Immersion Corporation has finally responded to Microsoft's new lawsuit concerning the rumble maker's settlement with Sony. If you missed our last report, the whole fiasco involves Microsoft' claiming that Immersion owe them part of the settlement fee the latter got from Sony.

Now Immersion is saying that Microsft has already received its share. It was reported that Sony paid Immersion around US$ 150 million. However, things get tricky if you've read Immersion's official filing with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A part of that said filing reads,

Our net income was US$ 122.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2007... The increase in net income was primarily due to the litigation conclusion and patent license from Sony Computer Entertainment of US$ 119.9 million and the extinguishment of the liability to Microsoft of US$ 15.0 million.

As you've read, the money that was given to Immersion is being classified under "litigation conclusion and patent license." One can easily assume that these words translate to settlement but you all know how litigations go - everything depends on the interpretation of documents.

We are not entirely sure if Microsoft sued immersion because its lawyers interpreted this differently, meaning there's more money behind these. However, the father of rumble technology is keeping firm with its earlier stand saying,

Immersion believes that it is not obligated under the sublicense agreement with Microsoft to make any payment to Microsoft relating to the conclusion of its litigation with Sony Computer Entertainment. Immersion intends to defend this lawsuit vigorously.

Quite interestingly, the settlement between Sony and Immersion Corporation regarding controllers' rumble feature somehow concerns Microsoft. Last Monday, big MS just sued Immersion for contract breach.

We imagine you now asking, "What kind of breach?" and more importantly, "What contract are we talking about?" If you still remember, Immersion Corporation originally filed a lawsuit against the two companies back in 2002.

The case with Sony was eventually settled and with a hefty price tag if we may add. The two even reached a new agreement still concerning the much-talked about rumble for the SIXAXIS.

Now, Microsoft had this clause that requires Immersion to pay them based on "certain business and IP licensing arrangements" in the event that the rumble maker and Sony will settle. This is now where the problem lies because Microsft claims that Immersion hasn't lived up to the said terms. Microsoft Associate General Counsel Steve Aeschbacher said,

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.

It's really intriguing how this will affect the on-going console war between Sony and Microsoft. How about you, what do you think?

We're hearing more and more about Tom Clancy's EndWar with each passing day. A couple of days ago, we learned that the title will have full support for voice-activation which is good news since consoles don't mix well with RTS games in general.

During Ubidays 07, a new trailer video was shown with complete commentary from the devs themselves. Today, Ubisoft Creative Director Michael de Plater said that the video game will be publicly beta-tested later this year (around November). Plater said,

We really believe that as soon as anyone can get their hands on the controls and experience it, it'll be something new and it's a level of immersion and realism and accessibility that's never really been in a strategy game. We're really focusing on getting our beta-test out for November.

Aside from this, the creative director also hinted that the World War III scenario for EndWar is a fertile ground for sequels. Currently, EndWar is scheduled to appear both on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 but no concrete release dates have been finalized yet.

About expanding the EndWar franchise, Plater had this to say, "As you can see from looking at World War II [games], World War III is something that can be big enough to be explored from loads of different directions, loads of different theatres, genres - we really see this as the beginning of that."

Business and consumer computer solutions provider Hewlett-Packard, graphics industry contender NVIDIA, Microsoft's PC advocate Games for Windows initiative and even broadband game publisher Trion World Network released a whoosh of hostile air against the next-gen consoles.

They were probably outraged as many other hardcore PC fans were at the 2007 Game Developers Conference's "PC Gaming in an Age of Connected Consoles" panel discussion. Instead, the PC industry leaders formed their own panel, bringing in Microsoft's Games for Windows initiative's boss Rich Wickham and Trion World Network's founder Lars Butler, among other representatives of leading PC industry entities.

Lars was also quick to comment, "I believe the days of the console are numbered. There is one more generation of gaming consoles and that is it."

Backing Butler, NVIDIA's VP Roy Taylor upped the PC's ante by stating, "Our advantage as developers is we know what is coming. And what is coming is far ahead of the console. You will see a huge difference between what you can get on a PC and a console."

In line with this, Hewlett-Packard plans to enter the hardcore gaming market by rolling out a new line of gaming-related hardware, possibly even hobbyist PCs, within the year. It's even claimed that they plan to even provide a curved computer monitor for not only widescreen effect, but for full FPS immersion.

Whether or not the PC industry giants can deliver, we cannot tell, but with PC enthusiasts who know exactly how to make full use of their PC's power and console piracy looming over the horizon, consoles may never be able to say "the PC is dead" ever again.

The upcoming London Games Festival gives more focus on game design- tackling its cultural and creative dimensions. As such, one whole day of symposium and lively debate will be dedicated for its discussion. General topics include the game design's craft, its discipline, as well as current and future possibilities.

Dubbed as Sense of Play, the conference does hold relevant weight as key players in the industry were invited over. Patrick O'Luanaigh (nDreams, former Creative Director at Eidos/SC) discusses ways on how to improve storytelling in games. He had actually started on this topic during the past Leipzig Games Convention. O'Luanaigh shares, "We’ll be exploring what it means to be a games designer, looking at where interactive storytelling is going, and how the industry is trying new ways to create deeper levels of emotion and immersion."

Furthermore, Charles Cecil (Revolution Software) confronts the so-called "content crisis" that is currently bothering the games development and publishing communities. Finally, projects within and beyond the broadcast realm will be handled by Rob Cooper (Interactive Drama & Entertainment, BBC).

Co-sponsor University College for the Creative Arts invites everyone to this free symposium. Sense of Play takes place at London's Soho Theater and will run from 9.30am – 5.30pm. Interested parties need to pre-register by going to the official website which is where you'll be when you click the link.

Eden Studios has generously presented Alone in the Dark's demo with a few more words concerning the gameplay. Even though this survival-horror game (no, Eden Studios says it's called action-driven suspense) is expected to ship for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 sometime in 2007, there's a lot of preview details that makes us anticipate its release. Some of these are about weapons, cars, visual effects, mysterious action locations, and the retailing of the game itself.

One key feature of the survival horror game is the weapon system. Players can choose their guns and items from Edward Carnby's left and right pockets. They can easily be accessed and tucked away again. Then, player immersion can go a long way down to the use of cars. Moving the analog stick allows players to position themselves from the driver's seat to the backseat or act as triggermen.

Camera angles and visual effects allow players to get a real taste of action. These are evident on the motion blur, dense lighting, and depth of field. But the real suspense lies in the fact that all the action happens in New York's Central Park. Unbeknownst to many, this might just answer some of the mysteries lurking in the conspiracy theories that add suspense to the game.

No word on pricing yet, but there's a possibility that you can buy Alone in the Dark per episode as you would a regular TV series. Eden Studios says it's much like buying a whole or part of a TV season on the Internet or in stores. More details about this game will soon come out, and expect us here at QJ to give you the latest updates.

The game CellFactor, in which you play a soldier called Dante Aligheiri who has command over a small tactical unit called G.U.A.R.D., underwent a tiny change of title. The game will be called CellFactor: Revolution starting today. Aside from this name change developer Immersion Software & Graphics also released 4 new screenshots today.

CellFactor: Revolution, known for its use of the alleged revolutionary AGEIA PhysX chip, is planned for release in the end of this year for Xbox 360 and PC. We've got you covered with more information as it's released.

 

Anascape Ltd. has just recently claimed that Nintendo and Microsoft have both infringed on their patents for various controller designs. The thing is, it is not just for one supposed infringement, but 12 different ones! We've come up with a list that's a little on the techy side, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem:

Patent #5,999,084 "Variable Conductance Sensor"
           #6,102,802 "Game Controller with Analog Pressure Sensor"
           #6,135,886, "Variable Conductance Sensor with Elastomeric Dome Cap"
           #6,208,271 "Remote Controller with Analog Button"
           #6,222,525 "Image Controller with Sheet Connected Sensors"
           #6,343, 991 "Game Control with Analog Pressure Sensor"
           #6,344,791 "Variable Sensor with Tactile Feedback"
           #6,347,997 "Analog Controls Housed with Electronic Displays"
           #6,351,205 "Variable Conductance Sensor" (A different patent)
           #6,400, 303 "Remote Controller with Analog Pressure Sensor" (A different patent)
           #6,563,415 "Analog Sensor with Snap Through Tactile Feedback"
           #6,906,700 "3D Controller with Vibration"

After Immersion cashed in on the case against Sony on their infringments on 8 different patents, netting over $90 Million, another lawfirm is following suit, though this time it is not against Sony.  It looks like after the success of Immersion's lawsuit, others are looking to make a quick buck the same way.  It seems that the video game industry has now become so competitive some companies have to go to court instead of just making something better to offer the consumer - at least that's how it's looking these days, more and more.

You can download the official document from Anascape Ltd. [here].