The positive reception of Sony’s all-new PS5 DualSense controller (including ours) has sparked industry interest in haptics, according to the inventor and licensor of the tech.
During a financial earnings call with investors, Immersion Corp’s Interim CEO Jared Smith mentioned the successful launch of the PS5 back in November of last year and expressed to be very happy with the partnership with Sony. “Haptic is quickly emerging as one of the most innovative technologies for improved user experiences and consumer products and content, as embodied in the Sony PlayStation 5 DualSense controller, which delivers the next level gaming experience”, Smith told investors.
He added, “we're thrilled with the successful launch of the Sony PlayStation 5 and its transformational DualSense controllers. As previously shared Sony Interactive Entertainment is an emergent licensee and the PlayStation 5 DualSense controllers utilize our technology, merging collective royalty from each controller and we expect more than one controller will ship for console overtime to support multiplayer gaming and to replace worn-out controllers.”
As for the revenue gained from the deal with Sony, the CEO said that he expects the DualSense controller to remain very successful in the years ahead. As a matter of fact, the positive market reception of the PS5 DualSense controller has greatly increased interest in haptics across the industry.
“We received our first royalty report and revenue for the PlayStation 5 DualSense controllers in Q4’, Smith said. “It was in line with our expectations and we continue to expect the platform and controller to be very successful in the quarters and years ahead. The positive market reception of the DualSense controller has catalyzed increased market interest in haptics, which we're seeing across the industry, as well as in our customer and partner engagements.”
Further in the conference call, the Interim CEO was asked about the deal that Immersion struck with Sony and how he feels about it now that the PS5 and DualSense controller are available. In his answer, Smith highlighted the potential of the license in combination with the success of Sony’s consoles in the past. “So to answer your question, I'm very happy about the Sony license and the scope and the economics and the potential that's certainly something that I'm feeling very good about”, Smith said. “And Sony has a strong track record with their consoles. And they shipped over a long period of time in high volume. So I'm very excited about that.”
It will be interesting to see whether other controller and peripheral manufacturers will also adopt the tech in the near future.
