I\'m convinced rumble is important to gaming. Scratch that: essential. I\'ve been convinced since Metal Gear Solid first launched for the PlayStation. I am so convinced that I wrote off Sony\'s PlayStation 3 since launch because it missed this feature. I opted for the rumble-lush 360 for my personal machine of choice. That reasoning, as you likely know, won\'t be holding up much longer.

Not if Sony knows what\'s best for it. And not if they want to stay competitive with the Xbox 360 and the Wii. The principled explanation for believing this rumor to be true (and I\'ll eat my shoe if it\'s not) is to give gamers what they want. They want motion sensing controllers, sure, but they want the rumble technology made by peripheral developer Immersion as well. We\'re tough to please.

From Pro-G:

While the news of rumble support isn\'t necessarily Earth shattering - Sony and Immersion both kissed, made up, and partnered earlier this year after all - it\'s the timing in which this news broke that has us excited.

We, as well as many other gamers, share your excitement.

Sony needs to repair its image. Many gamers fear that they\'re falling out of synch with the gaming community. Sure, there\'s the stunning Little Big Planet, Haze (which just went exclusive), and Metal Gear: Guns of Patriots on the horizon, but \"in the now\" Sony is failing to show they\'re with us. You\'re with us, right Sony? So prove it.

Well, come September 20, when TGS begins, we\'ll know. The next year will be make-or-break for Sony. Gamers have been waiting for a while for squashed promises and half-fulfilled promises. What next?

If Sony repairs its image by including rumble, many gamers will jump on board. It\'s not the system\'s fault, but poor executive decisions were made and that\'s why Sony lost it\'s CEO. That\'s not speculation or fanboyism (is that an \"ism?\"), that\'s fact. In Japan, should a CEO lose face (either for himself or as the head of the company) he will step down. It\'s not Kutaragi\'s fault alone that the PS3 has been losing ground to Wii in Japan and Xbox 360 in the US. He took the blame, the company\'s bad decisions, the PS3\'s faltering first year and went home.

The future of the console is still bright. I, personally, have nothing against Sony, and would love to see the PS3 fighting valiantly on the digital video-game battlefield. Right now, it\'s a grease spot in sniper alley hoping a medic comes along soon.

Will the rumble feature really matter that much? I\'m betting it will. Hardcore gamers will be elated, while casual gamers will care less. But Sony really screws the early adopters with this move. \"Oops,\" says Sony. \"We made a mistake, anyone got a time machine?\" Although I assume Microsoft said something similar with their console hardships. Let it be known, Sony and Microsoft aren\'t \"in the same boat\", hell, they aren\'t even floating together on the same ocean. Microsoft has sprung a leak, and hemorrhages water while pailing to stay afloat. Sony brought brought the wrong goddamn paddle altogether.

The question remains, is there time to head back to shore and swap paddles? It might help in the long run. Microsoft might be catching drag, but their paddles are pretty fucking big and they\'re still ahead. If Sony returns now, the only thing they might be able to say is, \"Hey, at least we\'re dry!\"