Wireless vs. rumble

[mezrabad]

Looking for a general "feeling" here.

I really like the rumble feedback feature from most games, but for my Gamecube (which I play most often) it's just too easy to grab a Wavebird and lounge. So, I'd say that puts me squarely in the Wireless camp. It's not that I don't *like* the rumble feature, it's just that I always seem to choose wireless if it is available.

If you have a definite preference, what is it?

Oh, and for the gray-area people who like to profess their neutrality by insisting that they couldn't care one way or another I left a choice for them, too.

[joshnickerson]

Wireless, baby. I like rumble in some games, but I've had my Wavebird for several years now and I haven't even missed the shock treatment.

Side note, don't leave batteries in your N64's rumble pak for a long time. I just opened the battery hatch in one of mine and got greeted by a nice cluster of corroded acid. @_@

[it290]

Logitech wireless PS2 controllers combine the best of both worlds. ;)

[Habeeb Hamusta]

I really don't get much out of a vibrating controller. It doesn't enhance my game-play at all. In fact, in some games, it distacts me. I'd much rather have a wireless controller, damn it would make things so much more easy. :/

[Richter]

wireless, i hardly ever notice the rumbling

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I literally just this week got my first wireless controller (Santa brought me a Wavebird!), but even before that I had a tendency to disable the vibration feature in any games I played that featured it. I found it more annoying than anything - woooo, something just hit me and it tickled my hand! :roll: I guess I've never really gotten the point. :P

[Algol]

They both always felt a little gimmicky to me. Wireless is all right, but I don't really want to pay $30 for another controller. Rumble was pretty neat when it first came out, but now its just meh.

[mezrabad]

I found it more annoying than anything - woooo, something just hit me and it tickled my hand! :roll: I guess I've never really gotten the point. :P

LOL, I guess I never thought of it that way, but it explains why sometimes I like it and sometimes don't. I can't say I disagree with you on this in general. Getting hit in the head and feeling the vibe in the hand doesn't work for me. However, I do like it when it is used to indicate vibration in something my "character" is holding, like a steering wheel, when my weapon fires or when I hit something (with my hand).

I did like how it was used in "Fatal Frame" for your heartbeat and, I think, footsteps, even though that doesn't directly relate to what the character's hands may have felt, I feel that it worked in this instance. It also seems to work okay in a general vibration situation, like earthquakes, thunder, explosions -- anything to indicate that you're feeling the vibration of something moving nearby. Although, to really do the trick there should be a vibrating pad to sit on and vibrating insoles to make it feel like you're house is trembling (via your butt and feet).

Has vibration ever been used as a gameplay element vs. used as an "enhancer"? By this I mean in any game were you missing something about the game (other than vibration) that you couldn't get if you had vibration turned off? I know the PC game "Black & White" had something that only worked for people who had force feedback mice. Anything similar in the console world?

[Leo_A]

I don't like either.

[Cryomancer]

I wanna say there's a Dreamcast game that uses vibration as a sense to find hidden stuff or something but I can't remember now.

I DO remember awesome uses of VMUs though...man I wish the current gen stuff would have something similar. GBA connectivity is pretty close though, having an SP set up in front of the bottom of your screen is pretty cool in Command Mission.

[jdc]

Yep, yep, yep!!! There is a game that needs it.

If you play Ocarina Of Time without a rumble pack you CAN'T get a 100% complete save file. There are secret holes all over the game world that can only be discovered with the pack. You can't read about where they are and just go and dig....they won't "be" there.

Rumble features have generally been a distraction for me, so I turn them off unless it's a game like Ocarina where you MUST have it. I also have arthritis in my hands and the rumble can get painful. That's what I get for years of mountain biking in sub-zero temperature. :D

As far as wireless....I've never tried a Wavebird since my gameroom is very small, but I've noticed tons of used ones going cheap. Maybe I'll pick one up.

[Ernster]

Rumble was AWESOME back in the N64 era, it was really something new and exiting. Now it's nothing special, but I guess is nice to have. As for wireless controllers, I really dont care about them, Ive never used one, but the main turn off is the batteries. I think having longer cords is better than spending money on batteries. However Im sure the next consoles will be wireless, well the N5 may be, I just have a hunch.

[ddockery]

Spend $20 for a good charger and rechargables, and the battery expense disappears If you gte good ones, they don't run out of juice all that quickly either.

[josekortez]

Rumble can get annoying, especially in games where an earthquake is taking place like Dark Cloud 2. x_x

[K3V]

Wireless all the way. I usually even disable the rumble on my PS2 Logitech wireless since I don't miss it at all and it helps conserve battery power.