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Immersion and Microsoft Settle It Once and For All
Posted by Mark Wilson at 2:00 AM on August 28, 2008
For those keeping up with Immersion's many legal battles over their patented rumble technology being used in console controllers, the company has finally settled with Microsoft...again. You see, Microsoft used Immersion's rumble in their 360 controllers without paying. Immersion sued, and Microsoft paid up. But then Sony used the rumble tech as well to make the Dual Shock 3, which activated a contingency that Microsoft negotiated earlier forcing Immersion to pay them if other companies licensed the tech. But Immersion wouldn't pay. (Now they did.)
Immersion forked over US$20.75 million to Microsoft to settle the suit and become part of the Microsoft Certified Partner Program. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed, but there's a good chance that money is flowing in both directions.
So not that it matters to your next Halo 3 deathmatch, but Immersion and Microsoft have...once again...settled their legal battle. Hooray! [Kotaku]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
jackfrost132
Posted 2:26 AM 28/8/08
On second thought, there's a limited selection of vibrating objects, so I may not want to know.
jackfrost132
jackfrost132
Posted 2:25 AM 28/8/08
Wait immersion used rumble before the PSX? in what?
jackfrost132
smartboydan needs to stop watching the Watchmen trailer
Posted 2:17 AM 28/8/08
@daftrok: Man, if that happened, I'd get both immediately, backwards compatibility be damned.
smartboydan needs to stop watching the Watchmen trailer
myotheralt
Posted 2:11 AM 28/8/08
@daftrok: I am still waiting for good games for the PS3. There are a few, but not nearly enough exclusive titles. MGS4 FTW.
myotheralt
daftrok
Posted 2:05 AM 28/8/08
I'm just waiting for the following to happen:
1) 120 GB Xbox 360 for $199
2) 160 GB PS3 for $299
So probably next year.
daftrok
Toshie
Posted 2:48 AM 28/8/08
And it's even worse than it sounds (for Immersion that is). Even though Sony was originally ordered to pay $90.7 million, they settled on $22.5 million. And now they have to pay Microsoft 20.7 of that.
I hate stories that toss out numbers without all the details.
Toshie
chipsndip
Posted 2:43 AM 28/8/08
Well, that does kind of explain the name of the company...
chipsndip
pmathews
Posted 2:42 AM 28/8/08
@jackfrost132:
Don't you remember the Atari 2600 had a rumble controller. It was about the same size as the console. I guess they learned miniaturization in the past 20 years.
pmathews
ripfire
Posted 2:37 AM 28/8/08
So in the end, it all becomes one big orgy.
ripfire
ninjamurf
Posted 3:20 AM 28/8/08
So...wait...how did this happen? MS uses rumble...it actually "belongs" to Immersion...so they have to pay Immersion. Then Sony uses rumble...and Immersion has to pay MS?!?! WTF? Why isn't Sony paying Immersion along with MS? If the rumble stuff "belongs" to Immersion why would they ever pay MS for someone ELSE using it? I don't get it. Anyone out there with the 411?
ninjamurf
lilaliendog
Posted 3:09 AM 28/8/08
You know I hated Immersion from the whole rumble court thing and always wondered why M$ paid out during the early days of the rumble issues this is actually very ironic and gives a big F U to immersion courtesy of M$
lilaliendog
SuppleMonkey
Posted 3:09 AM 28/8/08
Suck it, patent trolls!
SuppleMonkey
yoshi
Posted 3:00 AM 28/8/08
When it comes to business tactics, Microsoft takes the cake. They are damn good at it.
yoshi
gold5225
Posted 3:38 AM 28/8/08
SO i guess its like microsoft bet them that Sony would pay for rumble and they did so now Imersion has to pay Microsoft back cause they won the bet kinda...............
gold5225
Justifan
Posted 3:31 AM 28/8/08
@ninjamurf:
reread the article above...dude;)
Justifan
ninjamurf
Posted 4:00 AM 28/8/08
@logicalnoise: This is what I'm looking for. What were the details? It seems odd (crazy? ludicrous? redonkulous?) that company X would have to pay company Y if company Z used company X's technology?!?
ninjamurf
ninjamurf
Posted 3:52 AM 28/8/08
@Justifan: "reread the article above...dude;)"
I read it, and re-read it. And I still don't understand why Immersion would have to pay MS for Sony using Immersions technology? Thanks for your input though. Anyone else?
ninjamurf
logicalnoise
Posted 3:49 AM 28/8/08
I rmeber reading how insane or desperate immersion had ot be to sign the deal MS proposed. I also recall many experts saying MS had immersion by the balls(some predicted MS would just take over and then everyone would have to pay them for rumble). But i guess MS was happy to to get a few extra bucks(in perspective to how much they make annually).
logicalnoise
Cordfucious v 2.0.1
Posted 4:35 AM 28/8/08
@ninjamurf: think exclusivity deal. Cant make me pay for tech that you claim I illegally used, then back door and let my #1 competitor use the tech with no penalty. So I am no longer your exclusive user of said technology. So because you breached the contract of the "Microsoft Certified Partner" program, you pay me [Microsoft], and Sony pays them [Immersion] for the rights (license) to use the tech. Which was, by agreement, solely exclusive to Microsoft. More complicated than that, but that's as simple as I could make it
Cordfucious v 2.0.1
y2julio
Posted 4:38 AM 28/8/08
@ninjamurf: It was in a clause in the settlement between Microsoft and Immersion. Thats why they have to pay Microsoft after Sony licensed their tech.
y2julio
PopsG
Posted 4:37 AM 28/8/08
@ninjamurf: Here is the sentence you want to re-read a 4th time.
"But then Sony used the rumble tech as well to make the Dual Shock 3, which activated a contingency that Microsoft negotiated earlier forcing Immersion to pay them if other companies licensed the tech."
p.s. Contingency means "If this happens, then you pay us" in this case.
PopsG
Rhainor
Posted 5:04 AM 28/8/08
@daftrok: You're gonna be waiting a LONG while.
Rhainor
usntom
Posted 10:11 AM 28/8/08
360 still only down to 299.00 with what a 20 gig harddrive
and no blueray yet? playstation3 still 399.00 but with blueray though... sony dosent want to cut any of their prices but thats ok peeps like me bought a kewl blueray player from magnavox at the walmarts. look sylvania 299.00
[www.walmart.com]
oops only 288.00
[www.walmart.com]
usntom
witnessx
Posted 4:14 AM 29/8/08
@usntom: I dunno. Blueray has been slow to catch on, and even a tech junkie like myself have a hard time justifying $300+ for a player (even if it is a game console too), and adding yet another format to my media library. DVD upconversion looks damn good, and DVD to BD is more evolutionary, than say VHS to DVD which was more revolutionary.
If in the market for console, check out Zappos via MS LiveSearch Cashback. 360 console pretty cheap at that.
witnessx