PS3's Lack of Rumble May Disappoint

Immersion Corporation, who you may recall from their rumble-controller suit against Sony, has released a study. Engadget reports that (somewhat unsurprisingly), it indicates gamers will miss the rumble feature in PS3. The 'SIXAXIS' gamepads planned for the PS3 will only have the 'tilt' feature, as far as is known so far. From the article: "Not only does the (completely unbiased) poll report that 72% of the 1,075 respondents agree vibration feedback enhances their game experience, it goes on to note that 59% of those surveyed would prefer rumble on the PS3 controller, while only 8% care about motion / tilt sensing (sorry, Nintendo). As if these numbers didn't paint a clear enough picture of the message Immersion is trying to convey, two further questions spell it out even more explicitly: when asked if the lack of rumble capabilities would affect their buying decisions ... 5% said that it would definitely cause them not to buy a PS3 and 32% claimed that they were less likely to pick one up for this reason and this reason alone. " GameDaily has a further, more detailed exploration of the study.

Comments

I agree

[eggsurplus]

The rumble is a great way to provide immediate feedback. Now I won't know when rocks are chasing me down a hill or when I run over a prostitute.

Re:I agree

[OSS_ilation]

But it does have tilt functionality... hmm, yes, I can see that. It's tilting...tilting.. tilting allllll the way into obscurity.

Re:I agree

[stunt_penguin]

They won't get a rumble during the games, but I predict a shock when they go to buy a console and some games and check their bank balances afterwards.

Sorry, couldn't resit.

Re:Breakthrough research

[BecomingLumberg]

In other news, Phillip Morris has announced that cigarettes are not harmful to your health.

Re:Stop the Presses!

[Anonymous Coward]

it's not like having the controller vibrate in my hands has really enhanced the game experiance

You put it in your hands?

Re:Stop the Presses!

[Phisbut]

Personally, I didn't find much value in the rumble packs in the PS2. I've always hated how they call it "Force Feedback" too, since it's no such thing. I usually leave them on, but it's not like having the controller vibrate in my hands has really enhanced the game experiance.

True, and I never saw how a vibrating controller could enhance immersion. Immersion is different reactions for different actions, with the rumble, if my character gets shot, my controller vibrates, if my car runs into a wall, my controller vibrates, if I summon an aeon, my controller vibrates, if something explodes nearby, my controller vibrates... heck, just make it "if something happens on screen, my controller vibrates", and put the controller to auto-vibrate all the time.