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Aussie Dualshock 3 Release Date Announced - PS3

16th April 2008, 6:03pm
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So after Sony completely bones the original SIXAXIS controller for the PS3 by dropping the rumble support, we figured it was only time (and the settlement of a lawsuit, no less) until a controller revision was announced. Now, finally, the Dualshock 3 is getting a release in Australia.

Boy, I bet you PS3 owners would like one of those, wouldn't you? Sony has announced that they'll be here on the 24th of April. How much? Only $99.95.

I bet you'll feel great getting 5 cents change from a hundred dollar note for one controller.


Latest Reader Comments:
Julz
Posted by Julz 19/04/2008 10:53am
the only people who are pwned are the ones who pay RRP kthxbi


True, but who said I was going to pay RRP?

Oh, and the Wii prices were taken from online stores so they may be less than RRP.
Posted by nuttyson 19/04/2008 10:46am
the only people who are pwned are the ones who pay RRP kthxbi
Julz
Posted by Julz 19/04/2008 10:36am
I think my last sentance needs rewording. I like the 360 controller a lot as my left thumb can comfortably move from the D-pad to the joystick. It still took me a while to get used to it though from the sticks on the PS controller. I actually just picked up both the PS3 and 360 controller now and I find both to be comfortable. I can use the PS3 controller better, but that might just be due to more years experience.


Considering how much the controllers cost for the Wii  and 360 it's not bad.

Now if you take into account that the PS3 controllers come with a long-life rechargeable battery then it's not that expensive.

Okay, so the Wiimote costs $60. But you need to fuel this thing on AA batteries. This can easily cost you a lot of money. Or, you can buy a rechargeable battery kit at $30. That takes the price up to $75-$90 a Wiimote, depending on the brand you get (and you can't charge and play). Now if we add the Nun-chuck... that's another $30, so to be able to play all games on the Wii you will end up forking out at least $105[/b].

Now we look at the 360:

The wireless 360 controllers cost about $80.

And then if you want to be able to recharge the controller (and not waste lots of money on AA batteries) it costs you another $50. This also takes the cost per controller up to [b]$105
(assuming that the charge kit comes with the two battery packs it talks about and you never swap one out for the other (leaving it open for another controller).

Now which one is a rip-off?

Did everyone just get owned?


umm lollercaust
xbox controllers are $64 (http://www.jbhifi.com.au/games/microsoft/x-box/360/accessories/) 
play and charge kits are like ~$30 give or take $5. this gives you rechargeable batty plus you can still play while its charging. kthx


The $99.95 was an RRP, so I used the RRP prices on the xbox.com.au site. That makes it consistent. So still owned. Just admit it.

EDIT: nshady, I'm using prices that are RRP as well as looking at options that most people will take. I doubt most people buy batteries off ebay, and less people are going to bother now given the compulsory PayPal so your comment has an insignificant weighting behind it.

I should probably add that I also don't feel controllers eat up battery power, but over time everything adds up. And many people are looking at options for rechargeable batteries due to the waste caused by single use batteries. In that case, unless you already have a rechargeable battery charger at home then buying the charge kit is the most economical and convenient approach. In addition, the battery packs that are supplied especially for the controllers are of greater quality and have a longer life as they incorporate lithium instead of alkali metals.
Predator
Posted by Predator 19/04/2008 10:18am
I just use NiMH.. cheap and give me a couple of weeks of a charge usually..
nshady
Posted by nshady 18/04/2008 7:21pm
I easily get 30 hours off a pair of energiser e2 lithium batteries. I bulk buy them every now and then cheap off ebay:

http://search.ebay.com.au/energiser-e2-lithium_W0QQ_trksidZm37QQfromZR40

I've never really seen first hand the controllers chewing up batteries quickly. When they finally go it always seems to be a reasonable time since I last replaced them.
Posted by nuttyson 18/04/2008 5:49pm
Considering how much the controllers cost for the Wii  and 360 it's not bad.

Now if you take into account that the PS3 controllers come with a long-life rechargeable battery then it's not that expensive.

Okay, so the Wiimote costs $60. But you need to fuel this thing on AA batteries. This can easily cost you a lot of money. Or, you can buy a rechargeable battery kit at $30. That takes the price up to $75-$90 a Wiimote, depending on the brand you get (and you can't charge and play). Now if we add the Nun-chuck... that's another $30, so to be able to play all games on the Wii you will end up forking out at least $105[/b].

Now we look at the 360:

The wireless 360 controllers cost about $80.

And then if you want to be able to recharge the controller (and not waste lots of money on AA batteries) it costs you another $50. This also takes the cost per controller up to [b]$105
(assuming that the charge kit comes with the two battery packs it talks about and you never swap one out for the other (leaving it open for another controller).

Now which one is a rip-off?

Did everyone just get owned?


umm lollercaust
xbox controllers are $64 (http://www.jbhifi.com.au/games/microsoft/x-box/360/accessories/) 
play and charge kits are like ~$30 give or take $5. this gives you rechargeable batty plus you can still play while its charging. kthx
Posted by moodycj 18/04/2008 4:06pm
But looking at the original controller and the current "dual shock 3", what have they done? removed a wire and added two knobs... everything is pretty much in the same place. They haven't even tried to play with the formula. Maybe they have, but we've never see the results as maybe they didn't work that well. 

Well they did have that boomerang thing but you are right they have had the same controller for a long time and they should have tried to improve it.
Predator
Posted by Predator 18/04/2008 3:24pm
oooo .. example of controllers with pics! impressive..

But looking at the original controller and the current "dual shock 3", what have they done? removed a wire and added two knobs... everything is pretty much in the same place. They haven't even tried to play with the formula. Maybe they have, but we've never see the results as maybe they didn't work that well.

I remember the original dual shock, it was such a revelation at the time, to have analogue sticks and it vibrated! oooo..

I'm still prefer 360 controller numero ono however.. Can get very good acurate headshots once you become proficient.
Julz
Posted by Julz 18/04/2008 1:32pm
I have never understood why they gave the most comfortable position to the d-pad. The 360 and gamecube are both in good positions.


I think it's because the original PS controller didn't have joysticks so when they decided to put joysticks in (I think this coincided with the first dualshock controller) not that long after the release of PSX they wanted to keep the controller essentially the same and whacked them in the middle.

[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b0/Playstation_Controller.jpg[/img] ----->[img]http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/images/so/sony-scph1200.jpg[/img]
Posted by moodycj 18/04/2008 1:22pm

I just played the PS3 for a bit tonight - downloaded the Lost Planet Online Demo, played a few rounds, and I realised that I felt the joysticks were too central. The gamecube controller had it right - the thumbstick was positioned where your thumb naturally rests, instead of across more so that you almost have to stretch. I get the feeling that my thumbs might get a bit sore after a longish session.


I completely disagree. Whenever I used an N64 or Gamecube controller I have to position one of my hands (I can't remember which side, but the side with the raised joystick) almost sideways to be able to reach controls properly.

I personally find the one's on the PS to be the most comfortable as I hold both sides of the controller the same way and therefore both thumbs want to sit in the central region. While the 360 controller has a raised joystick on the left I think it's positioned better than the ones from Nintendo (although the Xbox 1 weren't so good).

I have always found the playsations joysticks in the wrong place so much so that if I can I chooses to use the d-pad. I have never understood why they gave the most comfortable position to the d-pad. The 360 and gamecube are both in good positions.
Julz
Posted by Julz 18/04/2008 12:34pm
Considering how much the controllers cost for the Wii  and 360 it's not bad.

Now if you take into account that the PS3 controllers come with a long-life rechargeable battery then it's not that expensive.

Okay, so the Wiimote costs $60. But you need to fuel this thing on AA batteries. This can easily cost you a lot of money. Or, you can buy a rechargeable battery kit at $30. That takes the price up to $75-$90 a Wiimote, depending on the brand you get (and you can't charge and play). Now if we add the Nun-chuck... that's another $30, so to be able to play all games on the Wii you will end up forking out at least $105[/b].

Now we look at the 360:

The wireless 360 controllers cost about $80.

And then if you want to be able to recharge the controller (and not waste lots of money on AA batteries) it costs you another $50. This also takes the cost per controller up to [b]$105
(assuming that the charge kit comes with the two battery packs it talks about and you never swap one out for the other (leaving it open for another controller).

Now which one is a rip-off?

Did everyone just get owned?

I just played the PS3 for a bit tonight - downloaded the Lost Planet Online Demo, played a few rounds, and I realised that I felt the joysticks were too central. The gamecube controller had it right - the thumbstick was positioned where your thumb naturally rests, instead of across more so that you almost have to stretch. I get the feeling that my thumbs might get a bit sore after a longish session.


I completely disagree. Whenever I used an N64 or Gamecube controller I have to position one of my hands (I can't remember which side, but the side with the raised joystick) almost sideways to be able to reach controls properly.

I personally find the one's on the PS to be the most comfortable as I hold both sides of the controller the same way and therefore both thumbs want to sit in the central region. While the 360 controller has a raised joystick on the left I think it's positioned better than the ones from Nintendo (although the Xbox 1 weren't so good).
nshady
Posted by nshady 18/04/2008 1:43am
I just played the PS3 for a bit tonight - downloaded the Lost Planet Online Demo, played a few rounds, and I realised that I felt the joysticks were too central. The gamecube controller had it right - the thumbstick was positioned where your thumb naturally rests, instead of across more so that you almost have to stretch. I get the feeling that my thumbs might get a bit sore after a longish session.
Posted by nuttyson 18/04/2008 12:02am
it's pretty hard you know. sonys isnt too bad
RJG
Posted by RJG 17/04/2008 11:33pm
If it weren't for the 360 d-pad, that controller would be awesome. Same goes for Sony, their d-pad is crap too. Only decent d-pad this gen is on the Wii Classic Controller.

WHY CAN NO ONE MAKE A DECENT CONTROLLER ANYMORE?!
Posted by moodycj 17/04/2008 5:35pm
The thing with the Wiimote though is that you can play stacks of games with just the Wiimote, at $60.

I agree with RJ most of the good games need both and it is too much.
nshady
Posted by nshady 17/04/2008 11:54am
The thing with the Wiimote though is that you can play stacks of games with just the Wiimote, at $60.
RJG
Posted by RJG 16/04/2008 9:41pm
Sony suck balls. No way I'm paying that much for a damn controlle...wait, I bought an extra Wii remote and nunchuck. Crap.

I'm going to import new ones when I buy a PS3. Honestly, if you aren't importing by now, especially with the exchange rate, what the hell is wrong with you?
nshady
Posted by nshady 16/04/2008 9:25pm
I thought you were being sarcastic about the $99.95 for a bit there. Ridiculous.
Predator
Posted by Predator 16/04/2008 7:04pm
Ripoff..

probably cost like $20 to make, if that..  And how are they different to the old PS2 controllers which they made billions of? wireless doesn't cost that much to implement..

Sony taking people for a ride because they gave people a lame ass controller in the first place.. lame.