Microsoft has won its claim against rumble licensor Immersion Corp., receiving $20.75 million from the company, Reuters reports. The particulars of the case revolve around a 2003 sub-licensing agreement between the two companies in which Microsoft was entitled to a portion of the cash that Immersion eventually settled on in its case against Sony.

It appears that everything is now ship-shake between all the corporations involved and we can continue enjoying the jiggles we get from our controllers.

Source -- Payback Time: Immersion To Pay $20.75 Million To Microsoft (Efluxmedia)
Source -- Immersion settles suit with Microsoft (Reuters)

[Thanks, laserboyjc]

Immersion CEO Vic Viegas says in an interview with GameDaily that he doesn't understand why Sony decided to put the DualShock 2's rumble technology into the DualShock 3, considering he believes the new next-gen rumble technology is cheaper. Viegas says, "The old technology utilizes two motors to create the complex set of sensations, whereas Immersion's new TouchSense technology utilizes a single motor, but we drive the motor in unique ways so that you can get stronger yet crisper effects." He says the one motor uses less power, "the cost to implement is less expensive than the old tech" and he says they won't charge Sony extra.

Viegas also talked a little about handhelds and implementing rumble into the DS or PSP. Currently Nintendo does not license its vibration tech from Immersion and may be working on their own ways of bringing rumble to the DS. As to whether Immersion might sue Nintendo one day like they did Sony, Viegas says, "We have not yet formally taken a position on whether it's infringing or not infringing any of our IP." Then again, if Nintendo can afford $18 million in Wiimote jackets, licensing some next-gen rumble might be an afterthought for them.

Haptic technology developer Immersion has been sued by Microsoft for not following through with their end of an agreement that settled a lawsuit originally filed by Immersion towards the Xbox 360 maker back in 2003. Funny how things come full circle.

Microsoft cited a portion of the agreement where Immersion was to pay the company "based on certain business and IP licensing arrangements" but has not done so. The original agreement had Microsoft paying $26 million for licensing rights and a stake in the company.

Immersion is probably best known in the video game industry for its lawsuits against Sony over patents based on their force feedback technology. Though Microsoft settled, Sony fought it and lost, eventually paying over $90 million to the patent holder.

Sources close to Inner Bits reportedly tell them that Sony unsurprisingly has been working for the past few months on engineering the Sixaxis controller to shake and rattle (it already rolls). The problem currently lies with battery life.

"Between the rumble and the wireless support, the batteries are draining too fast to be acceptable for consumers," said the report. The project has been going on for months and Inner Bits believe (as do we) that Sony will manage to find an efficient solution.

One point the report brings up is Sony public relations, as they have in the past cited rumble as "not next-gen" (pending a now-settled Immersion lawsuit) and then getting those who already have rumble-less Sixaxis pads to upgrade. Rumble has rarely been used as an integral feature to gameplay (one exception includes finding hidden objects in Psychonauts).

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

According to a GameFAQs forum member, the latest issue of PSM revives the PS3 Sixaxis rumble rumors, hinting once again that Sony could integrate the "last-gen feature" into upcoming controllers. According to the magazine's rumor section, Sony will announce rumble support at E3 for a release in mid-November. The re-designed controller will allow both tilting and rumble, united at long last thanks to the settled courtroom battle between Sony and Immersion.

In announcing their SensorFX force feedback system for the PS3 yesterday, accessory-maker SplitFish somewhat coyly mentioned that the technology "can be sold as an add-on to existing controllers or as an imbedded [sic] feature that is part of a standard controller." The second part of that sentence led some to believe that an official deal with Sony to add rumble support to the PS3's SixAxis controller might be afoot.

Today, Sony spokesman Dave Karakker put any such rumors to rest, telling GameDaily that "no one at SCEA has been in touch with this company," and, furthermore, "at this time, we have no plans to incorporate any kind of force feedback into our SIXAXIS controller."

Without any official support from Sony, any PS3 rumble solution from a third party would likely have a hard time garnering support from game developers and publishers. As Immersion CEO Vic Vegas pointed out in an earlier interview with GameDaily "[Sony] can filter out vibration commands; essentially if they don't want vibration they can shut it down and it appears that's what they're doing."

But the question then remains: why don't they want it. Despite Sony's original protests that rumble technology "interferes with information detected by the sensor," the Wii shows that force feedback and motion sensing are possible in the same controller. Legal threats from Immersion might cause Sony to be wary, but Immersion themselves have offered to work with Sony on a legally acceptable solution. Cost might be an issue, but with Sony already losing hundreds on each unit of hardware, a few more bucks of loss in each controller hardly seems like a deal-breaker.

At this point, the only thing we can figure that's stopping Sony from adding rumble support to the SixAxis is some sort of foolish pride. Yes, adding rumble support mere months after the system's launch would essentially be admitting a large mistake in the original controller design. But a self-assured company should be able to absorb this temporary, minor embarrassment for the sake of the long term interests of the system. Sony, apparently, is not that kind of company.

Sony recently confirmed with 1UP that PlayStation 3 will not support force feedback, a technology that is often integrated into racing wheel peripherals. The explanation was vague: "All PS3 games are programmed for the Sixaxis which doesn't have force feedback, therefore the force feedback in the wheels won't be recognized."

Perhaps Sony misspoke. There aren't any console gamepads that support the type of force feedback technology built into many top-line racing wheels, so when this feature is enabled in racing games, it's an additional programming step that only benefits players using an appropriate racing wheel -- it simply doesn't matter that Sixaxis lacks full force feedback (or even simple rumble feedback). If Sony is actively dissuading developers from coding in force feedback support for racing wheels compatible with PS3, it has nothing to do with what Sixaxis lacks ... then again, it might have everything to do with what Sixaxis lacks.

If indeed Immersion technologies like rumble and force feedback are never be supported by Sony's new console it's almost certainly the result of the 2003 lawsuit brought against Sony by Immersion, and the judge's denial of Sony's subsequent appeal.

Our colleagues at GameDaily BIZ spoke with Victor Viegas, CEO of force feedback patent holder Immersion, about Sony VP Kaz Hirai's recent comments on the PS3 controller's lack of rumble. Hirai told Kikizo in a taped interview, "If we have to come up with technology ... to isolate the vibration from the sensing, but if that means that the controllers are going to be so expensive, then we're doing the consumer a huge disservice by coming up with a controller that is not very affordable."

Viegas responded that his company "knew how to technically solve their problems" and they now "know how to do it without adding any incremental cost." He even cited a third party PS2 controller, the G-Pad Pro, that "incorporates both motion sensing and vibration and goes for the retail price of just $29.95." That's only $5 more than a Dual Shock.

We can't help but be shaken, rumbled even, by the irony of proclaiming cost sensitivity as the purported rationale for excising the controller's force feedback functionality when the console it will wirelessly communicate with has been criticized, by most everyone below the 35% tax bracket, for being extravagantly expensive. Note to Sony: We're pretty sure anyone ponying up $500-$600 for a PS3 would be more than willing to shell out an extra $5 for force feedback.

With Nintendo's rumbling, motion-sensing controller combo going for a princely $60, and Microsoft's rumbling, motion-free 360 gamepad going for a steep $50, how should Sony price their lightweight, rumble-free Sixaxis? They've already said it's got to be affordable.

Other peripheral pricing:
PS3: Dual Shake is dead, long live Sixaxis

Read - Hirai: No Rumble in PS3 Controller Due to Cost
Read - Immersion CEO: Rumble + Motion Not Cost Prohibitive

Skin of your teeth, white-knuckle and overly elaborate escapes can be made all the more engaging and memorable by the subtle rumbling of the controller in your hands. Of course, having just stolen a Dual Shock 2 from the lonely demo unit in your local games retailer, palpable excitement is something you have in droves, not to mention rampant kleptomania. The vibration emitted by most of today's controllers also adds an extra level of immersion to games like Silent Hill and Halo -- just ask Immersion, they named their company after the idea.

Don't ask Sony, however, since it's a touchy subject. Currently appealing against a court ruling in favor of Immersion's claims that they treaded upon specific patents when they created the Dual Shock controllers (like the one you stole), Sony has come under some fire for dropping rumble functionality from the PS3 controller entirely. An accusatory finger was pointed at the newly implemented motion sensing technology, a move interpreted by some as Sony being unwilling to hand licensing fees over to Immersion. Whether or not that's the case is still up for debate, though Immersion has now unveiled new technology which indicates, at the very least, that a rumbling Dual Shake may still find its way into hands (especially thieving ones).

The "TouchSense" technology for use in next-gen controllers promises added realism in addition to full compatibility with motion and tilt sensing devices. "Because the speed at which a user moves the controller is much slower than the frequencies generated by TouchSense technology, the two signals can be differentiated using filtering and other techniques." Their statement goes on to say that Immersion "offers engineering services to implement the technology within a particular console system."

Will Sony grab this opportunity, or let it slip through their fingers? Is it really that big of a deal?

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

We saw what Sony's PlayStation 3 EyeToy can do in terms of motion technology (as well as its upgraded PS3 remote), and we know Nintendo's primary console feature is its motion-sensored remote, but what about the Xbox 360? Aaron Stanton of About.com visited the GestureTek booth in Kentia Hall at last week's E3 to learn about a new development kit to use with the Xbox 360 camera. Not only can it map your face to a character model, but with GestureTek's technology the Xbox 360 camera can accurately track a player's movement, including specific finger usage.

To further impress, GestureTek demonstrated for Stanton how the technology can emulate each Nintendo Wii game on the show floor. The technology is impressive, of course, but as Stanton points out not likely to surpass the Wii. Simply put, the GestureTek demo is just that -- a demo. And on top of that, technology for a peripheral, which can be easily ignored by developers. It'll be interesting to see if Microsoft and Sony use their respective cameras to match Nintendo's features, but if Sony's press conference is any indication (Sony just glazed over its EyeToy demo), we doubt it.

[Thanks, Eric Stoben]

With the upcoming Live Anywhere service from Microsoft, various gaming platforms will unite in new ways. For MMOs, this means some exciting scenarios in the realm of pervasive gaming, gameplay that will follow you around, creating a seamless virtual world across your PC, phone and console.

Checking in-game auctions from a mobile phone has been on our MMO wishlist for some time -- Live Anywhere will enable that, and other immersive features. Levelling up crafting skills via casual mini-games; chatting with guild leaders via PC or phone-based VoIP; sending in-game mail and IM from normal mail and IM clients.

We'll have to wait and see if Live Anywhere will support more unification, such as matching friends lists and clan systems both in-game and outside it, but there are definitely some really cool possibilities that this vision opens up for MMOs. It's up to Microsoft and developers to really deliver on this potential.