MICROSOFT SUES IMMERSION FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT
How’s this for a twist? Microsoft has filed a lawsuit against Immersion stating that the company is in breach of the contract the two companies signed when they settled Immersion’s vibration feedback lawsuit against Microsoft back in 2003. Apparently the dispute comes down to certain monetary compensation Microsoft was supposed to receive as part of their purchasing a stake in Immersion at the time.
Quite humorously, ArsTechnica is reporting that at least part of the dispute comes down to Microsoft feeling they are entitled to part of the money that Sony paid out to Immersion when they lost the patent infringement suit brought in regards to the haptic vibration technology used in the Dual Shock controller.
“The complaint details the Sublicense Agreement (SLA) that Microsoft and Immersion entered into in 2003, following the settlement between the two parties. According to the complaint, the SLA entitles Microsoft to a minimum $15 million payment as a result of Immersion’s settlement with Sony. Microsoft and Immersion apparently agreed to share the bounty that would stem from a court battle with Sony, and Microsoft says they have yet to be paid.” – ArsTechnica
The lawsuit shouldn’t have any bearing on Microsoft’s license to use Immersions vibration technology with the Xbox 360, so doomsayers on that end should probably be ignored. For more details on all the specifics, check out the full article over at ArsTechnica.
SONY SETTLES IMMERSION LAWSUIT – RUMBLE TO FOLLOW?
Gamespot is reporting that Sony has finally settled with Immersion Corporation on the vibration feedback patent dispute case that most believe resulted in the Sixaxis controller not supporting vibration feedback. In addition to settling the dispute over the patent infringement issues with the PlayStation 2 and Dual Shock Controller, Sony has also entered an agreement to work with Immersion on bringing "advanced vibration feedback" to the PlayStation 3;
"Our new business agreement with Sony Computer Entertainment is specifically intended to enable advanced vibration capability for the benefit of the PlayStation gaming community, we are happy to provide our technology in this regard and hope to make technical proposals very soon with respect to use of our technology in the PlayStation products." – Victor Viegas, CEO Immersion Corporation
Let me go on the record right now as saying I don’t care what anyone else may say about having to buy additional controllers, should Sony roll out vibration feedback, unless Sony does something exceptionally stupid , I’ll be more than happy to purchase 2 new controllers for my PlayStation 3 if it means that I can get some rumblin’ action.
- Sony and Immersion Patch Up – Gamespot
IMMERSION SURVEYING GAMERS ABOUT VIBRATION FEEDBACK
Those crafty devils at Immersion are sponsoring a survey which apparently is geared towards convincing Sony that they really need to re-think their stance on vibration feedback and the Playstation 3 controller. While it at first appears as just a survey about how the participants feel about the use of vibration technology, it quickly becomes a bit more pointed to the Playstation 3 and it’s lack of that feature. Let’s take a look at one of the questions, shall we?;
“If rumble is removed from the PS3 console, your PlayStation or PS2 games also may not have vibration when played on the PS3. How would the lack of rumble in the whole console affect your decision to buy the PS3?
I would definitely not purchase a PS3 without rumble
I would be more likely to purchase an Xbox 360 with rumble
I would be more likely to purchase a Wii with rumble
I would buy a PS3 anyway, but I’d be disappointed
It would not affect my decision at all
Other, please specify “ – Immersion Survey
You’ll note how it’s a bit slanted towards the negative end of the spectrum, which pretty much would guarantee Immersion gets the results they want. They may as well have titled the survey “Just drop the appeal and license the technology already“
Check out the full survey here and be sure to let them know what you think. Who knows, it could actually help Sony decide that they do need to bring vibration back into the equation – I mean, what are they going to do if Sega decides they want to release a high-definition version of Rez with a Trance-Vibrator? (ed- For the record, that Trance-Vibrator link may not be safe for work – you have been warned.)
IMMERSION SHOWS OFF TOUCHSENSE VIBRATION SYSTEM
If you remember, back at E3, Sony stated that the Playstation 3 would not feature vibration technology as it interfered with the new motion sensing system they added to the PS3 controller. Most inside the industry scoffed at the idea and hinted that it most likely had more to do with the current litigation between Sony and Immersion, the current holder of the patent for variable speed, motor vibration.
Shortly after E3, Immersion went on the record as saying they felt that it was possible to mix the 2 technologies and that they would be willing to work with Sony on implementing both vibration and motion sensing in the PS3 controller if Sony would drop their appeal of the judgement in the case. It appears Sony never took Immersion up on that offer.
It’s been a busy week for Immersion. They first demonstrated a new vibration technology behind closed doors for the staff of Gamepro magazine (as reported by Gametrailers.com) and have now announced that they have in fact, completed the mix of vibration and motion sensing in one controller and are beginning the process of shopping it around to prospective customers.
“The new TouchSense technology is compatible with motion control and tilt sensing that allow players to control certain game actions by moving or tilting a handheld controller. 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. Immersion also offers engineering services to implement the technology within a particular console system.” – Immersion Corporation
As Microsoft bought a stake in Immersion as part of their patent infringement settlement with the company, it certainly wouldn’t surprise me to see a new Xbox 360 controller with TouchSense should the motion sensing features of both the Wii and Playstation 3 catch on with gamers.
You can check out the Immersion TouchSense press release here, the GameTrailers.com article here and our posting about Immersions earlier offer to Sony here.
IMMERSION OFFERS TO LICENSE VIBRATION TECHNOLOGY TO SONY
As you may be aware, one of the reasons we believe Sony dropped the vibration function from the Playstation 3 controller was that they still are in litigation with Immersion regarding the type of vibration used in the Dual Shock and Dual Shock 2 controllers. Based on an article over at Gamasutra, It appears that Immersion is still willing to not only let Sony license their haptic technology for use with the Playstation 3 controller, but are also willing to assist them in getting it to work with the tilt function Sony introduced at E3 and claimed was the reason why they had to drop vibration.
There is a catch though – Immersion would require Sony to drop their current challenge to the injunction issued in the case that would prevent Sony from the production, sale or manufacture of the related technologies in the United States. In other words, Sony would need to pay the penalty awarded by the court, drop their counter-claims against Immersion and enter into a licensing agreement for the Haptic vibration technology. Click here for the full Gamasutra article.
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