Force feedback patent litigation concludes, so will the PS3 controller get the rumble back?

Sony Computer Entertainment announces it will put an end to their battle with Immersion at the U.S. Court of Appeals over patent infringement related to force feedback utilized in PlayStation-brand console controllers, and reach a settlement which could likely see the company become a licensee of Immersion's technologies. Until now, Sony has appealing the earlier court decision requiring the company to halt the manufacture and sales of controllers featuring force feedback, as well as award Immersion for damages.  Immersion speculated that it was in fact this outcome which forced Sony to omit the rumble from the PS3's Sixaxis controller, and Immersion has been encouraging Sony to drop its appeal and instead adopt its force feedback technologies ever since.

"We are pleased to have put this litigation behind us," said Immersion CEO Victor Viegas. "Our new business agreement with Sony Computer Entertainment is specifically intended to enable advanced vibration capability for the benefit of the PlayStation gaming community. We are happy to provide our technology in this regard and hope to make technical proposals very soon with respect to use of our technology in the PlayStation products."

"We look forward to exploring with Immersion exciting new ways to bring the largest and best range of gameplay experiences to our customers," said Kazuo Hirai, President and Group Chief Operating Officer, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "We are very excited about our new partnership with Immersion and the potential for new and innovative products incorporating their technologies."

With Sony now open to the possibility of licensing Immersion's technologies, this could pave the way for a Sixaxis controller featuring force feedback. Should this prove to be the case, Sony may have realized that it underestimated the number of PS3 developers who clamored for this feature when it first decided to drop the rumble from the Sixaxis.