It might not amount to much more than a patent license, but you'd be the one to ask. Immersion has history of litigation against console makers using rumble and were the reason ps3 launched without it.
Patents and trademarks aren't really related. I don't know if "HD Rumble" has been officially trademarked, but regardless, if Nintendo and Immersion have indeed entered into some sort of partnership for this technology (which appears to obviously be the case, whether for HD Rumble
and touchscreen haptics is what's currently unknown) then there's no reason they couldn't use Nintendo's terminology. As KingSnake pointed out on the last page it could simply be that they want to push it as their own tech, rather than marry it to a Nintendo device. But I still think it's odd they they haven't at all specified that their "touchsense" tech is being used for the Switch's HD Rumble, even though they've stated that it is used in the Switch itself.
I mean, this might literally be nothing more than Nintendo licenced this for their future mobile games and itsfuckingnothing.gif, but press releases for cross licencing of technologies are usually incredibly specific with regards to corporate branding, and it would be very unusual for Nintendo and TouchSense to be using differen terms for the same technology
e:
Thats still a very strange way to describe interaction with a controller.
Nobody is claiming the PS4 / X1 are "touch controlled".
I agree overall with your point but the press release explicitly says this technology is used in the Nintendo Switch. In which area, or for which function who knows?
Is really hard to look for facts among all the trolls
So, does it uses this touch tech or not?
We really don't know at this point. Here are the facts as I understand them:
- Switch Joycons (and pro controller) have HD Rumble, licensed by Immersion
- Immersion sent out a press release discussing their partnership with Nintendo to bring their "touchsense" technology but doesn't specify whether it's for the touchscreen or the HD rumble.
- Some reports have surfaced that the Switch tablet includes rumble actuators, but we have no confirmation.
- Nintendo officially confirmed that the Switch has a capacitative touch screen but for some reason have shown zero applications which use it, even in the console UI.
So basically we're at the wait and see stage here. Anyone saying that this is confirmed either way definitively is jumping the gun.