Lame excuse or honest response? You decide.
Sony's Phil Harrion told GameDaily that the idea of rumble in a controller is just not so next gen -- but he did open the door to rumble in 3rd-party controls. Here's what the lad had to say:
We have no plans to do so in the standard controller that ships with PlayStation 3. I believe that the Sixaxis controller offers game designers and developers far more opportunity for future innovation than rumble ever did. Now, rumble I think was the last generation feature; it's not the next-generation feature. I think motion sensitivity is. And we don't see the need to do that. Having said that, there will be specific game function controllers, potentially like steering wheels that do include vibration or feedback function—not from us but from third parties.
What other flame-inducing words did Phil spit out? Take a look after the jump.
Phil on media criticism:
No, not a bit. I think, first of all, the so called negativity is in a fairly narrow section of the media. The most important thing, however, is that the people who buy the system love it, and the fact that we have great reaction—great scores if you will—from the people who bought PS3 [who've enjoyed] the games that they've played and the services that they get. That's all that really matters. I don't really care about the negativity in the press; if it was true, if they were talking about real big issues that were genuine criticisms, then of course we'll address them, but there's nothing that bothers me. I think the fact that we are able to have a very well organized, very well managed supply channel, which allows us to keep the stores restocked, is a really positive thing.
Phil on Blu-ray:
It wasn't Sony's decision; it was our [SCE's] decision. We needed to have Blu-ray disc from a game design point of view. The chipsets in PS3 chew through data at such a rate that in order to build variety and detail and quality into the games, we need more than nine gigabytes. Now, the fact that we could also adopt the preeminent next generation movie format into PS3 was an added bonus, not an added cost.
[What you said regarding] disc speed is a complete myth. It makes no difference to the operation of the game whatsoever. The blue laser diode, as you well know, had a blip short-term ramp up issue, which is now past; that's now behind us. That did cause us some challenges in being able to supply the launch worldwide, but that's all resolved.
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Contest:
4:04 PM on 02.26.2007
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'So-called negativity'? No, no, I'm pretty sure that's plain old 'negativity'.
And that other crappy website.
/Nintendo Realist Fan
Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble on the Game Boy Color = NEXT GEN
"Why is Sony fucking up?"
Look no further than the newwest EGM for answers to that one.
Nintendo Wins.
I am smarter than you, but that's not the point I was trying to make. It was about how not many people have seen that movie or recognize it from that picture. But I'm glad you're familiar with David Arquette's illustrious filmography.
I guess thats true for there console. They didn't come up with a next-gen solution either. Till someone finds a better solution, rumble is the only bit of feedback you get other than watching the screen. So "not so next gen" or not I rather have it on my controller.
Anyway, I don't think that rumble is that big of a deal, however removing it in place of motion sensing seems to be a two steps forward one step back sort of move.
He's a master of PR, I'll give him that. But he, like most PR dudes, is a douche.
standard controller.)
Sony needs to own up to the fact that it's not there because of the Immersion lawsuit and get over themselves. There is absolutely NO reason that the SIXAXIS can't have both.
people make such a big deal about it not being there... thing is noone really cared it was there since n64
if its thiere its there if its not its not ... big deal
It's amazing the different reactions people have to the controller. I'm the complete opposite. After having played Twilight Princess on the Wii, I sat down to play Morrowind and Ocarina of Time over again and I was wishing for controller motion. Whenever I got into the heat of battle, I got more into it flicking the controller back and forth rather than button pushing. But to each his own.
The Wii and PS3 DO NOT use the same motion technology, The PS3 does not need to have a bar set up for motion tracking(Super Scope style) and I find the PS3 more accurate and precise than the Wii.(I have only tried driving games on the PS3 mind you)
I was the one who turned vibration off in a game as I didn't enjoy it as a feature. I would rather have motion over rumble any day.
That made me laugh so damn hard...
Buying Sony-manufactured consoles.
1st of all Sony said months before PS3 launch that Motion sensor and rumble were possible in one controller.. but the lawsuit was the REAL only reason it wasnt there.
Before rumble what was there? Thats right .. no rumble. Rumble has become part of real interactive feedback between games and yourself. Knwing when your hit.. feeling the pulses in steeering.. firing a fully automatic M60..
You can have both motion sensor and rumble..Just look at Wii..
So what if it's a last generation (or even two generation ago) feature? Game design should build on the past, not replace it. You don't see people saying "analog joysticks are a last generation feature."
"I think, first of all, the so called negativity is in a fairly narrow section of the media."
If by fairly narrow you mean any non-Sony financed media, then I'd say you hit the nail on the head, Phil.
"I don't really care about the negativity in the press; if it was true, if they were talking about real big issues that were genuine criticisms, then of course we'll address them, but there's nothing that bothers me."
They do talk about the big issues, Phil. It's just that nothing borrows you because you have to put up this "we're undefeatable" front to try and hold on to the PS2's success.
To be fair, Nintendo's wiimote has the most sorry excuse for rumble I've felt in a while, more of a buzz than actual rumble. What happened to the days of genuine force feedback? If I use my wiimote as a sword and hit something, I want that thing rumbling like I just hit a plate of armor.
But I guess it's just the limitations of the space in the controller. It is pretty small.
Sony PR is shitty blah blah blah. We all know it, we all say it, the world still turns. It's like with every step they take, they fall down a flight of stairs.
But does anyone care? Most of the people who say that it's the stupidest idea ever hate the PS3 to begin with.
I know they don't use the same tech, but both Splitfish AND Immersion have both stated that they came up with solutions that would work in the SIXAXIS. MULTIPLE solutions. You don't need to chose between either rumble or motion control because it's completely viable to have both. And if you hate it, there's always the option to turn it off.
That's nice that you don't care about rumble but I did. I thought the dual shock had the best rumble of last gen and felt it was the biggest controller innovation since the analog stick. Completely nixing it and telling me it's old tech and that I don't need is straight up wrong. Are they going to get rid of the d-pad next? I'm sure some people never use that right?
@ Mix: The PS3 controller doesn't need a sensor bar because it doesn't have the pointing feature either.
Anyway, I personally don't see the big deal of having rumble, most of the time anyway, but I think Phil's making up excuses especially in the light that we can probably guess why they didn't put it in in the first place (i.e. Immersion lawsuit). It's too bad really but I'm sure those interested in the system will live without it... at least until they the moment they suddenly add it back and it's all "next gen now because we've finally said so."
The Wii doesn't use the bar for its accelerometers, it uses it for IR positioning. The PS3 completely lacks IR positioning, it only has accelerometers. They use the same accelerometer technology.
I'm fine with no rumble on my PS3
Do NOT generalize gamers. That's one way gaming companies screw up so badly. The only thing rumble did for me was pleasing my crotch during Tony Hawk games when going on a non-stop rail. Otherwise, it's useless.
Most gamers don't see you "View" .. but you're right some seem to think it was better in the old Nintendo Days before rumble.
Get this clear Anyone can have both. A gamer setup a 360 controller to have motion sensing on his stock 360 controller.. it worked perfect and the rumble was unaffected
Phil's blowing over the rumble suit/fiasco with a "oh well yeah we didn't want that last-gen shit in our next-gen system anyway" just makes him come off as a cad. That and his complete denial of any issues related to the PS3.
Sony needs an honest mouthpiece. Unfortunately, with the sort of marketing dept that would churn out gems such as this, I don't see that happening anytime soon.