Since E3 this year when it was revealed that Sony's PS3 controller (now dubbed the Sixaxis in Japan) would not feature any vibration feedback, people have been trying to determine exactly why Sony would remove such a standard feature from its next-gen controller. Most assumed the removal of rumble was due to Sony's having lost a suit to force feedback company Immersion, but Sony maintained that the real reason for no rumble is that the vibration interferes with the pad's new motion sensing capabilities.

Now it would seem that Sony has backed off its interference argument somewhat. Instead the company is calling the decision a "strategic" move, one that is meant to provide the PS3 controller at a reasonable price to consumers. Speaking to Kikizo in a video interview, Sony Computer Entertainment America president Kaz Hirai said, "The issue... is trying to isolate the vibration feature from the motion sensors," he said. "Is it technically feasible? Absolutely. But the balancing act that you need to do, is to be able to present the controller to the consumer at an affordable price."

He continued, "If we have to come up with technology... to isolate the vibration from the sensing, but if that means that the controllers are going to be so expensive, then we're doing the consumer a huge disservice by coming up with a controller that is not very affordable. ... And we felt that ultimately, the vibration feature, which is a feedback feature, as compared to the motion sensing which is an input functionality, when you compare the two, we decided that the input device or methodology is a lot more important than feedback, and that has been a strategic decision that we've made."

Hirai's comments about choosing motion over rumble are similar to those made by SCEA Executive VP Jack Tretton in a recent exclusive interview. "We feel motion sensing technology allows the player to be much more proactively connected to the game, than the passive, reactionary rumble technology," Tretton told us. "Given this design decision, there are no plans to discuss rumble further with Immersion."

The PS3 controllers in Japan were recently priced at 5,000 yen each, or approximately $42. Sony has not yet announced its controller or accessory pricing in North America.