Sony to change the PS3 controller?

Written by Joe Martin

June 15, 2007 | 11:39

Tags: #battery #controller #feedback #force #immersion #phil-harrison #ps3 #rumble #scea #scee #sixaxis #tretton #vibrate #wii #wireless

Companies: #motion #nintendo #sony

When Sony first announced it had removed the force feedback capabilities from the PlayStation 3 controller, gamers were more than a little shocked. Sony insisted for a long time that removal of the rumble pack, prompted by litigation from Immersion about the force feedback patent which ended up costing Sony over $90 million, was a move it had no regrets about taking.

However, following the settlement between Sony and Immersion, the two companies entered into a business agreement to work on future PS3 products and rumours indicated that Sony was working on re-integrating the force feedback features into the PS3 SixAxis controller. One may ask how a SixAxis motion sensitive controller can also feature force feedback, a problem which Sony claimed was the original reason it removed force feedback from the SixAxis.

Our suggestion; Ask Nintendo.

Inner Bits has posted insider information however that indicates the rumble may be returning to the PS3 soon, though Sony hasn't officially confirmed the rumour as fact or fiction.

"We can now confirm that this is the case." Writes Inner Bits "We've heard from two independent sources at Sony that they have been working on prototypes for several months."

It's not as easy as it sounds however, running a motion sensitive, wireless controller which has force feedback has left Sony with apparent battery life woes.

"Officially, the corporate line is still "no comment". Unofficially, Sony is facing some difficulties with battery life; i.e. Between the rumble and the wireless support, the batteries are draining too fast to be acceptable for consumers."

We hope that Sony can find a work-around to the problem which doesn't cut back or compromise on other features - that or just give us a decent length of cable; wires aren't really that bad. Are they?

The bad part may be if the re-adoption of this new feature pushes development of new titles back further, as developers try to take advantage of these new features. That's without counting the cost for gamers to buy a new controller, though we imagine PS3 owners must have deeper pockets than most gamers anyway.

How important is force feedback to you? Will you only use a wireless controller? Let us know in the forums.
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