Lono_Lives
12-31-2007, 12:12 PM
December 28th, 2007 · 8 Comments (http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/index.php/2007/12/lono-please-schedule-me-27-sony-brings-back-rumble-in-dual-shock-3-%e2%80%93-it%e2%80%99s-so-last-gen-until-now.html#comments)
by Sean "rothbart" Workman (http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/index.php/author/rothbart/)
http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/countdown-banner3.gif (http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/countdown-banner3.gif)
http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/sgtop100_27.jpg (http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/sgtop100_27.jpg)
I bet, the day before Phil Harrison’s performance evaluation he said something like this to himself, “Oh dear God, why did I have to go and say rumble was a last-gen feature… I knew good and well one day we’d get rumble back. I bet I can kiss that raise goodbye… actually, I hope I get to keep my job!”
Sony settled with Immersion Inc. this year and paved the way for rumble to return to the PS3. Only, we’re still getting last-gen rumble, so maybe they did that just to spite us. You see, rumble in the new DualShock 3 controllers is the exact same technology used by the DualShock 2 and not the new TouchSense technology Immersion said would be cheaper and more versatile to use.
Read more after the jump…
I’m still quite puzzled about how that party works into the equation, but if I had to guess, I’d say the settlement entitled Sony to use the last-gen rumble in some unlimited fashion, but to use TouchSense they’d need to settle their lawsuit and then, completely separately, license the TouchSense rumble. Money’s always the root. Well, with Sony, I’d occasionally suspect hubris, but in general, it’s usually money.
At the end of the day, who frickin’ cares? By all accounts, the DualShock 3 addresses most complaints people had with the SIXAXIS controller short of “making it look, feel, and work exactly like the 360 controller.” The “squeakiness” is gone, the “loss of signal” issue is reportedly not an issue anymore, the rumble (and dozens of new and patched rumble-supporting games) are being applauded by gamers… it looks like one of those situations where the consumer finally won (if you ignore that whole “buying new controllers again” part) and we got what we wanted even though it cost Sony 14 truckloads of cash.
I think the lessons learned are:
License the appropriate technology if it needs licensing.
Don’t remove established technology that gamers like.
Don’t make up goofy-assed reasons for said remova,l if it’s unavoidable. (”we’re in a lawsuit and can’t use the rumble technology” is a completely valid and understandable reason, “it’s last-gen technology” is not),
And for God’s sake, if you’ve got the option to improve on technology at the same time you’re re-implementing it, DO it… Are we to expect DualShock 4 with TouchSense in 2009?One last thing Sony… don’t screw with the pricing. Drop the SIXAXIS to $30-$40 and price the DualShock 3 at $50. If you raise the price higher than the already BOHICA-priced $50 mark, you’ll just go and piss people off again.
That’s why the Sony Bringing Rumble Back to the PS3 clocks in at #27 on the Sarcastic Gamer Top 100 Gaming Moments of 2007.
Click here for the rest of Sarcastic Gamer’s Top 100 Gaming Moments from 2007 all in one place! (http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/index.php/top-100)
by Sean "rothbart" Workman (http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/index.php/author/rothbart/)
http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/countdown-banner3.gif (http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/countdown-banner3.gif)
http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/sgtop100_27.jpg (http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/sgtop100_27.jpg)
I bet, the day before Phil Harrison’s performance evaluation he said something like this to himself, “Oh dear God, why did I have to go and say rumble was a last-gen feature… I knew good and well one day we’d get rumble back. I bet I can kiss that raise goodbye… actually, I hope I get to keep my job!”
Sony settled with Immersion Inc. this year and paved the way for rumble to return to the PS3. Only, we’re still getting last-gen rumble, so maybe they did that just to spite us. You see, rumble in the new DualShock 3 controllers is the exact same technology used by the DualShock 2 and not the new TouchSense technology Immersion said would be cheaper and more versatile to use.
Read more after the jump…
I’m still quite puzzled about how that party works into the equation, but if I had to guess, I’d say the settlement entitled Sony to use the last-gen rumble in some unlimited fashion, but to use TouchSense they’d need to settle their lawsuit and then, completely separately, license the TouchSense rumble. Money’s always the root. Well, with Sony, I’d occasionally suspect hubris, but in general, it’s usually money.
At the end of the day, who frickin’ cares? By all accounts, the DualShock 3 addresses most complaints people had with the SIXAXIS controller short of “making it look, feel, and work exactly like the 360 controller.” The “squeakiness” is gone, the “loss of signal” issue is reportedly not an issue anymore, the rumble (and dozens of new and patched rumble-supporting games) are being applauded by gamers… it looks like one of those situations where the consumer finally won (if you ignore that whole “buying new controllers again” part) and we got what we wanted even though it cost Sony 14 truckloads of cash.
I think the lessons learned are:
License the appropriate technology if it needs licensing.
Don’t remove established technology that gamers like.
Don’t make up goofy-assed reasons for said remova,l if it’s unavoidable. (”we’re in a lawsuit and can’t use the rumble technology” is a completely valid and understandable reason, “it’s last-gen technology” is not),
And for God’s sake, if you’ve got the option to improve on technology at the same time you’re re-implementing it, DO it… Are we to expect DualShock 4 with TouchSense in 2009?One last thing Sony… don’t screw with the pricing. Drop the SIXAXIS to $30-$40 and price the DualShock 3 at $50. If you raise the price higher than the already BOHICA-priced $50 mark, you’ll just go and piss people off again.
That’s why the Sony Bringing Rumble Back to the PS3 clocks in at #27 on the Sarcastic Gamer Top 100 Gaming Moments of 2007.
Click here for the rest of Sarcastic Gamer’s Top 100 Gaming Moments from 2007 all in one place! (http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/index.php/top-100)