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.

Stop the Presses!

[jandrese]

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.

There are three types of lies...

[AKAImBatman]

...lies, damn lies, and statistics.

Considering that this survey was done by the same company that sued Sony over their rumble feature, I'm not at all surprised that the numbers for rumble are coming out high while the numbers for tilt sensors are coming out low.

That being said, I have heard a lot of disappointment being expressed over the PS3's lack of rumble. Most people don't seem to think the tilt sensors are a good replacement, and mostly think it's a gimmick ripped off from Nintendo. (Which would explain why the numbers are so low for the tilt sensor, while most people I've spoken with are very positive about the Wii-mote.) Yet I don't hear enough that I would consider the lack of rumble to be the feature that's going to kill the PS3. It seems to me the price tag, lack of games, and console shortages are all far more problematic.

If Immersion is trying to prove to Sony that they should have licensed the technology, well this (as in "suspect numbers") is the wrong way to go about it.

Re:There are three types of lies...

[_xeno_]

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.

I don't really like a rumble feature

[SnowZero]

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.

Re:I don't really like a rumble feature

[Lave]

I agree 100%, but you are talking about current generation games. This controller has gyroscopes which change things dramtically as anyone who has played wario ware twisted will tell you. I've geeked out and numbered my views on this. See number 4.

1 Sony are lieing when they say that the rumble interfers with the gyroscopes (as they stated in E3 conference)- rumble has been removed purely because of the patent case with "these guys". 2 "These guys" are producing a case for why Sony should license the technology off them. 3 Despite the "I hate rumble" comments here - it is clearly unfair to say rumble is unwanted. It can truely add to games. But on current generation consoles the effect has never been truely "essential." Hence the sucess of the wavebird (which lacked rumble). 4Despite this Rumble is inherintly important for gyroscope control - Wario Ware Twisted for the GBA is probably the closest relative to what Sony are offering - being that you rotate a two handed controller. It uses rumble to create "tension" and "steps" in the virtual object you are rotating. This is so *very* important but so *very* hard to describe (for people like myself at least). It conveys the weight of the object brilliantly. For instance it really makes moving a heavy object (Planet Earth, Piano, Hammer) feel so different to controlling a light object (pin, pencil, leaf) - despite the fact you are moving the same controller in both cases. 5 Because of this, and this alone, it is great shame that the PS3 does not include rumble.

Re:Reasoning?

[KDR_11k]

The reason is a patent dispute. Sony infringed Immersion's patent, MS copied them, Immersion notices and sues both, MS settles and buys a license while Sony decides to look tough and fight it out in court (not sure if they lost already or if the judgement is still pending). Since it wouldn't help their case they stopped infringing upon the patent with the PS3, adding tilt detection to have an excuse to claim that their new controller isn't worse. Nintendo is exempt from all this since they developed rumble independently from Immersion and have their own patents for their implementation.