SplitFish GameWare has announced (PDF) it has developed a new force-feedback technology caleld SensorFX which can be used with the Sixaxis game controllers shipping with Sony’s PlayStation 3 video game console, and possibly with other next-generation game systems. Sony’s Sixaxis controller disappointed many long-time PlayStation fans by omitting the well-known "rumble" feature introduced with Sony’s Dual Shock controller; Sony explained that a rumble feature would interfere with the tilt, motion, and directional sensors in the new PlayStation controller…but fans still weren’t happy.
Now SplitFish says it has worked around these problems by approaching the idea from a "completely new direction." SplitFish’s SensorFX is a low-power force feedback technology which uses no moving parts to produce useful sensory feedback to players from isolated areas of the controller—SplitFish says gamers will be able to feel a distinct difference between, say, a guardrail swipe in a racing game as compared to a full-speed slam into a barrier.
SplitFish says the SensorFX can be integrated into controllers as an embedded feature, or sold as an add-on to existing PS3 controllers (much like the company’s just-introduced MotionFX) by riding the controllers’ USB connector. No word on when the SensorFX technology might hit shelves, but the company says it is "working with video game publishers and next-generation hardware manufacturers" to establish standards for the technology.
