Immersion and Sony settling made Microsoft angry

Microsoft has filed a lawsuit against Immersion, a company which makes the technology that makes your controllers rumble. They allegeImmersionis not living up to parts ofan old court settlement.

Immersion sued Microsoft and Sony in 2002 but Microsoft settled in 2003. That's the main reason why 360's pad rumbles and PS3's doesn't. It cost Microsoft $26 million for licensing rights and they even ended up with a stake in the rumble company. Microsoft has now said that Immersion hasn't lived up to "other terms of that deal."

"We entered into a binding licensing agreement with Immersion and are seeking to have that agreement honored," Microsoft Associate General Counsel Steve Aeschbacher said in a statement. "Microsoft licenses technology both in and out and relies on these agreements to be honored and enforced. Our request to the court is that all companies and industry partners should play by the same rules and that the binding agreement we signed with Immersion be honored."

This is where it gets interesting...

Some digging has been done and it appears that Microsoft had a clause in the settlement that meant it stood to get payments if Immersion and Sony ever settled their issues. Well Sony and Immersion have now reached some sort of arrangement (expect a rumbling PS3 pad soon then) but Microsoft and Immersion dispute the implications of that (maybe not just yet).

Morehere.

June 19, 2007