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PS3 Rumble Controller Confirmed

Posted by Zonk on from the rumble-and-tumble dept.

IGN was playing a build of the upcoming title Burnout: Paradise when they noticed something new about the controller in their hands: it was shaking. The rumble-equipped PlayStation 3 controller is almost certainly a reality at this point, with Kaz Harai's keynote tomorrow expected to officially announce the product. "The controller we were using to play the demo looked exactly like a standard Sixaxis, except that it had a sticker on the bottom that said 'RUMBLE.' It also felt notably heavier than the standard Sixaxis."

19 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. That's funny by wamerocity · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I remember when the PS3 first came out, the PR guy tried to spin the lack of Rumble as a good thing because it was "last generation." However, it turned out the company that they licensed the technology from would license it any longer and they finally came to terms a few months ago. PR is a funny thing. If anything, this will be good cause it will allow me to at least get rumble back in my ps2 games, a feature that I really missed. Now just to see how long before it hits the shelves and how much it will be. I really hope that this replaces the sixaxis and they just call it "the sixaxis rumble" or something silly so they don't have to increase the price much. Any word on whether the new controllers have a significantly bigger battery, or are they simply just wired?

    --
    "Thank you for using Stop-n-Drop, America's favorite suicide booth since 2008"
  2. last gen? by spazard1 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    i thought sony said that rumble was last gen?

    1. Re:last gen? by Kohath · · Score: 3, Funny

      Way to go. What a zinger! You really zinged them.

      That will teach them to try to promote their choices as the best ones. They won't try that again.

      I look forward to the future of marketing slogans you've created. "It's only as good as it is", "We like it, but you should make up your own mind", "Adequate. At least for us.", and so on.

      No more hype ever. Not for us. Someone on the net might have a counterpoint, after all.

      (This post makes me feel British.)

    2. Re:last gen? by This_Is_My_Happening · · Score: 2, Informative

      MS is a villain in a lot of areas, but not in this case. Immersion sued both MS and Sony for using rumble technology in their consoles without licencing it.

      MS bought a share of Immersion as a settlement, while Sony decided to keep fighting and eventually lost. I think it was obvious to both companies at the start that Immersion had a good case - MS quickly decided to settle while Sony decided not to. The 10% share of Immersion that MS bought as a settlement has nothing to do with Sony refusing to settle. If anything, seeing MS settle should have been a good clue to Sony that they might want to settle as well.

      Sony paid a lot for their lack of forsight too; It cost MS about 25 million to settle. Sony got stuck with a bill 4 times as much, not counting the years of legal fees. Sony gambled and lost. It was their decision, not MS's.

      I'd also like to point out that Immersion isn't the standard patent troll that we hear about on Slashdot all the time. They actively develop and sell their technologies, not just sit on patents and litigate their way to profit like some other companies. MS and Sony both used their designs without permission, and there was a good reason Sony lost their fight. Immersion isnt a villian either.

      Side note: Nintendo wasn't sued because their rumble technology works differently, and was developed in house. Immersion has a patent on a specific method of providing rumble feedback, not just rumble feedback in general. Since Nintendo used a different method, they were fine. MS and Sony (for some dumb reason) both decided to use the same method Immersion had patented.

      --
      God made me an atheist. Who are you to question his wisdom?
  3. Remember this? by igotmybfg · · Score: 2, Informative

    "We have no plans to do so in the standard controller that ships with PlayStation 3. I believe that the Sixaxis controller offers game designers and developers far more opportunity for future innovation than rumble ever did. Now, rumble I think was the last generation feature; it's not the next-generation feature. I think motion sensitivity is. And we don't see the need to do that." - Phil Harrison, President, Sony Worldwide, 26 Feb 2007

    hahaha

  4. Re:But.... by Pojut · · Score: 2, Funny

    Blasphemy.

    I left out Ninja Gaiden 2 in my list in a post a little above yours.

    I have shamed my family.

    --
    Living With a Nerd
  5. Adding Rumble helps, but please fix the rest... by trdrstv · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Ok, I missed Rumble (at least in MotorStorm), but please can you fix a few other things while you're at it?

    1) Sixaxis Tilt is Not nearly sensitive enough to be useful. Please figure out a Fix or Hire someone who worked on ExciteTruck to do it for you.

    2) The R2 & L2 Buttonie-trigger thing. Either make them proper buttons (like L1, R1), or triggers (like the 360), don't care which but this inbetween solution you have now is bad.

    3) Swap the left Analog and Dpad. MS, Nintendo and Sega all did so because it is more comfortable to play 3D games that way. Bolting the Dual analogs at the bottom made sense in the PS1 era, but not 2 gens later.

    4) User replaceable Battery. Make it AAA, AA, or Proprietary; I don't care which so long as I can swap it with another in a few seconds without disassembly.

    1. Re:Adding Rumble helps, but please fix the rest... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 3, Interesting

      5. Don't listen to this guy. Leave the D-Pad right where it is. It's 1000x better that way. If you're going to move them, put them in the same place on both sides of the controller. If you're going to move them up, you'll have to make the controller wider, otherwise your thumbs won't be properly aligned with the analog sticks.

      Don't listen to the guy who thinks unnecessary hand stress is 1000x better. No, really. Putting the most used control down and to the right means you have to bend your thumb outward away from it's natural configuration. The reason you don't put them in the same place on both sides is because on the right side you want the buttons to be where it is most natural to push them -- imagine if they put the 4 primary buttons where the right analog stick is now. Hard to hit them, right? Right, because it's an unnatural position. The goal is to have the most neutral hand position for the most common items. MS and N understand this.

      Back in the PS1, when the DPad was the most common item, Sony put the analog stick where it is for that reason. Keeping it out of the way of the DPad, so the DPad would be just as familiar and comfortable as it used to be. There was no excuse for keeping it in the same place on the PS2, and for the PS3 still having the mostly useless DPad where the thumb most naturally rests is idiotic. They keep it that way solely because of the brand recognition. But some people have convinced themselves that these historical reasons that de-emphasized the analog stick are actually ergonomic reasons that favor the analog stick. That the current location is the ideal spot for the analog stick, even though it was originally put in that spot exactly because it isn't the ideal spot for primary input.

      If you really think down and to the right is the best, most optimal and comfortable position for the primary input method, why did zero controllers have that setup with the Dpad? The original PS1 controller didn't put the D-pad or buttons in that area, they put it in the upward position so that it's easiest to reach, just like everyone else.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    2. Re:Adding Rumble helps, but please fix the rest... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Do you seriously believe that no one actually likes the controllers?

      Don't be ridiculous. Of course people actually like it. I think a lot of them would also like a controller with the analog control swapped even more if they gave it a chance. And I think there are those who wouldn't prefer the analog-up configuration, even if that was the controller Sony had originally came out with. Yet that wasn't the controller came out with, they came out with Dual Shock, and that controller is the one many people cut their teeth on analog gaming with. Our preferences frequently depend on tons of subjective things, like nostalgia, what we're used to, as opposed to more objective things, like hand stress. There's nothing wrong with having that preference. Nothing wrong with saying "I just like it".

      There is something wrong with acting like a historical quirk is actually a superior design, that the design could not be improved in simple ways. Look at your relaxed hand, and the angle made between thumb and forefinger. Imagine your forefinger wrapped around the outside of a controller. Your thumb would naturally be resting slightly below the tip of your index finger. Create a controller to put into this relaxed hand, and you'd get the primary controls placed where they are on the Xbox, Gamecube, heck even the pre-dualshock and just about every game pad ever made.

      There's a reason that nobody who was designing a controller without the historical baggage of the Dual Shock put the primary control where Sony did. There's a reason that Sony did put it there, and it was aforementioned historical baggage, not because it was the best place to put it if you were considering a from-scratch design. The whole point of the Dual Shock design was that the analog was not considered the primary control. Deny that, and yeah, I'm going to refer to Sony fans convincing themselves that whatever Sony does is inherently the best.

      Oh hey, I just remembered there's a counterexample to the rule -- the Wii Classic controller also has the dpad up and the left analog down. Oddly enough, it too has historical baggage in the sense that it is designed to play games which range from the NES to the GC. Like the Dual Shock, it's designed with the d-pad as primary for that reason, though in my brief experience with it I think it's even less comfortable than Dual Shock. Good thing I have my GC controller -- though I'll probably use the wiimote for NES titles, since using the DPad on the GC controller is just as uncomfortable as using the analog stick on the Dual Shock.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
  6. Re:But.... by JordanL · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Will this save the PS3? Consider that Heavenly Sword was supposed to be a console seller...it turned out to be a 5 hours affair with 2 hours of cutscenes and gameplay that made me think of God of War, Dynasty Warriors and Ninety-Nine Nights....'cept with a much prettier lead character.
    First, I work as a video game reporter, among other things. I've been to these shows, though sadly I didn't make it to TGS this year. (Last year was fun though.)

    Us people in the know have been very harsh on Sony about Heavenly Sword's length, but you know what, all the common video game consumer friends I have with a PS3 have called me up to ask if I absolutely loved the game as much as them... and when I tried to explain that it was great but short, most of them told me in a matter of fact way that the game was like an epic movie that you got to play, and that being short made sense to them because it kicked ass in the short time it played and it didn't have tons of filler, which they didn't want.

    Us 'elite' gamers have been giving it a bad rap, and I know that this is simply anecdotal, but it appears to me that the ho-hum consumer actually appreciates the shortness vs. the content.
    --
    FanFictionRecs.net
  7. Battery life? by neumayr · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'd imagine that rumble feature to be quite power hungry, so what will that do to sixaxis' battery life? Get it down to wiimote level or even worse?

    --
    Truth arises more readily from error than from confusion. -Francis Bacon
  8. Missing the Game of the Year... by trdrstv · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Halo 3, Mass Effect, Too Human, Fable 2, the next Burnout game, the Warhammer RTS, the next Splinter Cell, the Orange Box, Condemned: Criminal Origins, Fallout 3...

    Seriously. There is WAY more coming out for the system than Halo 3...why do people keep focusing on just that?

    What? No love for 2007's GOTY? Not to outright disrespect the other games, but I'll probably put more time into that than Halo3, Smash Bros and Warhawk combined.

  9. Re:Whee! by bateleur · · Score: 3, Funny

    what do i want to play today on my 360....decisions, decisions...
    An FPS? ;-)
  10. Re:But.... by ivan256 · · Score: 3, Funny

    But my favorite part of first-person shooters are the parts where you fight your way back through areas you were already in to extend the playtime. I especially appreciate it when they strip you of all your weapons first.

    BTW, Doom 3 is my favorite game ever.

  11. Re:weight by brkello · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why would you miss it? If you have it, just keep using and don't use rumble unless there is some game that really requires it.

    --
    Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
  12. Re:"almost a certainty" != confirmed by brkello · · Score: 2, Funny

    The sun will come up tomorrow.

    This can't be 100% confirmed, but still, I will guarantee you it is going to happen.

    --
    Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
  13. People don't buy systems for "Rental" games... by trdrstv · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Us people in the know have been very harsh on Sony about Heavenly Sword's length, but you know what, all the common video game consumer friends I have with a PS3 have called me up to ask if I absolutely loved the game as much as them... and when I tried to explain that it was great but short, most of them told me in a matter of fact way that the game was like an epic movie that you got to play, and that being short made sense to them because it kicked ass in the short time it played and it didn't have tons of filler, which they didn't want.

    Us 'elite' gamers have been giving it a bad rap, and I know that this is simply anecdotal, but it appears to me that the ho-hum consumer actually appreciates the shortness vs. the content.

    The issue is that the game isn't worth the $60, let alone the system cost on top of it. People were banking on this game being a system seller, and it flatly isn't one. People buy systems for games that are truly epic in scale (like an Oblivion, a Zelda, or a Final Fantasy) or for something they simply can't find anywhere else (like WiiSports, or Steel Battalion). They do not buy a system for a game that they can rent, beat in a weekend and feel satisfied due to no real replay value.

    This game isn't a system seller. It's something that is fun, and enjoyable and I would recommend it as a RENT to PS3 players who enjoyed God of War, but were turned off by its length, difficulty or depth.

  14. Re:weight by pthor1231 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm convinced that there is a direct correlation in people's minds about the quality of a product, and the heft of it. The light something is, it just feels cheaper. Even with a titanium watch, it feels cheaper than other metal band watches. This definitely extends into the electronics area. I think some of it is the fact that there are very few ways you can judge the quality of devices, so anything that is available, you latch onto.

  15. By that logic... by MMaestro · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Sony should have cut the game down to $30~$40 from the get-go to promote sales. Instead, Sony marketed the game as a full-fledged game and gamers were disappointed when it turned into a movie with button mashing filler.

    Its not about shortness/length vs. content (at least in this case), but a matter of interactivity vs. non-interactivity. Games like Halo or Bioshock (not counting the intros or endings, both games have extremely little cutscenes or FMVs) have very high action vs. inaction ratios in this case while games like Metal Gear Solid 2 and Heavenly Sword have very low action vs. inaction ratios (yes, both games have their moments but assuming you go straight forward, both games bogs themselves down with cutscenes and FMVs).