none of this money is going to me, so I really don't care about Sony losing (more) money.

[hapa77 Posted Aug 27th 2008 1:20PM]

what about nintendo? they got sued before too right? they had the rumble pack before immersion correct?

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 27th 2008 2:07PM]

What goes around comes around. Sony will get their money back and then some when Redmond finally caves and adopts Blu-ray for the 360 (or 720...or whatever they'll call their next machine).

Sony's gaming division's been in the black for the past THREE quarters. However, despite far healthier sales, the PS3 is NOT the reason for the better bottom line: the PSP and long-paid for PS2 are. The big problem with the PS3 is still the relative lack of quality, exclusive gaming titles, where the REAL money for the gaming division is made.

http://www.techspot.com/news/31021-Sony-game-division-turns-a-profit-in-Q1.html

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 27th 2008 3:52PM]

@Jason
Nintendo was sued by someone else if I remember right, and it was for different technology. The rumble technologies are also different between the two systems. Nintendo uses a device which spins around in a circular disc motion, where as Immersion's technology is a rod like device which is spun around in a cylindrical motion, the two technologies are using the same physics dynamics but are accomplishing it in different ways.

@make_or_break
I wouldn't hold my breath on Redmond (Microsoft) ever including a Blu-ray disc unit in the 360 and it's unlikely to make an appearance in the future XBox system either, Microsoft decided to cut out the a lot of the fat costs between the XBox and the 360 most of the parts are manufactured specifically for the 360 and very few companies outside of Microsoft are making money off the system because of these changes, before the 360 came out Microsoft was actively looking to purchase board, chip, and graphics card manufactures so they could make the system in house and not have to depend on companies who ended up gouging the XBox system into the red, they are not going to back a format which is owned by a competitor who is actively trying to take away their target business population, by doing so they would be leaving themselves wide open for a licencing fee attack.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 27th 2008 3:56PM]

Note: Microsoft never found a processor or graphics card company that was willing to sell to them.