Phil Harrison on SIXAXIS and the missing rumble function
“To rumble, or not to rumble?” This was the question Sony faced while the new controller for their next-generation PS3 console was under development. Well, we all know what happened: Sony went ahead and chose the latter, opting to get rid of the controller’s rumble feature in exchange for a motion sensing function.
Quite a few gamers went up in arms when news about the rumble function’s removal reached the blogosphere, while some were welcoming of the changes. Sony’s head of Worldwide Studios, Phil Harrison, meanwhile, is adamant in defending the company’s decision.
In an interview with Three Speech, Harrison was asked if he had any regrets in light of criticism regarding the controller’s design. His reply? “None whatsoever.”
Harrison proceeds to further outline the benefits of removing the rumble function, saying, “I think the decision that weÂ’ve made to build in the SIXAXIS functionality, and Bluetooth wireless, and great battery life, and all the other functionality that comes with it, far outweighs the chatter that weÂ’re getting on vibration. And, itÂ’s incredibly light! Just pick it up!”
So, lightness and motion sensing. But what about Immersion‘s claims that both motion sensing and rumble functions were possible in a single controller? “I think the caveat to that statement always has to be based on the fact that when we make a pad, weÂ’re making maybe 150, 200 million of them,” Harrison said. “So it has to be done at a price, and it has to be done at a volume that fits our production requirements.”
Sounds fair enough. We certainly don’t want to be paying for a super-expensive PS3 controller. Of course, since the PS3 hasn’t come out yet, we still can’t come up with a final decision on whether we think the SIXAXIS controller’s new tricks make up for the lack of the rumble function or not. Still, we would like to hear some input from you guys regarding this. Are you looking forward to handling one of the super-light SIXAXIS controllers in your hands? Or do you just miss the rumble function too much? Don’t hesitate to leave a comment.
Via Three Speech
“To rumble, or not to rumble?” This was the question Sony faced while the new controller for their next-generation PS3 console was under development. Well, we all know what happened: Sony went ahead and chose the latter, opting to get rid of the controller’s rumble feature in exchange for a motion sensing function.
Quite a few gamers went up in arms when news about the rumble function’s removal reached the blogosphere, while some were welcoming of the changes. Sony’s head of Worldwide Studios, Phil Harrison, meanwhile, is adamant in defending the company’s decision.
In an interview with Three Speech, Harrison was asked if he had any regrets in light of criticism regarding the controller’s design. His reply? “None whatsoever.”
Harrison proceeds to further outline the benefits of removing the rumble function, saying, “I think the decision that weÂ’ve made to build in the SIXAXIS functionality, and Bluetooth wireless, and great battery life, and all the other functionality that comes with it, far outweighs the chatter that weÂ’re getting on vibration. And, itÂ’s incredibly light! Just pick it up!”
So, lightness and motion sensing. But what about Immersion‘s claims that both motion sensing and rumble functions were possible in a single controller? “I think the caveat to that statement always has to be based on the fact that when we make a pad, weÂ’re making maybe 150, 200 million of them,” Harrison said. “So it has to be done at a price, and it has to be done at a volume that fits our production requirements.”
Sounds fair enough. We certainly don’t want to be paying for a super-expensive PS3 controller. Of course, since the PS3 hasn’t come out yet, we still can’t come up with a final decision on whether we think the SIXAXIS controller’s new tricks make up for the lack of the rumble function or not. Still, we would like to hear some input from you guys regarding this. Are you looking forward to handling one of the super-light SIXAXIS controllers in your hands? Or do you just miss the rumble function too much? Don’t hesitate to leave a comment.
Via Three Speech
