I don't think it's coincidence that the last Sidewinder product was released in August 2001 and the Xbox launched on November 2001, as Microsoft shifted its focus to more profitable products. Very few games supported it though, and it's rumored (though unsubstantiated) that FFB was a pet project for Bill Gates and it was sold at a loss for Microsoft.
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Microsoft was the primary driver of the technology they were the ones who created the first FFB device and added support for it in their DirectInput API.
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In total there were only 3 4 force feedback joysticks produced, the Microsoft Force Feedback Pro and Force Feedback 2 (basically the game port and USB version of the same stick), the Saitek Evo Force (which faded into obscurity), and the Logitech G940 (edit: thanks to /u/bitter_cynical_angry for pointing out that there was also the Logitech Force 3D Pro). Third, people act as if there was a huge market for force feedback devices until Immersion Corp came along and killed it, but in actuality it was niche back then just as it is now. In other words, I don't believe the patent troll claim holds any water, and the actual issue is that no joystick company has bothered to give them a serious proposal for licensing. Based on this, my conclusion is that the licensing costs are not exorbitant and, like other companies that licenses out their tech, the cost is dependent on the licensee, its product and price point, and projected sales. I've also looked through Immersion Corp's Facebook page where they list some of their other licensees, and although most are what you'd expect, like car manufacturers and appliance makers, there are also some "out there" ones, like a company making a backpack that translates music into vibrations and an app with haptic feedback stickers. IFeelPixel™ uses the TouchSense Technology and the VibeTonz Technology iFeelPixel is a program that costs 10 EUR and uses Immersion Corp's TouchSense technology: I-FORCE™ Force Feedback Technology Licensed from Immersion Corporation.Īnd when it released in 2009, it cost $299 ($358 in 2019 dollars) for a joystick, throttle, and pedals. The Logitech G940 specifically mentions that they've licensed technology from Immersion Corp: Unfortunately, companies usually don't share which patents they've licensed, and even if they do, they won't reveal the cost, so it's impossible to get any concrete numbers. People will throw out numbers like $1K or $10K for the licensing cost, but I haven't been able to find any sources for these figures, so I'm pretty sure they're just made up. They don't have any end user products that they make themselves, so their entire business is dependent on being able to find licensees to work with.
Second, Immersion Corp's business model is licensing out haptic feedback-related technology and creating tools for integrating haptic feedback into various products. I've actually done some pretty extensive research into this and my conclusion is that it's a number of factors.įirst off, Immersion Corporation has over a thousand patents, mostly related to haptic feedback (of which force feedback is a sub-category of) and with a lot of overlap between them:Īlthough it's true that a number of patents did expire mid last year, there's also hundreds more that could cover the same thing, so without consulting a patent lawyer, it's hard to say if all the relevant patents have expired. Every time this question comes up, you'll get a multitude of people saying little more than "patent troll" and getting a ton of upvotes.
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