Sony settles differences with tech company Immersion Friday 2 March 2007
PlayStation 3's Sixaxis controller could soon be reissued, complete with rumble capability, following Sony's settlement with Immersion, the technology company who hold the patent on the equipment that creates the rumble feature in controllers.
"Our new business agreement with Sony Computer Entertainment is specifically intended to enable advanced vibration capability for the benefit of the PlayStation gaming community," Immersion announced today in a press release published on its official website:
Immersion and Sony Computer Entertainment Conclude Litigation and Enter into Business Agreement. Sounds promising, no?
Immersion had been involved in a legal battle with Sony over the Dual Shock's use of rumble technology - and it's been widely suggested that the disagreement (and the money involved) was the reason Sixaxis was created without rumble features.
However, with the case settled, Sony is looking forward to working with Immersion in future: "We look forward to exploring with Immersion exciting new ways to bring the largest and best range of gameplay experiences to our customers," says Kaz Hirai, Sony president.
While this doesn't guarantee rumble will reach Sixaxis, we'll certainly be betting the house on Immersion's rumble technology making its way into Sony's own peripherals in the near future.
ALSO on a side note, looks like the PS3 is getting its own type of achievments(*rumours alert*)
Friday 2 March 2007
Sony could be revealing a trophy room-style feature for PlayStation 3 called Home next week, which would bridge the gap between Wii's user-created Mii characters and Xbox 360's game-linked Achievement points system.
The Home feature will see you create a Mii-esque avatar, who lives in a room saved on your PS3 - and which will begin to fill up with items, or trophies, specific to your achievements in each PS3 game you play, according to an anonymous source quoted by webblog Kotaku.
This would seem to sit well with the rumoured Entitlements service from last year, with your success entitling you to place a model of a car, or a guitar, or whatever in your room. And also with comments made recently by Phil Harrison, head of Sony's worldwide studios, to website NG-Gamer, when asked about fun plans for the future: "It has something to do with the Home button on the Sixaxis controller, and with the community," Harrison hinted.