I went to my local "Real Canadian Superstore (I probably get half of the games I own from there)" a couple minutes ago to pick up a Wavebird.

Most of my friends have one, everybody seems to love them and they're only 30 bucks, so I thought I'd just grab one for myself.  I got home and before I popped it open, I read the back description.  I was stunned.  No vibration.  All I could think of was "why the hell not?!"  Honestly, I cannot imagine playing a game that has rumble functionality and not being able to utilize it.  Imagine playing Shadow of the Colossus without vibration?  Sure, it would still be a great game, but it would be like buying a beautiful HDTV and not buying the right cables to make your games look as good as they can possibly get.

This got me thinking about one of the many revelations that bothered me when I watched Sony's E3 press conference earlier this year.  The Xbox 360 has a great wireless controller with rumble built in, so will the Wii.  So why can't Sony, a company whose last controller's claim to fame was built in rumble, build a controller that is a step up as opposed to the major step down they have created?  I keep holding out hope that they'll fix this problem, only time will tell.

Needless to say, I'm going to go return the Wavebird tonight.  But I would love to know what you all think about vibration in video games?  Is it necessary, or just a gimmick?  Let me know!