Sony Owes Some Money Now...

[Stephen]

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=3&id=332037

Interesting read. I never liked Dualshock anyway...

[Locke]

Switching from a regular PS pad to that (when i first saw it) thing was insane. But now, i cant live without those two sticks.

The comments are humorous, "Today Sony, tomorrow Honda!"

[Rocketshipper]

I saw this at rpgamer today. I LOVE the Dual Shock controller and I think this really sucks. It's my favorite controller out of the three next gen consoles. What I want to know is what the heck those 40 some odd games have to do with anything?? How are they connected to the Dual Shock anymore than other games? Legend of Dragoon, Final Fantasy 10, and Kingdom Hearts are on the list of games now. Does this mean that from now on people are going to have to get those games on ebay or something? Will this hurt Final Fantasy 12 and KH 2 in anyway?? Stupid lawsuit >_<.

[Stephen]

Glad I own those games mentioned....But yes you should be able to find em on Ebay if they get serious about this stuff.

[ShiroiHikari]

well this is crappy. I wanted to buy Kingdom Hearts.

[skynes]

so where's the list of games?

I find this quite funny, Sony rip someone off and now they're paying for it. Serves them right.

[Rocketshipper]

One opinion someone over at rpgamer expressed was this was a case of someone with an overly broad patent going after a company just because they have money. He gave the example of a company that has a patent on "enclosed, self-sufficent, habitats for animals", which sounds a lot like what you would have in any Zoo, yet they are only suing Disney, because Disney has money.

rpgamer.com has the list of games on their site.

Some of the people on their message board are predicting that Sony Playstation is totally done for and Microsoft or Nintendo will buy them out. That better not happen!!!!! If this stupid lawsuit ends up killing Xenosaga I'll be EXTREMLY annoyed. *glares evily at Immersion* As someone at rpgamer put it, Immersion may wake up with a horse head in their bed one night ^_^.

[Link Antilles]

Same thing happened to the X-box, but Microsoft was smart enough to settle licensing terms with Immersion.

Sony, on the other hand, has really ticked off Immersion. The $90 million is around a 1.5% royalty for infringing products that were sold. Immersion's normal license is 5%. So yeah, Immersion wants something painful to happen to Sony...that being, for Sony to stop selling the PS, PS2, Controller, those 40 or so games and such.

I'm clueless to why Sony hasn't settled with any licensing terms with Immersion. Well, maybe it's because Immersion is an American company? That might explain why M$ settled so fast. *shrugs* At least the PSP isn't involved.

Then again, Sony may be asking the say question as me, “Why is there a patent on rumbling controllers?â€

[Mithrandir]

Be careful what you wish for. Sony COULD decide they want to keep selling this stuff - just not in the US. O.O

[Rocketshipper]

Wasn't Nintendo the first company to have the option for Rumble features?? They had those pack things that came with Star Fox, and don't the Gamecube controllers vibrate too. Why havn't they been sued? And doesn't this just mean that Sony has to stop selling the controller and the games?? Couldn't they still sell PS2 and PSX just with a non-dual shock controller?? It is kind of dumb that they didn't just license it like Microsoft did, but maybe they thought the lawsuit was so stupid that they couldn't lose. Too bad they were wrong

[Link Antilles]

Wasn't Nintendo the first company to have the option for Rumble features?? They had those pack things that came with Star Fox, and don't the Gamecube controllers vibrate too. Why havn't they been sued? And doesn't this just mean that Sony has to stop selling the controller and the games?? Couldn't they still sell PS2 and PSX just with a non-dual shock controller?? It is kind of dumb that they didn't just license it like Microsoft did, but maybe they thought the lawsuit was so stupid that they couldn't lose. Too bad they were wrong

Yes, the N64 rumble pack were the first devices to give controllers seizures for the consoles. Nintendo patented the idea of connecting a rumble packs to the controller, whereas Immersion patented an idea for a type internal rumble pack. -which Sony and M$ used for their controllers. It's a different way to do the same thing. Now, how the Gamecube dodge the lawsuit bullet, I am not entirely sure, but I think Nintendo uses a different technology to make the controllers rumble on the cube.

Concerning the not selling of PS 1 and 2: As I mentioned, Immersion is ticked at Sony and out for blood, methinks. This lawsuit has gone on for three years and Sony still ignores the possibility of negotiations with Immersion on a license.

[Nate]

*shakes head*

Did anyone else besides me read the comments at the bottom of the page? A person by the name of Ido_Alpha_Omega made the following comment, which I agree with:

"The idea that a centrifuge with an offset weight can be used to apply force to an object has been in use for decades in many fields: science, medicine, astronaut training, etc. The designers of any centrifuge have to compensate by adding weight to the opposite site of the boom that carries the payload to avoid such 'rumbling forces.' I find this comparable to someone copyrighting the see-saw or windlass."

The title of the post: Should NASA sue Immersion?

[ShiroiHikari]

this is all you ever hear about anymore...lawsuits, lawsuits, lawsuits. Sony is my favorite console maker and I really don't want them to have to stop. as far as the PlayStation goes, oh well, it's old now anyway. but the PS2 isn't quite finished with its lifecycle yet. do you guys think this will slam down the accelerator on PS3's release, or set it way back?

on another note, I should go out, buy some of these games, and put them up for sale on eBay...mwahahaha

[Link Antilles]

do you guys think this will slam down the accelerator on PS3's release, or set it way back?

My personal guess is that is will not affect the PS3 launch much. They seem to have already laid out the PS3 plan. Not to mention, Sony has made it's share of money with the PS2 and will be making more on the PSP games.

They seem to be taking their sweet time with the PS3, seeing how's it been a no show at the GDC and they canceled première for March. I hope they don't decide to speed up the release.... remember the PS2 launch? Bugs. >.< As for delaying, the only real thing I can see delaying the PS3 release is waiting for a solid list of launch games. That launch list of games will be important, because, I don't think the PS3 will be backwards compatible.

[ShiroiHikari]

I really hope PS3 -is- backwards compatible though :[ and you're right about a rushed release...if they're smart they'll get it right the first time. I think they really can't afford to screw up o_O

[Esoteric]

Waa? This has been going on for three years? I never heard anything about it before now.

[Link Antilles]

Waa? This has been going on for three years? I never heard anything about it before now.

Yup, been going on since Feb. '02, if I remember right. Heh, I must admit, I never heard anything about this until last week, either.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I really hope PS3 -is- backwards compatible though :[ and you're right about a rushed release...if they're smart they'll get it right the first time. I think they really can't afford to screw up o_O

i am DEFINATELY sure it will be backwards compatiable

i find this lawsuit really retarded... immersion really does want to anger millions of people eh... just for some money

[Yeshua-Knight]

surely the fine folks at sony would know not to fix somethin' that ain't broke, the backwards compatible feature to the ps2 was one of the big selling points for me, otherwise i prolly woulda just gone with a gamecube 'cus they tend to have more kid friendly (and thusly family friendly) games in their repertoire, a friend of mine actually had a good idea, what if the PS3 was some sort of add on to the ps2, like the extra memory that you had to buy in order to play ffXI, there is that usb port right in the front of the system so why not just make it modular for once?

'nuff said

[Azier the Swordsman]

This is moronic..... they can't get away with this. They're seriously going to tick off every gamer that ever existed. (Including me). Not that their stupid lawsuit is going to stop me anyways.....

*imports PS2 and Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix*

[Fsiphskilm]

Nothin

[ShiroiHikari]

Of course I would NOT get caught, because I'd make my own custom Dog Crap Launcher (I call it a Dong-Launcher)

this made me burst out laughing. just thought I'd let you know.

erm, anyway. down with Immersion. we should immerse them...in acid.

[Debitt]

I get the feeling this entire Sony vs. Immersion business is going to create a nice big rift between the "Japanophiles" and the "zomg get out of our country Asian devils" people.

[Azier the Swordsman]

Immersion's quest for greed has likely resulted them in single-handedly destroying themselves. Do you have any idea how many gamers are in the US? Over half the nation. Probably more. And considering the list of games that Sony is supposed to stop producing covers the most populer games in EVERY SINGLE GENRE, (Final Fantasy X, Kingdom Hearts, GTA, Medal of Honor, ect.), that means that no matter what your interest of genre, every gamer has a reason to be ticked, which also means that they will have successfully **** off well over half the entire nation.

"Congratulations, Immersion. You're done for!"

Let's see, Sony is an entertainment giant backed by every gamer on the planet, while Immersion is a single company hated by every gamer on the planet, including most Americans. They are mincemeat.

[Fsiphskilm]

Immersio

[Mithrandir]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't they just protecting their intellectual property rights? SOME companies have licensed the technology, but Sony chose not to. When they started selling in the US, they broke a patent law by deciding NOT TO BUY THE LICENSE.

Microsoft settled out of court and Nintendo LICENSED the rights to use this.

The fact that this annoys you does not change the fact that THE COURTS RULED IN FAVOR OF IMMERSION!!!

Why would immersion care in the SLIGHTEST if they tick off gammers?!? They OWN the technology that the gamming companies should be using to give you quality games, right?

*grumbles*

[Azier the Swordsman]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't they just protecting their intellectual property rights? SOME companies have licensed the technology, but Sony chose not to. When they started selling in the US, they broke a patent law by deciding NOT TO BUY THE LICENSE.

Microsoft settled out of court and Nintendo LICENSED the rights to use this.

The fact that this annoys you does not change the fact that THE COURTS RULED IN FAVOR OF IMMERSON!!!

Why would immerson care in the SLIGHTEST if they tick off gammers?!? They OWN the technology that the gamming companies should be using to give you quality games, right?

*grumbles*

Gamming?


But anyways..... I don't really see how Immersion would be losing any money over Sony's use of the Dual Shock. Why should they even care in the first place? I still lean towards them simply being greedy.

[Nate]

Why would immerson care in the SLIGHTEST if they tick off gammers?!? They OWN the technology that the gamming companies should be using to give you quality games, right?

But isn't the point of a business to make money? If they make gamers angry, then wouldn't they be losing money by inciting gamers to avoid their company at all costs? Isn't that contradictory to their established goal as a business, to GAIN consumers? Seems like it to me.

[Azier the Swordsman]

But isn't the point of a business to make money? If they make gamers angry, then wouldn't they be losing money by inciting gamers to avoid their company at all costs? Isn't that contradictory to their established goal as a business, to GAIN consumers? Seems like it to me.

My point exactly. Even IF Sony is in the wrong, it's simply not profitible to pull a stunt like this.

[Mithrandir]

Does anyone have any information on how much sony grosses off sales of games using this technology? If so, it would be interesting to see what percentage of that the settlement would cost. It's likely that (if that price is more than the settlement) sony simply decided it would be cheaper to do the illegal thing...

At any rate, I don't see immersion selling any consumer products to gamers, so I guess I don't see the point. If (totally hypothetically) Dow chemical sued and won a case against, let's say Cheveron over something in their gassoline, would that matter to Dow's customers? I'm just saying that, even if you the consumer get upset by this, I don't know what you can (ethically/morally) do about it...