Slashdot Mirror
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.
Rumble pack technology provider publishes paper saying people want Rumble technology? Who would have thought?
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. I think the tilt sensors will be far more interesting, although most likely just used as an occasional novelty by game designers. I'm expecting fighting games where you can duck left and right by tilting the controller (which would be more natural than the shoulder buttons they use now) and lots of use in minigames.
I read the internet for the articles.
Rumble can, and does, enhance some titles. However there are invariably titles which overuse it, ruining an otherwise fine gaming experience. I don't mind getting a thump when I hit a wall in the game. What I can't stand is a constant rumble if an engine is damaged, or during some "The boss is coming out of the ground" sequence that lasts five minutes. Give people's hands a rest, please. It reminds me of the some of the first THX movies, which would abuse the capabilities by overusing them for loud sounds.
So, I for one will not miss rumble. Not for how it could be used, but for how it was too often misused.
I use wireless controllers when I play my games, all of which do not have a rumble feature. I'm sure there are some that do, but I imagine it would kill the battery life pretty quick. Although I do not consider myself a hardcore gamer, I don't think the rumble is that essential of a feature.
360 controllers are wireless and rumble.
I get 20-30 hours of use out of a charge of batteries on them.
Yeah, there's gonna be some mocking of this, because there's a lot of times when rumble is misused (Psycho Mantis anyone? Oooh, the Rez vibrator!), but it's really great when you don't immediately notice it.
:).
Best example I can think of is Halo. Firing weapons produces vibrations, and when you're in the warthog's gunner seat and taking advantage of the unlimited ammo on the backseat cannon, it can throw off your aim a little bit as your hand starts to go numb...
But, I think I speak for everyone when I say that I will miss the rumble pack, if only because of that whole Rez vibrator thing
Beyond the Polygons : Because 50,000 polygo
From the article "a majority of console gamers use rumble/vibration quite regularly and clearly value it, and a majority expect existing rumble/vibration capability to carry forward to the PS3. In addition, a majority don't currently realize Sony's PS3 controllers won't allow for this backwards compatibility,".
What that means is if you have an older game that you are used to playing with rumble, it will feel very different on your PS3 (without the rumble). In fact, since the system won't be designed for rumbling, I'm not sure if it can even developed by third parties (in the form of a new controller). It kind of takes away some of the allure of backward compatibility doesn't it?
I foolishly registered my slim-line PS2, so I now receive the Official US PlayStation Magazine. They ran a similar article this month.
They came to basically the same conclusion: most gamers would miss the rumble and that some would not buy the PS3 for that reason. This is the official magazine, endorsed by Sony. They're expecting gamers will miss the rumble and may not buy the PS3 because of it.
Yes, the Immersion study is probably biased, but I know that one of the many reasons I'm not getting the PS3 at launch is because they removed the rumble feature. I'm sure they'll add it back in, eventually, and I'd rather put off buying a PS3 until they do. (And HDTV comes down in price. And good games are released for it. And it costs less than $300. And...)
But, anyway, the results aren't as suspect as you'd think. The Official PlayStation Magazine agrees with them.
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
I would think a respectable company would take Sony aside in the courts and say "Look, if you put rumble in the PS3 and license with us, we'll back off this PS2 issue a bit." This just seems to me like a shady company trying to wring out Sony's pockets. They may be right, but in the interest of their public image, and in this case, the amount of licensing money they stand to lose by not being included in the PS3, they should be trying to compromise, not stealing Sony's wallet.