Sony ordered to stop selling PSX and PS2 controllers??
03-27-05, 10:31 AM
#1
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
Sony ordered to stop selling PSX and PS2 controllers??
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content...at=3&id=332037
Did this come out of nowhere, or have I just not heard anything about this?
LOS ANGELES — The U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, has ordered Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and its U.S. unit to pay $90.7 million in damages to Immersion Corp. for patent infringement over controllers used with PlayStation game consoles.
In the ruling handed down Thursday, the federal court also ordered Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Entertainment America Inc. to stop selling the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 game consoles using Dualshock controllers as well as more than 40 game software products. (Kyodo News)
In the ruling handed down Thursday, the federal court also ordered Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Entertainment America Inc. to stop selling the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 game consoles using Dualshock controllers as well as more than 40 game software products. (Kyodo News)
03-27-05, 10:37 AM
#2
DVD Talk Godfather
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Gateway Cities/Harbor Region
Posts: 63,261
Received 1,793 Likes
on
1,121 Posts
Why just Sony? Aren't all the "shock" controllers the same basic design? I think I saw a comment from a reader saying Microsoft got nailed too. But many companies make "shock" controllers now. 
03-27-05, 08:45 PM
#5
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Join Date: Feb 2001
Posts: 3,189
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Games list...
http://www.pspondering.com/
More Bad News for Sony
While people speculate that sales of the PSP has been soft, today brings more bad news for Sony & the Playstation. A U.S. District Court in Oakland, California has ordered Sony to stop selling the Dual Shock controller and 40+ games that use it's vibration technology.
So can you still buy a PS2 today? Yes, word is the order has been stayed. Someone has posted the staying order here. The court's web server seems to be having trouble .
While people speculate that sales of the PSP has been soft, today brings more bad news for Sony & the Playstation. A U.S. District Court in Oakland, California has ordered Sony to stop selling the Dual Shock controller and 40+ games that use it's vibration technology.
So can you still buy a PS2 today? Yes, word is the order has been stayed. Someone has posted the staying order here. The court's web server seems to be having trouble .
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: 3/24/05
CLAUDIA WILKEN
United States District Judge
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
IMMERSION CORPORATION, Plaintiff, v. SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA, INC., SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT, INC., and MICROSOFT CORPORATION,
Defendants.
No. C 02-0710 CW
ORDER ENTERING PERMANENT INJUNCTION AND GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO STAY INJUNCTION PENDING APPEAL
For the reasons set forth in its January 10, 2005 Order, and having entered judgment in favor of Plaintiff Immersion Corp. (Immersion), the Court hereby PERMANENTLY ENJOINS Defendants Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc., (SCEA) and Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc., (SCEI) (collectively Sony) from manufacturing, using, and/or selling in, or importing into, the United States the infringing Sony Playstation system, including its Playstation consoles, Dualshock controllers, and those games found by the jury to infringe. [FN1: The jury found that the following games, in conjunction with the Playstation consoles and Dualshock controllers, infringed either the '213 patent, the '333 patent or both patents: A Bug's Life; Amplitude; Ape Escape; Atlantis: The Lost Empire; Bloody Roar 2; Cool Boarders 3; Cool Boarders 4; Cool Boarders 2001; Crash Bash; Crash Team Racing; Drakan: The Ancients' Gate; Emperor's New Groove; Extermination; FantaVision; Final Fantasy X; Formula One 2001; The Getaway; Gran Turismo; Gran Turismo 2; Gran Turismo 3; Grand Theft Auto: Vice City; Grand Theft Auto 3; Grind Session; ICO; Jak & Daxter; Kinetica; Kingdom Hearts; Legend of the Dragoon; The Mark of Kri; Medal of Honor Frontline; Medievil 2; Metal Gear Solid 2; Monster's, Inc.; Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racoonus; SOCOM Navy Seals; Speed Punks; Spyro: Ripto's Rage; Spyro: Year of the Dragon; Stuart Little 2; Syphon Filter 2; Syphon Filter 3; Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3; Twisted Metal: Black; Twisted Metal 4; Twisted Metal: Small Brawl; Treasure Planet; and War of the Monsters.] As described in the January 10 Order, no recall is required of products already sold, but Sony will pay a license fee on all products already placed in the stream.
Dated: 3/24/05
CLAUDIA WILKEN
United States District Judge
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
IMMERSION CORPORATION, Plaintiff, v. SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA, INC., SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT, INC., and MICROSOFT CORPORATION,
Defendants.
No. C 02-0710 CW
ORDER ENTERING PERMANENT INJUNCTION AND GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO STAY INJUNCTION PENDING APPEAL
For the reasons set forth in its January 10, 2005 Order, and having entered judgment in favor of Plaintiff Immersion Corp. (Immersion), the Court hereby PERMANENTLY ENJOINS Defendants Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc., (SCEA) and Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc., (SCEI) (collectively Sony) from manufacturing, using, and/or selling in, or importing into, the United States the infringing Sony Playstation system, including its Playstation consoles, Dualshock controllers, and those games found by the jury to infringe. [FN1: The jury found that the following games, in conjunction with the Playstation consoles and Dualshock controllers, infringed either the '213 patent, the '333 patent or both patents: A Bug's Life; Amplitude; Ape Escape; Atlantis: The Lost Empire; Bloody Roar 2; Cool Boarders 3; Cool Boarders 4; Cool Boarders 2001; Crash Bash; Crash Team Racing; Drakan: The Ancients' Gate; Emperor's New Groove; Extermination; FantaVision; Final Fantasy X; Formula One 2001; The Getaway; Gran Turismo; Gran Turismo 2; Gran Turismo 3; Grand Theft Auto: Vice City; Grand Theft Auto 3; Grind Session; ICO; Jak & Daxter; Kinetica; Kingdom Hearts; Legend of the Dragoon; The Mark of Kri; Medal of Honor Frontline; Medievil 2; Metal Gear Solid 2; Monster's, Inc.; Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racoonus; SOCOM Navy Seals; Speed Punks; Spyro: Ripto's Rage; Spyro: Year of the Dragon; Stuart Little 2; Syphon Filter 2; Syphon Filter 3; Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3; Twisted Metal: Black; Twisted Metal 4; Twisted Metal: Small Brawl; Treasure Planet; and War of the Monsters.] As described in the January 10 Order, no recall is required of products already sold, but Sony will pay a license fee on all products already placed in the stream.
Last edited by jeffdsmith; 03-27-05 at 08:47 PM.
03-27-05, 08:49 PM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 881
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by JoCo
I thought I read some where that Microsoft bought the company or somethinh.
That's alot of PS2 sales $ going to the darkside.
03-27-05, 08:56 PM
#7
DVD Talk Legend
MS didn't buy them, but I believe they agreed to pay the licensing fee for the technology. I think Nintendo must have developed their vibration controller differently because they were not part of the lawsuit.
So I'm guessing now would be a good time to get an extra Dual Shock 2.
So I'm guessing now would be a good time to get an extra Dual Shock 2.
03-27-05, 09:01 PM
#8
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Join Date: Feb 2001
Posts: 3,189
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by darkside
MS didn't buy them, but I believe they agreed to pay the licensing fee for the technology. I think Nintendo must have developed their vibration controller differently because they were not part of the lawsuit.
So I'm guessing now would be a good time to get an extra Dual Shock 2.
So I'm guessing now would be a good time to get an extra Dual Shock 2.
I believe Nintendo paid for it up front years ago when they released the Rumble pack for N64. I recall reading about Nintendo paying for the rumble pack. Sony then countered releasing their dual shock controller obviously not doing their homework. MS had the same mistake.
03-27-05, 09:48 PM
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 729
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by ChrisHicks
so what does this mean when all stock dries up and you need a new controller?
I imagine they'll be sold on ebay for years to come brand new so no worries there.
03-28-05, 03:50 AM
#11
DVD Talk Legend
Better start ebaying your controllers as OOP. Bet you can make a killing now. 
03-28-05, 07:47 AM
#12
Cool New Member
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Funny, yes, but not far from the truth. While I would think that Sony would cough up the required $ in order to make this go away, you never know. So if anyone wants any of the stuff connected with this, it might be a good idea to grab it now, before the Ebay speculators vacuum every bit of stock off of shelves.
More interestingly, what could this mean for upcoming games that might use this technology . . .?
More interestingly, what could this mean for upcoming games that might use this technology . . .?
03-28-05, 08:40 AM
#13
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: Osaka, Japan
Posts: 2,493
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I don't get the 40 plus games bit. I mean aren't there hundreds of ps1/ps2 games that use the functionality in some way? Or was the newspaper article just being oddly conservative. Is there some special way that the dual shock is used in a game that violates the patent..
03-28-05, 11:19 AM
#14
DVD Talk Hero
Is it the controllers that are the problem or the games that utilize these features? If it's the former, aren't Madcatz, Logitech, etc. liable as well? If it's the latter aren't game companies liable? Really, how can you patent something like this anyway?
I'm surprised someone didn't patent the D-pad or analog stick, or trigger buttons.
I'm surprised someone didn't patent the D-pad or analog stick, or trigger buttons.
03-28-05, 11:31 AM
#16
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Virginia Beach, VA USA
Posts: 3,583
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think Nintendo did patent the '+' Dpad, which is why other consoles have similar, but different pads (PS has separate arrow buttons, Xbox and Genesis have a circle)
D
D
03-28-05, 03:14 PM
#17
DVD Talk Hero
So no controller or games that use the function? Does this mean alot of games I'm waiting for a price drop will go OOP?
03-28-05, 03:27 PM
#18
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by RocShemp
So no controller or games that use the function? Does this mean alot of games I'm waiting for a price drop will go OOP?
03-28-05, 03:27 PM
#19
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by azeledge
fyi, if you look at a lot of the 3rd party controllers, a lot of them have the Immersion Techonolgy symbol on them. So it looks like they paid for the license.
03-28-05, 03:42 PM
#20
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by PixyJunket
Doubtful.. although I'm sure we'll see plenty of "eXXXtreme BANNED PS2 controller!! L@@K!" auctions on eBay soon enough.
03-28-05, 04:10 PM
#23
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Michael Ballack
I was about to trade my PS2 in to either EB or gamestop, do you think they'll take it now? If I only did this last week. damn it.
03-28-05, 04:19 PM
#24
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Chicago
Posts: 3,777
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
How much could I make off of it on Ebay? It works fine, came with 2 controllers, the only defect it has is that one of the front top corners chipped off. It's not noticeable from medium to far away. Should I sell it with some of the games I have like the grand theft auto series or sell the games seperately? I've bought things before on ebay, but I guess I'm a little scared to sell something. Any tips or wisdom I'd greatly appreciate.
03-28-05, 04:59 PM
#25
DVD Talk Legend
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: The Janitor's closet in Kinnick Stadium
Posts: 15,725
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
Originally Posted by Michael Ballack
I was about to trade my PS2 in to either EB or gamestop, do you think they'll take it now? If I only did this last week. damn it.
I'll give you $40 for it. That's way more than they would give you.
I sold my PS2 (which I am regretting) and 4 shitty games for $180. So there are dumb enough people out there that you will probably sell yours for a good amount.
