PS3 tilt sensors ARE compatible with rumble...
Immersion Corporation, the company behind the force feedback technology at the centre of a US court battle with Sony, has unveiled it’s new next-gen rumble technology which, claim Immersion, is compatible with Sony’s tilt sensors.
This flies in the face of Sony’s claim that force feedback would interfere with their PS3 pad’s tilt sensors, with that being the reason force feedback was left out of the PS3 pad.
Immersion say their new technology will allow developers to produce a wider variety of effects with their rumble technology, giving greater realism to games. In a Press Release Immersion claim:
The new TouchSense technology is compatible with motion control and tilt sensing that allow players to control certain game actions by moving or tilting a handheld controller. Because the speed at which a user moves the controller is much slower than the frequencies generated by TouchSense technology, the two signals can be differentiated using filtering and other techniques. Immersion also offers engineering services to implement the technology within a particular console system.
They say that effects can be coded to be shorter and crisper, more in synch with on-screen events as well as a whole load of other improvements.
Shorter, crisper effects allow the feel of machine gun fire to be more staccato-like and also more closely synchronized with the sounds and appearance of realistic gun fire. New levels of strength and variation allow gamers to feel the accelerating surge of powering up a light saber, followed by the transition to a subtle hum, then the jolt of clashing with their opponent's light saber. A more subtle capability allows the springy sensation of hitting a tennis ball or the fast, crisp connective feel of catching a long pass, supplying a far more immersive experience. Multiple, simultaneous game effects can be separately rendered to increase engagement and excitement. For example, distinctly different vehicle vibrations caused by driving over gravel, rocks, and mud could be felt along with the sharp pop of shifting gears or the force of acceleration or deceleration.
The court battle with Sony is still going through an appeal by Sony over patent infringement of Immersion’s technology with the Dual Shock controllers on the PSOne and PS2. The more cynical minded gamer might see Sony’s omission of force feedback on the PS3 controller as a side-step to avoid having to license Immersion’s technology.
Interestingly, Immersion recently talked about the possible loss of revenue should their technology ceased to be used by major manufacturers, such as Sony. So perhaps Immersion should strike a deal with the big S, settle their dispute out of court and get along nicely as the winners will be Sony, Immersion and the gamer…
