Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Rumble Pak
The Rumble Pak (Japanese: 振動パック, Hepburn: Shindō Pakku) is a removable device from Nintendo that provides force feedback while playing video games. Games that support the Rumble Pak cause it to vibrate in select situations, such as when firing a weapon or receiving damage, to immerse the player in the game. Versions of the Rumble Pak are available for the Nintendo 64, the Nintendo DS, and the Nintendo DS Lite. A select few Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance (GBA) games use a similar technology built into the game cartridge. Force feedback vibration has become a built-in standard feature in almost every home video game console controller since.
The original Rumble Pak, designed for the Nintendo 64 controller, was released in April 1997 in Japan, July 1997 in North America, and October 1997 in Europe. It requires two AAA batteries and is inserted into the controller's memory cartridge slot, which prevents simultaneous use of the Controller Pak. This does not significantly affect games that feature on-cartridge save functions, but is a drawback with games that require the Controller Pak to save, as software by default was not designed to support hot swapping Paks, although some games support saving to a Controller Pak in a second controller. Nintendo remedied the situation in later games by offering developers the inclusion of special screens for hot swapping. The Rumble Pak is estimated to provide 50-60 hours of continuous rumbling before the batteries must be replaced.
Originally named "Jolting Pak", it was announced as what IGN called "the biggest surprise" of the 1996 Shoshinkai show. The Rumble Pak was introduced bundled with the game Star Fox 64 (known as Lylat Wars in the PAL region) and made available as a separate purchase two months later. Rumble Pak support soon became a standard for N64 games. Wave Race 64 and Super Mario 64 were re-released in Japan in July 1997 with Rumble Pak support.
Several third party versions of the Rumble Pak, such as the Tremor Pak, followed. Some draw power from the controller instead of batteries, but the lower power makes them less effective. The TremorPak Plus allows a memory card to be inserted simultaneously, eliminating the need to switch between two accessories. The Nyko Hyper Pak Plus contains internal memory and allows the user to adjust the amount of feedback between "hard" and "too hard". Though it does not allow the use of rumble and memory functions simultaneously, users can toggle between the two functions by flipping a switch, instead of having to swap accessories.
Atomic Dawg's review of the Rumble Pak in GamePro described it as "cute, gimmicky - and actually kind of fun." When reviewing Star Fox 64, IGN praised the Rumble Pak, stating that it "adds an unusual burst of arcade ecstasy to the game". Electronic Gaming Monthly commented, "Sure, a vibrating joystick may sound lame - even a little naughty - but trust us: it's cool. The Pak's only drawback is that it slips into your analog stick's memory cartridge port and doesn't offer a through port." The magazine's "review crew" later reviewed the standalone release of the Rumble Pak, giving it an 8.5 out of 10. While Kraig Kujawa and John Ricciardi commented that its usage in games thus far had been as a gimmick rather than an enhancement to the actual gameplay, Kelly Rickards and Sushi-X lauded its usage in games such as GoldenEye 007 and Star Fox 64, and all four of them praised the low retail price of the unit, saying that at worst gamers risk little by purchasing it. At their 1997 Editors' Choice Awards, they named it "Best Peripheral".
IGN's Levi Buchanan wrote an 11th birthday article on the Nintendo 64's Rumble Pak, describing how its influence led to rumble being "an industry standard within a single generation". He said that it is bulky and heavy when attached to the Nintendo 64 controller, but that "the trade-off was actually worth it".
More recently, in TWGNews's "Top 10 Controller Innovations" article, the Rumble Pak is listed as #8, saying "the Rumble Pak added a whole new level of immersion to the fifth generation of video games".
The Rumble Pak for the Nintendo DS is an official DS Option Pak shaped like a Game Boy Advance Game Pak and is designed to be inserted in the system's GBA game slot (SLOT-2). It is the first Nintendo DS accessory to have utilized the slot. In North America, it was first made available bundled with Metroid Prime Pinball, but was later sold through other promotions or as a stand-alone purchase from Nintendo's online store. The accessory was released differently in Europe due to a delay of Metroid Prime Pinball in that region. Various DS games supporting the Rumble Pak (Metroid Prime Hunters, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, and 42 All-Time Classics) had been released in Europe before the accessory was available. The accessory was eventually released as a pack-in with the game Actionloop in the UK.
Hub AI
Rumble Pak AI simulator
(@Rumble Pak_simulator)
Rumble Pak
The Rumble Pak (Japanese: 振動パック, Hepburn: Shindō Pakku) is a removable device from Nintendo that provides force feedback while playing video games. Games that support the Rumble Pak cause it to vibrate in select situations, such as when firing a weapon or receiving damage, to immerse the player in the game. Versions of the Rumble Pak are available for the Nintendo 64, the Nintendo DS, and the Nintendo DS Lite. A select few Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance (GBA) games use a similar technology built into the game cartridge. Force feedback vibration has become a built-in standard feature in almost every home video game console controller since.
The original Rumble Pak, designed for the Nintendo 64 controller, was released in April 1997 in Japan, July 1997 in North America, and October 1997 in Europe. It requires two AAA batteries and is inserted into the controller's memory cartridge slot, which prevents simultaneous use of the Controller Pak. This does not significantly affect games that feature on-cartridge save functions, but is a drawback with games that require the Controller Pak to save, as software by default was not designed to support hot swapping Paks, although some games support saving to a Controller Pak in a second controller. Nintendo remedied the situation in later games by offering developers the inclusion of special screens for hot swapping. The Rumble Pak is estimated to provide 50-60 hours of continuous rumbling before the batteries must be replaced.
Originally named "Jolting Pak", it was announced as what IGN called "the biggest surprise" of the 1996 Shoshinkai show. The Rumble Pak was introduced bundled with the game Star Fox 64 (known as Lylat Wars in the PAL region) and made available as a separate purchase two months later. Rumble Pak support soon became a standard for N64 games. Wave Race 64 and Super Mario 64 were re-released in Japan in July 1997 with Rumble Pak support.
Several third party versions of the Rumble Pak, such as the Tremor Pak, followed. Some draw power from the controller instead of batteries, but the lower power makes them less effective. The TremorPak Plus allows a memory card to be inserted simultaneously, eliminating the need to switch between two accessories. The Nyko Hyper Pak Plus contains internal memory and allows the user to adjust the amount of feedback between "hard" and "too hard". Though it does not allow the use of rumble and memory functions simultaneously, users can toggle between the two functions by flipping a switch, instead of having to swap accessories.
Atomic Dawg's review of the Rumble Pak in GamePro described it as "cute, gimmicky - and actually kind of fun." When reviewing Star Fox 64, IGN praised the Rumble Pak, stating that it "adds an unusual burst of arcade ecstasy to the game". Electronic Gaming Monthly commented, "Sure, a vibrating joystick may sound lame - even a little naughty - but trust us: it's cool. The Pak's only drawback is that it slips into your analog stick's memory cartridge port and doesn't offer a through port." The magazine's "review crew" later reviewed the standalone release of the Rumble Pak, giving it an 8.5 out of 10. While Kraig Kujawa and John Ricciardi commented that its usage in games thus far had been as a gimmick rather than an enhancement to the actual gameplay, Kelly Rickards and Sushi-X lauded its usage in games such as GoldenEye 007 and Star Fox 64, and all four of them praised the low retail price of the unit, saying that at worst gamers risk little by purchasing it. At their 1997 Editors' Choice Awards, they named it "Best Peripheral".
IGN's Levi Buchanan wrote an 11th birthday article on the Nintendo 64's Rumble Pak, describing how its influence led to rumble being "an industry standard within a single generation". He said that it is bulky and heavy when attached to the Nintendo 64 controller, but that "the trade-off was actually worth it".
More recently, in TWGNews's "Top 10 Controller Innovations" article, the Rumble Pak is listed as #8, saying "the Rumble Pak added a whole new level of immersion to the fifth generation of video games".
The Rumble Pak for the Nintendo DS is an official DS Option Pak shaped like a Game Boy Advance Game Pak and is designed to be inserted in the system's GBA game slot (SLOT-2). It is the first Nintendo DS accessory to have utilized the slot. In North America, it was first made available bundled with Metroid Prime Pinball, but was later sold through other promotions or as a stand-alone purchase from Nintendo's online store. The accessory was released differently in Europe due to a delay of Metroid Prime Pinball in that region. Various DS games supporting the Rumble Pak (Metroid Prime Hunters, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, and 42 All-Time Classics) had been released in Europe before the accessory was available. The accessory was eventually released as a pack-in with the game Actionloop in the UK.