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SIXAXIS Rumble Version Strongly Suggested
Next Generation is reporting that a rumble-enabled version of the PlayStation 3 SIXAXIS controller may be on the way. At the moment its existence is still theory, but there are some facts to back it up. Immersion has entered into a partnership with a 3rd party company to make accessories for the PS3. Additionally: "Sony reportedly informed Kotaku that rumble is definitely coming to PS3, it's just a matter of when, and this latest press release from Immersion certainly raises the possibility that it could be in September. 'Under the terms of the license, these products will now bear Immersion's Feel The Game TouchSense Technology logo,' reads the press release from which the news emanated."
I think that's the point. Xbox/wii got rumble and have had it for awhile. PS3 is getting it... in 2007 or maybe 2008.. How can you call yourself the hottest most advanced console.. and not have something like rumble.
oogly boogly!
Rumble controllers are like cruise control on new cars. It should be standard, it isn't expensive, but some manufactures still want to milk the end users for every friggen dime.
But I digress, I don't need it anymore now that I have motion sensitive bluetooth IR tracking Wiimotes.
Rumble can be useful. It's nice to have tactile feedback when you are shot or bump into another car when racing.
Some games tend to use it when anything is going on in the environment which I think is overdoing it. Sadly it's overused in too many games. When it's used right it can add just the right amount of influence to make you feel more immersed into the experience of what you are doing - This is quite rare, but when it happens it's still impressive.
I thought women were more a fan of the vibrating controllers.
Hehe this hole rumble patent thing is hilarious and something to worry about! :S
How come sony lawyers where not able to find some "prior art" you know... a motor with an unbalanced axis! heh
I think for women and... a vibrator could be considerated a "Joy Stick"!!!!
Sony delivers the most expensive console, but they chose to cut costs by not licensing a highly desirable technology for their controller over the strong protests of their gamers long before launch. Now many of their best customers gamers are going to be severely disappointed at having to buy new hardware unless Sony included the hardware at launch and can activate it with a firmware upgrade, although it sounds like they didn't.
Will they upgrade already released games to include support through a patch?
Not that it affects me, I'm a Wii owner myself.
Well, MGS4 is coming out on the PS3.
The previous installments were the only games I've played where rumble actually contributed to gameplay.
Didn't Sony state at a press conference long time ago that rumble was "old technology" and who would want it?
I would actually like a small amount of rumble on my mouse.
A little quiver when I hit a boundary or bump when I am over an active area would be great.
The wiimote shows this effect quite nicely, just put it in the mouse.
liqbase
The first game I played where rumble made a significant contribution to gameplay was Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, on N64. There is an item called the Stone of Agony. Once obtained, it would let you know when you got near a secret area by rumbling the controller. Release date in North America: November 1998.
While I'm not THAT concerned about rumble in PS/3 games I am concerned about it in my old PS/2 games.
If the Sixaxis isn't backwards compatible with the PS/2 emulation (both hardware and software) that would be BAD.
And while we're on the subject, Sony, take a cue from Microsoft and make external battery packs for the Sixaxis. You're SONY for cryin' out loud. You already manufacture battery packs for your various cameras and walkmen! Think of the extra sales of charges and batteries (hard core gamers will buy TWO batteries so they can immediately swap out in the middle of a gaming session when a battery dies instead of trying to find the USB cable to tether their WIRELESS joystick to the base unit...)
And backlit buttons would be kinda cool...
And a million dollars...
"A little quiver when I hit a boundary or bump when I am over an active area would be great."
Hmmm ya I want my mouse to quiver too when I go over certain bumps. Hmm and those active areas, maybe I could get some audio and visual feedback too. Porn at a new level...lol
First, Metal Gear Solid's release date in North America was October 1998, a month prior to Ocarina of Time.
Although I would argue that in both cases the rumble really did nothing for the gameplay. MGS used it as a gimmick. The controller shook when you were discovered, which definitely added something to the experience, but really did nothing gameplay wise. It also shook when using the sniper rifle unless you took the Diazapan. I think it also shook when you were hit. In every other case, it was used for various cutscene gimmicks (like Psycho Mantis "moving" the controller). So overall it added additional cues about certain events, but it was never essential to gameplay.
In Ocarina of Time, as you mention, it was used to locate "secret areas" but as I recall those were all essentially bombable holes that contained Rupees and nothing truly useful. In any case, it could easily have been done by a hot/cold gauge on the screen or by a pulsing light or something. It was essentially an excuse to make you buy the controller accessory, nothing really useful.
In any case, it was most useful in Ocarina of Time with the fishing minigame since it added another cue that a fish was hooked. But in any case, it wasn't necessary for gameplay.
In both games, it added something to the experience, but in both cases, it wasn't necessary.
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
You are all a bunch of idots.
Sixaxis with rumble will be the world's first Bluetooth rumble controller. I just hope Sony offers some kind of upgrade program for people with old controllers. Maybe old controller + $5 shipping = new controller?
Under the terms of the license, these products will now bear Immersion's Feel The Game TouchSense Technology logo,' reads the press release from which the news emanated.
Oh, great. 'Cause we all know that the reason why third party controllers are all so attractive is the delightfully gaudy logos that enhance their aesthetic appeal.
Seriously, though, this is part of why I really don't like third party controllers. They all look seriously tasteless compared to the standard controllers that most console companies come up with. (That and the shapes are always awkward feeling in comparison. Mad Catz, I'm looking at you.)
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
A friend of mine used to have a mouse that worked just like you describe... any time you rolled over a button or link (configurable through the control panel) it would give just a little snap of the vibrating motor, and it literally felt like you had gone over a little bump on the mouse pad. Absolutely useless gimmick, but cool nonetheless.
Username taken, please choose another one.
Does this mean the PS3 will finally support force feedback as well, for devices like, say, a racing wheel?
k -for-ps3-racing-wheels-either-226250.php
http://kotaku.com/gaming/sixaxis/no-force-feedbac
Welcome to 2001, where Logitech is about to release its new line of iFeel mice based on Immersion's TouchSense technology.
As it turns out, rumble in a mouse wasn't all that great. Sure, it was a neat little trick initially, but ultimately there was no support for it but for a very few games. Logitech killed the iFeel line of mice relatively quickly.
That said, I do agree with you that the Wii's pointer feedback is helpful. Part of that is because the Wiimote simply doesn't have the accuracy of a mouse. I'm not sure how useful it would really be on a mouse, though I still hope somebody will eventually re-visit the concept (preferably with an open standard that anybody can use, and with great drivers and support in major libraries like DirectX). I'm not going to hold my breath on that one.
This is not a sig.
Since the PS3 wasn't shipped with rumble controllers, does this mean developers have to code with the assumption that nobody has the rumble feature?
If the new Metal Gear makes rumble integral to the gameplay, it will mean possibly millions of early adopters will have to buy new controllers.
MGS2 had a "heartbeat sensor". Very useful. Strength of the beat varied with distance.
It was also one of the few games where one was made acutely aware that the R and L buttons on the PS2 had more than two states...
It would probably be on the back or somewhere else where you wouldn't even take notice it anyway. When was the last time you read the back of a PS2 controller? Looks shouldnt even matter, it's not as though you look at your controller when playing.
Feel my Psychic powers. MOVE Controller, MOVE.
You mean this story is really about the "game controllers that shake"? They're still doing that? Whoa, they need to get some people with fresh ideas in the gaming industry.
I still remember the first time I tried the "controllers that shake". When you shot a weapon, it shook. When you crashed your car, it shook. When you blew up an enemy, it shook. No matter what was happening on the screen in the game, all you had was the thing shaking. It quickly became something of a joke, as if exactly the same sound was used for every event in every game. The joke wore off quickly and then irritation set in.
I really though this was one idea that had been sent to the trashheap of history. Apparently, when you're trying to sell game consoles, you'll try anything to sell a few more, including the "controllers that shake". Again.
You are welcome on my lawn.
a reminder
another reminder
yet another reminder
I used to be a huge Sony fanboy, but between the pricing, the trainwreck release, the lack of decent titles, and their constant lying about things.... I'm fed up with them.
Actually I do since I don't know what circle, triangle, cross or box is.
Because nothing makes a fight game realistic like a vibrator in your hand.
Oh well, back to rumble=off being the first thing I do with any new game.
Yes, because Nintendo invented bluetooth and motion sensing.
Another example of something that, while enhanced by rumble, doesn't actually need it. It could have been done by a beating light on the screen. (As I recall, the PC version of Rainbow Six did something like that with their heartbeat sensor.)
It was also one of the few games where one was made acutely aware that the R and L buttons on the PS2 had more than two states...Not to mention the Square button. Press lightly to aim, hard to fire...
"Freeze!"
RAT-AT-AT-AT-AT! Alert!
"DAMNIT!"
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
Rumble? Alright! Time to run right out and buy that PS3!
It's sad when choosing an installation directory on your own qualifies you as an "advanced user."
Nah. Don't agree.
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http://www.logitech.com/repository/367/jpg/2646.1
Better than the Sony-one.
It's wireless. It's rounded, better to hold. There's *one* thumbswitch rather than the braindead 4-buttons-allthough-theyre-one-under-the-shell of the PS2 original controller. I personally also find it prettier than the original controller, but that's a matter of taste I guess.
Advanced users are users too!
The whole rumble "debate" is so funny. Just about every mobile phone can rumble, my dishwasher can rumble, the washing machine is just far out, and Lord, does my car ever rumble on a bad road.
It's old news. And it's also useless. I want real force feedback that's actually telling me something about the environment, like proper racing wheels of the ancient MS Sidewinder sticks have; not some generic on/off crap, but something with actual direction to it.
Also, PS3 owners should be glad that there are new controllers coming, the original ones suck and feel like a 5 cent (Canadian) molding job from a run-by-night sweatshop in rural China.
Fight hunger. Filet a politician and send him to a 3rd world country of your choice.
SMB was 2d, you could see the whole playing field at all times. In 3d it's rare to see everything that's going on around you so you need additional feedback.
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
This is actually not useless. It helps the user target stuff on the screen; it's additional feedback. If you can, check out how the Wii's keyboard works. If you move the cursor over a key, the remote gently vibrates, which gives you the impression of really "entering" the key area. It helps a lot with typing quickly. Some games don't support it, and using the keyboard in these games is extremely annoying.
People care after playing hours of Motorstorm without the rumble. I'm hoping there will be updates to "old" games adding support for the rumble feature. I intend to buy four rumble controllers; so far, I've only bought one additional controller, and I bought the cheapest I could get because I knew it would be obsolete soon.
Except there are games where rumble actually plays an integral part. Racing games such as Gran Turismo, mostly. If you're using cockpit view, you can't really see where your car is - it's hard to get a feel for it, like you would in a real car. Which is why some games rumble when your car touches the sidelines (comparable to how real cars vibrate when driving over uneven ground). It helps a lot, and many games are virtually unplayable without it.
(Switzerland :-)
Holy fanboy alert!
On your same reasoning, I'll say:
It's 2007! How come the hottest Microsoft console doesn't have motion sensing controllers? Or Bluetooth? Or flash memory support? Or USB ports? Or hard drives standard? Or Gigabit Ethernet? Or HD-Disc standard? Or HDMI? Or free online play?
The list goes on, and yes, it's stupid.
- It's not the Macs I hate. It's Digg users. -
Actually, Mad Catz fixed the Dreamcast controller. Mad Catz fixed the awkward shape of the original controller so you were able to hold it properly. That, and the extra buttons, made them about 100X better than the originals.
And the Logitech controllers for the PS2 are generally regarded as being superior to the originals as well.