Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

PlayStation Sales Halted?

Posted by Zonk on from the you'd-think-they'd-have-thought-that-through dept.

Narf Narf writes "According to Japan Today, the U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, has ordered Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and its U.S. unit to pay $90.7 million in damages to Immersion Corp. for patent infringement over controllers used with PlayStation game consoles. In the ruling handed down Thursday, the federal court also ordered Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Entertainment America Inc. to stop selling the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 game consoles using Dualshock controllers as well as more than 40 game software products." Update: 03/28 04:51 GMT by Z : ...which was followed immediately by an injunction, to allow Sony time for an appeal, and a compulsory licensing agreement.

9 of 581 comments (clear)

  1. uh by tsioc · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I never really cared for the dualshock anyways... to be honest, the controller-s that comes with the xbox is probably the most comfortable controller I've used. I wish the article said more about the issue. What was it about the Dualshock that caused the violation?

    --
    Free electronics!
    1. Re:uh by TheKidWho · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      No way... The way the dual shock controller forces you to place your thumb to use the analog stick becomes a pain after a while. The Xbox/Dreamcast style controller is much much better.

      And Bulky? Ever used the smaller X-Box Controller? It fits perfectly in my hands at least.

      Anyways not like any of this matters I have no gamecube/xbox/ps2 anymore. Not enough good space/flight sims on those consoles.

    2. Re:uh by ProudClod · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      X3: The Reunion is due a console release this year.

      --
      Gamers Europe - Gaming News. Reviews.
    3. Re:uh by Myen · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      The PS controllers are easier to use on a computer?

      Google's first result on xbox usb controller. Note lack of programming chips, or even any chips at all.

      Wasn't the XBOX controller interface basically USB with different pin positions or something?

    4. Re:uh by TheKidWho · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      X3...

      If only it was Independence War 3 or Freespace 3 =(

    5. Re:uh by plague3106 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Am I the only one that perfered the larger Xbox controllers? The smaller ones were too small, and I had problems hitting the black or white buttons. The larger controller though was perfect.

    6. Re:uh by joFFeman · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      > Am I the only one that perfered the larger Xbox controllers?

      no, you're not. i found it much easier to use than the small one. for those of us with big beastly hands, i'd take the large model xbox controller over a dual shock or small xbox controller anyday. i don't understand why so many controllers are so damned small, it's as if they were designed with children in mind..

      --
      "Life is great; without it, you'd be dead." -Harmony Korine
  2. SCO by SassyDave · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    If SCO held theses patents, they wouldn't just be suing Sony, they'd be suing PlayStation owners as well.

    A legitimate patent case involves the patented item's distributors. Not its users.

  3. Re:Let me be the first to say... by bigman2003 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Maybe this is the American court systems payback for the E.U. trying to sue the crap out of Microsoft.

    This might be a new way for governments around the world to bring in dollars/euros/yen.

    --
    No reason to lie.