Microsoft and Immersion Continue Partnership

Microsoft and Immersion Corporation have announced that the two are continuing an existing partnership in building force feedback protocols for future versions of Microsoft's DirectX API.

These new protocols, for use in the upcoming DirectX 6.0 and, further down the road, version 7.0, will enhance a developer's ability to implement and use force feedback with computer products.

"By abandoning their proprietary interfaces and working together to establish a common DirectX-based standard for force feedback, Microsoft and Immersion have helped us create a standardized development environment that unleashes the full talents of game developers creating force feedback-enabled games," said Kevin Bachus, product manager for DirectX at Microsoft, in a statement.

"We believe that continued collaboration between the DirectX team, the Microsoft SideWinder hardware team, and the Immersion team will prove far more productive than working separately toward conflicting goals. The continued development of new force feedback devices and force feedback-enabled games is an example of what happens when would-be competitors join together to expand the market for all players."

Louis Rosenberg, president of Immersion, said, "This collaboration between Microsoft and Immersion is the continuation of a history of successful team efforts that resulted in a new generation of DirectX 5.0-compatible force feedback joysticks and steering wheels.... By extending our joint efforts to deliver next-generation force feedback APIs for the upcoming DirectX 6.0 and 7.0 releases, Microsoft and Immersion continue to give game developers the tools they need to energize their games with unprecedented realism, immersiveness, and compatibility."

What's in it for the average gamer? Enhanced force feedback responses as well as a wider support of current and upcoming force feedback products, utilizing Immersion's I-FORCE technology, all arriving in the standard DirectX package.