Playstation Sony Agrees To Pay $150.3 Million In PlayStation Patent Suit

[superlative56]

At issue is software that causes the PlayStation controller to vibrate in sync with the videogame action.

Sony Corp. has agreed to pay Immersion Corp. $150.3 million in ending a patent infringement suit in which the latter company claimed the consumer electronics giant used its technology in the PlayStation videogame console.


The agreement followed Sony's decision to withdraw its appeal of a federal court jury decision awarding Immersion $127.8 million, an Immersion spokeswoman said Friday. The Oakland, Calif., jury found Sony guilty of patent infringement in 2004.


In a separate, but related agreement, Sony has licensed Immersion technology for $22.5 million, the spokeswoman said.


The suit stemmed from Sony's use of Immersion software that causes the PlayStation controller to vibrate in sync with the videogame action. The so-called haptic technology was used in the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 models. Sony has not said whether the technology would now be used in PlayStation 3, which was released in the United States in November.


"We look forward to exploring with Immersion exciting new ways to bring the largest and best range of game-play experiences to our customers," Kazuo Hirai, president and group chief operating officer for Sony Computer Entertainment, said in a joint statement with Immersion.


Victor Viegas, chief executive of San Jose, Calif.-based, Immersion, said he was "pleased to have put this litigation behind us."


"Our new business agreement with Sony Computer Entertainment is specifically intended to enable advanced vibration capability for the benefit of the PlayStation gaming community," he said.

Source

 

[Chandoo]

rumble + sixaxis here we come

 

[devilscallmedad]

It gets funnier and funnier " Rumble is a useless old-gen feature which cannot be included because of technical problems with the six axis " someone fire them already

 

[Chandoo]

its a bit like how peter moore still says that HD DVD is the better brand amongst the two next gen video formats, you can never pay serious attention to what executives say.

 

[USUF]

no..six axis needs to go...and rumble feature needs to be put in....but wht better if both can be put in the controller!!!

 

[Chandoo]

no..six axis needs to go...and rumble feature needs to be put in....but wht better if both can be put in the controller!!!

sure they both could probably be put in there without any changes in the fundamental design, like i said in the other thread, expect sony to release sixaxis+ rumble controllers as early as the end of this year if this deal comes to pass, similar to how they introduced the dual shock controllers after the launch of the original playstation.

 

[Stuge]

sixaxis+ rumble controllers.

what's this ?

 

[devilscallmedad]

its a bit like how peter moore still says that HD DVD is the better brand amongst the two next gen video formats, you can never pay serious attention to what executives say.

Its not like that, that is crappy PR banter this is a complete U Turn in policy they decided not to include rumble, do hardware BC, high price etc. Now they seem to be backing out i wouldn't be surprised if they did a price drop/remove BR at e3 this year. Some one messed up their policy big time that someone ( or many ones ) need to pack up.