http://retro.ign.com/articles/864/864231p1.html
"That little shake you feel in your Xbox 360 controller? That little tremor you feel in your Dual Shock 2? That little jingle-jangle you feel your Wii Remote? All of it traces back eleven years to the Rumble Pak, the Nintendo 64 controller add-on that gave a jolt to Star Fox 64. Released in Japan in April of 1997 and May here in the States, the Rumble Pak is one of those innovations that became an industry standard within a single generation. In fact, rumble is taken for granted by so many gamers now that it was considered a minor outrage when Sony opted to ditch it for the Sixaxis PS3 controller."
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I remeber when I first got Starfox 64. I was all into rumble then, it was new and awesome. now, I turn it off. meh, no biggie. Just drains the battery.