March 1, 2007 - Who would have thought that this day would come? Sony Computer Entertainment and Immersion announced today that both companies have agreed to put an end to their ongoing legal dispute and enter into a business agreement to incorporate Immersion's patented force feedback technology into future "PlayStation format products." Whether this means that the technology will be incorporated in future versions of the PlayStation 3's Sixaxis controller is still unclear, although what other "PlayStation format products" could they be talking about? "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." As part of the agreement reached between the two companies, Immersion will be granted the full amount dictated by the District Court -- this includes damages, pre-judgment interest, and legal fees. The agreement also provides Sony with expanded rights with respect to Immersion's patents. No additional financial details were revealed, but it is expected that the termination of the litigation will have no material impact on Sony's consolidated earnings forecast announced on January 30, 2007. "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 "Kaz" Hirai, of Sony Computer Entertainment. "We are very excited about our new partnership with Immersion and the potential for new and innovative products incorporating their technologies."

Play nice? sounds like Sony pounded Immersion into the ground, and left them paying the court bill as well. Oh well. Now everyone can STFU about the rumble.

LOL, what a joke :)

ROFL. Sony just does whatever shit they have forward. They don't have rumbe and they say: "LOLOLOLO RUMBLE IS NOT NEX GEN LOLOLO, SO WE ARENT GETTING IT" Now they have it, what are they going to say?: "WE HAVE THE ULTRA PATENTED PS3 BBQ, I MEAN, RUMBLE FEATURE" That's sad. Oh, and this made me crap my pants: "We are very excited about our new partnership with Immersion and the potential for new and innovative products incorporating their technologies."

It sounds great!!! I look forward to PS3's new controller!!

While it's nice to hear they're bringing rumble back, I'm looking forward to Phil Harrison's clever response to this news as he's recently undermined the rumble feature as a last gen concept. He'll be like, " the ps3 technology is so forward thinking in concept that we needed for the audience to embrace this new medium stripped of prior function in order to fully comprehend the power. Now that they've had time to adapt we can successfully reintroduce this popular feature of the ps2."

I would say something more like. "We didnt feel the Rumble was a imporant feature to be in the PS3. It was last gen, and we still feel that way. However due to the amazingly high demand for it, we are going to put it back in our controllers."