Sony may be forced to halt production of the PS2

[The Mullinator]

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/13/sonys-appeal-denied-fate-of-dualshock-uncertain/#comments

Not looking good if they are in fact required to follow through with this.

 

[Reginald]

ROFL tbh.

I feel like gloating:
Nintendo never seem to get into these sort of scrapes

 

[smwScott]

I fail to understand how the sale of the console or the design of the controller should be affected by this. It seems to me that if there was any patent infringement then it was only in the use of "force feedback" which could easily be removed without any major changes. Regardless, Sony will probably drag it through the court system until the PS2 is well past its lifetime anyway.

 

[The Mullinator]

I fail to understand how the sale of the console or the design of the controller should be affected by this. It seems to me that if there was any patent infringement then it was only in the use of "force feedback" which could easily be removed without any major changes. Regardless, Sony will probably drag it through the court system until the PS2 is well past its lifetime anyway.

They already lost the appeal though, what other methods do they have of delaying this?

 

[Direwolf]

I'd not really care about Sony getting some smackdown if I didn't have the feeling that the "patent" these guys filed is probably ridiculous since they sued both Sony and Microsoft over it. What did they patent? A controller that shakes?

 

[The Mullinator]

I'd not really care about Sony getting some smackdown if I didn't have the feeling that the "patent" these guys filed is probably ridiculous since they sued both Sony and Microsoft over it. What did they patent? A controller that shakes?

They patented the method those controllers used to rumble, they didn't just patent it either and then sit on. They do in fact license it to other companies, Sony and Microsoft simply didn't bother to pay any licensing fees from what I understand. Nintendo also released controllers that rumble but they use a different method that was not covered by this patent which is why they are not attempting to sue Nintendo.

 

[VictimOfScience]

I hated that friggin rumble anyway--always making a racket when I put the controller on the coffe table!

Still, I seriously doubt Sony will actually stop production of their console, one way or the other.

Heh, Microsoft.: Got a problem? We'll buy you and pwn you.

 

[hungryduck]

wow, sony has really been a corporate mess the past few years....

 

[Iced_Eagle]

Well It seems Microsoft played a smart, and I'm glad they aren't in this mess

smwScott: What do you mean no major changes? If you all of a sudden lose the ability for the controller to vibrate, that's first of all a connection you make with the player that is lost, you also have to recall all of the playstation controllers, trash them, and then remake the hardware, build it, and make all the packages again and then send it out, then you need to get all of the 3rd-parties to do the same thing, since they are based on Sony tech.

It would be a HUGE mess.

 

[smwScott]

You don't have to recall anything. They would just remove the rumble feature at the start of the next production cycle. The same for the third parties, assuming they even use the same method. I'm sure they already have a new system in place for the PS3 controller that they could probably transfer right over, not even needing to remove the rumble. As far as the "connection," thats too bad but there aren't many games that actually use the rumble for gameplay purposes.

Sony will not stop manufacturing PS2s, there's just no way. A major corporation like Sony will defintely get what it wants. And if the judge allows it I believe they can file for further appeals.

 

[Asuka]

Wow this sucks for sony.

 

[BrimStone04]

its wierd about the boomerang controller, cuz at all the latest show/expos that they had the PS3 on display, there was no controller.

 

[Direwolf]

They patented the method those controllers used to rumble, they didn't just patent it either and then sit on. They do in fact license it to other companies, Sony and Microsoft simply didn't bother to pay any licensing fees from what I understand. Nintendo also released controllers that rumble but they use a different method that was not covered by this patent which is why they are not attempting to sue Nintendo.

Yeah, but the "method" they use is just a small electric motor attached to an off-center weight that has its rpms controlled by the console. Its so simple and logical that trying to enforce a patent on it seems useless to me.

 

[Combine Hybrid]

****ing sony deserves it.

 

[Alexferris]

****ing sony deserves it.

How so?

 

[CyberPitz]

If this is about Sony getting busted for the rumble feature they didn't pay for, then omfg old news..but still funny, even though I'm a HUGE fan of the Playstation...serves em right

 

[Maxi]

Yeah, but the "method" they use is just a small electric motor attached to an off-center weight that has its rpms controlled by the console. Its so simple and logical that trying to enforce a patent on it seems useless to me.

That is kindof like patenting the scales, you know, with weights on one end and the thing you're weighing on the other.

 

[Death.Trap]

It's like those guys who tried to sue every major game developer because they supposedly had a patent on 3d games.

 

[VirusType2]

I was there. I saw these rumble packs come out for the N64 and i thought it was the coolest ****ing thing ever. Playing goldeneye and the controller vibrated when I pulled the trigger, which made shooting the gun that much more immersive.


I assume that was Immersion that was making these things.

Soon after, sony created the dual shock and began packing their PS1 with them. They began the conversion where every game supported this new controller, and many new games didn't even support the original PS control.


PS2 came packed with a new version of the Dual Shock controller and Xbox came with a rumble controller, while Nintendo didn't touch it.


So Sony and MS get sued. How could they be so stupid as to use something that is patented? I guess to sell video game systems, you have to have the most to offer, and the rumble controller was hot hot, so they were willing to get sued.


I was telling you guys about this a year ago, but its funny that the repricusions are now. I was wondering why they didn't get sued, but I figured they couldn't patent something so rudimentary as a rotating weight attached to or built into a controller.

EDIT: If anyone still has one of these old N-64 rumble packs, I would be curious to find out who made it. It should be writen on the thing.

 

[Gray Fox]

But when did the fist case against sony begin, cause the vibrating function was used in the ps1 controllers also, and nobody tried to sue sony then. Why now, did the company wait on purpose so they could get more money out of sony.

 

[Direwolf]

Virus: Nintendo itself was the first one to release and use the rumble pack. It came packaged with Starfox 64 before anything else.

And Nintendo's Gamecube does in fact use an internal rumble system, just like PS2 and Xbox.

 

[The Mullinator]

But when did the fist case against sony begin, cause the vibrating function was used in the ps1 controllers also, and nobody tried to sue sony then. Why now, did the company wait on purpose so they could get more money out of sony.

They sued Sony years ago, almost right when the PS2 was released. It's just been dragged through court for this long.

 

[Javes]

Further demonstrates Sony's issues needed to be sorted in restructuring.
Nintendo do carry out most of the best ideas first really, it's what they do, not always the most financially viable choice mind :|

 

[Kangy]

I feel sorry for the company with the patent to be honest, Sony are being assholes as per usual about this whole thing. MS played it smart and bought part of the company, which honestly Sony must be kicking themselves about right now.

 

[Uriel]

LOL @ CONSOLES

Noobs

 

[AiM]

I feel sorry for the company with the patent to be honest, Sony are being assholes as per usual about this whole thing. MS played it smart and bought part of the company, which honestly Sony must be kicking themselves about right now.

Meh, I don't feel sorry for them at all (90m + 30m annually + 26m + MS investment). Personally I think the patents sounds a bit on the bullsh*t side, I mean from what I understand they're patenting any non-symmetrical rotating within controllers? Isn't that based on Newton's physics anyway? My science memory is a bit shaky but this 'intellectual property' infringement seems a bit shady.

 

[The Mullinator]

Well I just got this from a Slashdot user but I can't see why it would be false:

The rumble pak and Gamecube controller use one unbalanced weight in the center whereas the Dual Shocks and Xbox controllers use two different unbalanced weights, one on each side of the controller. The patent is for the two weight configuration so Nintendo gets away scott free.

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/14/1527252&threshold=1