Is Sony adding rumble to the SIXAXIS?

- Sony Computer Entertainment and Immersion have agreed to conclude litigation at the U.S Court of Appeals, and have entered into a new agreement to explore the inclusion of Immersion's technology (read: rumble) in PlayStation products. This is in stark contrast to Phil Harrison's recent comments regarding rumble as a "last-generation feature", which were widely criticised as a desperate attempt to hide the fact that the lack of rumble in the SIXAXIS was a design decision based more on legal proceedings with Immersion, than last/current-generation feature sets.

Kazuo Hirai, president of SCE is clearly a bit more chuffed about the concept than Phil Harrison was. "We look forward to exploring with Immersion exciting new ways to bring the largest and best range of gameplay experiences to our customers." So do your customers, Kaz!

There's no question that the rumble feature added significantly to the feel of the prior Gran Turismo and Metal Gear Solid games, and Sony are banking on future titles from these franchises to move a lot of consoles, so we're certain that if this is going to happen, Sony will make it happen quickly. We also wouldn't be surprised if the more popular titles like Resistance and MotorStorm were patched to support rumble once the new controllers were released.