Nintendo News

[Jubilee]

The full story ..

[quote:2ehtz2b0]When Sony announced their new tilt-sensitive controller for the PS3, some people cried foul, claiming that Sony was ripping off Nintendo’s new Wii controller. This isn’t true and the story of the PS3 controller has more to do with the courtroom than the game room.

The PS3 controller only senses tilt, and lateral movement, not position (like the Wii controller can), and it no longer vibrates. It’s actually almost a direct copy of Microsoft’s old Freestyle controller for the PC. Sony’s official story is that the vibrating controller was upsetting the tilting tech.

But the real reason that Sony took the “shock” out of “dual-shock” and replaced it with a tilt sensor is what nobody is talking about. Back in 2002 a company called Immersion sued both Sony and Microsoft claiming that they held the patent on vibrating “haptic” game controllers.

Microsoft settled, giving Immersion $20 million for an infinite license on the technology, another $6 million for 10% of their company, and another $9 million loan that could be paid back to MS in Immersion stock, increasing their stake even further.

Sony, on the other hand, decided to fight the case, and so far has lost every decision and appeal. According to the latest judge, the current amount Sony owes Immersion is $91 million. Sony is appealing in court yet again.

So if Sony were to incorporate vibration into a new controller before the old lawsuit was over, the judge would almost certainly call a halt to all sales of the PS3 until the issue was resolved. So Sony’s only two choices are to either totally surrender, pay $91 million to a company that is now part-owned by Microsoft, and then negotiate future licensing payments, OR, keep fighting the court case, but get rid of vibrating controllers.

Now we’ll just have to wait and see who turns up with the patent for tilting controllers.[/quote:2ehtz2b0]

[Elspath]

ok see i keep track of stupid little facks like that. I never heard of anything near that tell now... witch is just wired... Some companys and there "oh we made it first so pay us" its a fucking shaky controller. The earth patent it long ago, we call them earth quakes -_-

[Jubilee]

Yeah, but its really more Sony's fault for doin everything the Sony way, as they like to do ..

On a side not, you seen the marketing videos for Wii's controller? Those things are hilarious, have some kid rocketing all over the room like a ADD nutjob on meth waving the controller like a wand, they're priceless.

[Elspath]

thats the same as every contry

[Alak Xiltyn]

Sorry if I'm bringing a thread back from a quiet death here but I felt as though I had something useful to add.

I for one see a lot of potential for the Wii, the controller could allow for the creation of a hybrid of the arcade shooter and the console FPS which whether you love'em or hate'em are the cash crop of the video game industry.

There are also some great avenues for party games as well as educational tools for children that more than just stimulate the mind but assist in the development of hand-eye coordination.

I know for a fact that I will be buying a Wii when they hit state-side and the chances are that (just like with the previous generation) I will end up owning all three systems within a few years. I always do my best to keep an open mind about video games, I laughed at the concept behind the Harvest Moon series but in the end spent countless hours of my life playing them.

[quote="Jubilee":chunld8e]
Both Microsoft and Sony were originally subject to lawsuits from a company that had the patent for the rumble feature in their controllers.
[/quote:chunld8e]

I had heard something about this a while back but never heard any of the details, I did not know that Microsoft was also sued. I've got to hand it to MS for how they handled that one, buying out part of the company you just payed $20 Million to seems to me like they're investing in themselves, turning embarassment into profit.

[quote="Jubilee":chunld8e]
I'm sure anyone familiar with SOE is not suprised by this stupidity.[/quote:chunld8e]

I sold games at a specialty store (contract I signed when they hired me means I can't mention which one on the internet) nearly a year and a half, I know the heights of SOE's brilliance and the depths of it's stupidity. For someone like me it's hard not to have a love hate relationship with SOE, I love a lot of their ideas the potential for Blueray within the gaming industry is all but limitless but it seems to me that Sony is just going to make the same mistake they did with Beta.

[Jubilee]

As a longtime player SWG, I know your pain, though out in the desert i've missed the fun of the past year, I know what its been meanin for others, up and down, up and down ..

And on other news, more money grubbin tards after the game industry. Apparantly Congress gunning for us isn't enough.

[quote:8bbzeibg]
Just when Microsoft and Nintendo thought they were safe from the madness that is the United States patent system, a Texas-based company called Anascape comes along and sues both console makers over 12 patents relating to video game controllers. As you may recall, Sony has already lost its battle with Immersion over a patent concerning force feedback technology. Many suspect the Immersion lawsuit to be the reason for the lack of rumble in the PS3 controller, but Sony contends otherwise.

Anascape filed suit against Microsoft and Nintendo in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas this past Monday. Anascape has accused the companies of infringing on a dozen different patents that were issued between 1999 and 2005. The patents seem to deal with almost every aspect of today's modern video game controller, such as analog controls, analog pressure sensors for buttons, vibration and tactile feedback, and more. One would think that Sony's PS2 controller would come into conflict with these patents as well, so it's not clear why Anascape has targeted Microsoft and Nintendo and has not included Sony in the suit.

Anascape is looking to be reimbursed for damages along with interest. The company also has requested a tally of the revenues that Microsoft and Nintendo have generated from the use of these 12 patents. Furthermore, if Anascape is not successful in having a judge issue a permanent injunction against Microsoft and Nintendo, the company wants a enforced licensing fee to be instituted.

GameDaily BIZ is by no means an expert in legal matters, but we can't help but think that this lawsuit is an attempt to cash in on years of video game revenue from Nintendo and Microsoft. After all, why wait all these years to sue? And who exactly is Anascape? A quick Google search brings up a number of patent pages and a domain that doesn't even point to their business anymore. At least Immersion is a company with a familiar business and already has many video game companies as licensees.

Lastly, while scanning over the legal complaint, we noticed that one of the law firms listed on the document for the plaintiff is McKool Smith. We exclusively reported in late 2004 that McKool Smith had sued a dozen major game publishers over a patent concerning 3-D images being displayed on a monitor. McKool also targeted 19 hardware manufacturers. One of the manufacturers told us at the time under a condition of anonymity, "You could almost call this a legal version of mafia extortion. Because America doesn't have a 'losers pay' rule, these companies stand to lose more money fighting these suits than they would simply settling and giving McKool Smith a quarter for every system that they sell."
[/quote:8bbzeibg]