I can look back on the rumble pack now and think "Yeah it wasn't that great, it was just rumble after all" and its certainly something we take for granted now because everyone has it, but when I remember back to my first experience with the rumble pak on Starfox, it was incredible. The vibrations were very strong and made a lot of noise during intense moments in the game. So no, I didn't need it to play the game but it transformed a good game in to a great game.
There's that quote “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away” and I certainly would not have removed rumble from Star Fox if I could help it.
If Sony are going to include that temperature wand as standard on the PS4 then they are going to need one killer game to get it off the ground.
Its going to be interesting to see how Sony compete with Microsoft on the grounds of being an entertainment hub. Only 1 gimmick can sit on top of your TV, either the new Kinect or the new Move.