In 2007, Sony settled a long-running dispute with Immersion, a company holding patents for control pad rumble technology. The world moved on. But now, the lawsuit (or at least part of it) is back.
The XNA Community Games program continues to be a wealth of innovation on the Xbox 360, as a new program available for download (in North America, at least) turns your 360 controller into a “portable massager”.
You’ll no doubt be familiar with the name Immersion. They’re the rumble guys. Microsoft had to pay them to get rumble in the 360 pad, while Sony refused, resulting in the rumble-free Sixaxis. When Sony eventually did cough up the money, though, that led to more dramas, as part of Microsoft’s deal with Immersion was a clause that said they would have to pay MS $US 15 million should Sony swallow their pride and pay for the use of rumble. Which they did. And it was a fee Immersion, in a delicious irony, refused to pay.That led to a legal tussle between Immersion and Microsoft, which has today been settled, with the rumble dudes agreeing to cough up $US 20.75 million. Phew. Hopefully that’s the last time we need to write the words “Immersion” and “legal” in the same story.
