Suers of Sony, Immersion, are looking at ways to broaden their horizons by introducing their rumble technology to new markets.
Immersion is planning to bring force feedback to handheld games consoles, specifically the PlayStation Portable. As Sony and Immersion have settled their disputes, and a Dual Shock 3 is just around the corner, this seems to be a logical step.
Vic Vegas, Immersion CEO, had this to say: “The effects and strength you can get with a small motor is really amazing… you really feel the staccato of a machine gun, you really feel when you’re pressing on a piece of glass on a touch screen that you’re pressing a low profile button… This would translate quite easily to the Nintendo DS, PSP or almost any mobile device”
The DS already has rumble, albeit with a classically named ‘Rumble Pak’ that slots into the GBA slot, but the PSP is still without one. Whether or not it will be integrated into a ‘PSP 2’, if one is ever made, or whether or not it will awkwardly clip onto the handheld somehow is still unknown.
The problem with rumble on a portable device is that it eats up battery life. Maybe Immersion will develop a way to reduce this?
Stay tuned.
Source: Pocket Gamer