Hirai defends PS3 pad
Didn't want to overcharge you.
Sony chose not to include force feedback in its PlayStation 3 controller because it was worried how much it would have to charge for the resultant product.
That's according to SCEA boss Kaz Hirai, who told UK games website Kikizo that the decision not to include rumble features in addition to motion-sensing was a strategic, not a technical one.
"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."
Despite facing a backlash at E3, Hirai reckons that the extra cost involved in putting both in the same pad would have been "doing the consumer a huge disservice". You can make your own jokes about PlayStation 3 pricing here if you like.
Individual PS3 controllers, named "Sixaxis", will be sold for 5,000 yen in Japan, which is about 22 Hermajestycoins or 33 Euran-out-of-funny-ones-yesterdays.