After losing a legal patent battle to Immersion, Sony was forced to remove Force Feedback from its Playstation controllers.
Force Feedback was first introduced by Sony in its first Playstation and then became a standard feature in all Playstation 2 controllers. But when Sony lost the rights to use it in their latest SIXAXIS controller, they (somewhat understandably) downplayed its importance. Phil Harrison, president of SCE Worldwide, referred to rumble as not a next-generation feature, while Kaz Hirai, then-president and CEO of SCEA, said that it would have been difficult to incorporate both vibration and motion sensing technologies into the SIXAXIS.
But now Sony thinks that Force Feedback is next-gen and that it can be incorporated beside SIXAXIS's motion sensors. Sony's change of heart is courtesy to its settlement with Immersion which allows Sony to use Force Feedback again.
Several game developers have already expressed their longing for the long gone Force Feedback feature. Notably Guy Wilday, head of Sega Racing Studio, said "Tilt control's not difficult to do… Fundamentally, though, the whole tilt control thing is rubbish. It's no compensation for [the lack of] rumble". Pete Hines of Bethesda Softworks also said, " It (SIXAXIS motion sensing) didn't make sense on Oblivion but I'm sure there are some games it does make sense on. To be honest I would rather have the rumble instead of the SIXAXIS motion stuff."
Sources close to Sony revealed that Sony has been working on new controllers with Force Feedback for months and that the greatest challenge they are facing right now the battery life. The current lithium-ion cell inside the SIXAXIS was never designed to have to power both the Bluetooth wireless as well as a set of rumble motors.
Another problem that Sony needs to fix before introducing their new controller is how to present a revised controller to consumers, especially to those who have already purchased a pricey PlayStation 3 and additional controllers.
There is still no news about the new controller's release date, but SCEA Santa Monica studios game director Cory Barlog said at the 2007 Games Developer Conference that the next-generation God of War on PS3 will be in 1080p with motion and vibration support.
