"Ready to Rumble": Gamers Want Vibrating Controllers

In a recent survey of gamers with an eye on the next-gen systems, numbers revealed that a significant proportion of thumbstick-jockeys miss the "Rumble Pack", a feature that made its vibrating debut in 1997.

First introduced with the Nintendo 64 in the late 1990s, the Rumble Pack was essentially an addition to the standard controller. When action on screen warranted – such as a big body check in Gretzky's 3D hockey or a massive explosion in Goldeneye – the controller would vibrate violently. It wasn't enough to send the device flying from a gamer's greasy fingers, but it did add a level of stimulation to further hook gamers playing Nintendo's titles.

In the period afterwards, Sony "borrowed" the idea for its Playstation console. By the following generation, featuring the Microsoft Xbox, Playstation 2 and Nintendo Wii, all three systems had subscribed to the Rumble effect.

But now that's all changed. The Microsoft Xbox 360 offers a rumble feature with its controllers, but it is certainly downgraded from the days of the Nintendo 64. What's worse – and is the reason for the survey itself – is the fact that the highly anticipated Playstation 3 is reportedly missing the Rumble feature entirely.

You see, in the next generation, there appears to be a new phenomenon. The most recent shot in the arm for gamers seeking a titillating experience while playing comes in the form of "motion sensors". What the heck does that mean? Essentially, by waving your controller built with motion sensor technology, a reaction in the game takes place. Swing it like a bat in a baseball game, and you might be knocking a gaming-winning dinger. Slash it like an axe in a Role Playing fantasy title, and you could be opening a gash in that ogre.

Microsoft, the North American cowboy of the console war, has yet to make any big splash in the motion sensor wading pool. Most of that tomfoolery is coming from Nintendo, who are making motion sensors and a very unique controller the central gimmick of the new console's impending release this fall.

As it is, Nintendo might be interested in this latest poll, which shows that excitement for the motion sensor technology is significantly less than the demand for a resurgence of the Rumble.

 

 

3 comments
Posted by It service guy on March 14,2007 at 3:55 PM
Why, why, why is it that the "Wii" is mentioned as the "next Generation" after the Nintendo 64. There was another console in there, the "Game Cube". The "Wii" is this generation.
Posted by xntrk on September 27,2006 at 12:04 PM
Vibrating controllers?  I still want to get a vibrating game chair with speakers and heat pads for those long nights in front of the 72" projector screen playing Soul Calibur 3 and GT4-A spec.

Wii's controller might be just the thing to make or break Nintendo once and for all.  They've been slipping on the entertainment end and can only satisfy the fun-loving and young crowd of gamers.  I think all controllers should have vibrating motors with in-game control or a rumble toggle switch for those slight more "easily spooked" gamers.  

If anything, it should be standard across the board seeing as the more a gamer can experience the game ... the happier we'll be *singing* Your friends play my friends and my friends play your friends ... the more we play together the happier we'll be!
Posted by Alissa on September 26,2006 at 11:38 AM
Yes the new motion sensor controllers sound cool, and yes i would love to see some serious gamers jumping around like idiots waving them at the TV - but i really miss the glory days of Nintendo's original square controller with two buttons and direction arrows, where anyone could sit down and make Mario jump on 1 dimensional mushrooms. Of course, that's a non-gamer's opinion, but for gamers, it's all about the next big thing these days - sometimes it's hit, sometimes it's miss. But i'd say the motion sensor controllers will be a miss - and really, the controllers with the rumbling sensation mostly just shock the hell out of me.