SPOTLIGHTS
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| And we're rolling... |
| Posted by Mark Salmela on 03.16.2008 |
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Well this past week I finally got a hold of my own DualShock 3 controller, imported fresh from Japan. For those of you who don’t know the DualShock 3 controller has been out in Japan since late last year and controllers will work on any system *they’re region free*. I would have picked one up last Christmas but the import rates were outrageous *near $85 after shipping* so I was much happier to find a couple of good eBay auctions this week *paid $60 after shipping*. I picked up the white DualShock 3 controller, since all my other SIXAXIS controllers are black and I wanted to try a different color. Needless to say, white is pretty sexy. The white PS3 and controller has been out in Japan for 6 months now, hopefully we’ll see an American release soon.
The first thing you notice on the DualShock is the weight, as the controller is nearly twice as heavy as the SIXAXIS. Now don’t panic, it’s no where near too heavy. The SIXAXIS controller was way too light and felt uncomfortable at times because of it. The DualShock 3 feels about as heavy as a wireless 360 controller, and is much more comfortable to hold. The second thing I notice is the improved shoulder triggers. Don’t get me wrong, they still look the same as the SIXAXIS triggers, but they fold back much easier than the SIXAXIS. The SIXAXIS triggers *L2 and R2* are universally agreed to suck, so to see improvements *it’s far from perfect, but much better* with the DualShock 3 are more than welcomed. Also the battery life of the DualShock 3 is around 15 hours, so anyone worrying about battery life has nothing to worry about. The battery life is shorter than the SIXAXIS controller, but the DualShock 3 battery still lasts longer than double A batteries or any of the 360 or Wii charge kits.
The final thing about the controller is of course the rumble, the whole reason Sony made the DualShock 3 in the first place. While rumble is far from revolutionary, you have no idea how happy I am to have it back. Rumble has breathed new life into games such as Motorstorm, and it has made the game much more fun to play. So far I’ve only tested a select few games *Uncharted, Motorstorm, Resistance, WarHawk* and so far rumble has definitely made the games more fun to play. Rumble on the DualShock 3 works pretty similar to rumble on the DualShock 2, and it doesn’t interfere with using SIXAXIS controls at all.
So if you can still sell your SIXAXIS controllers at a decent price or you’ve been holding off on picking up extra controllers I highly recommend waiting for the DualShock 3 controllers. The DualShock 3 controller comes out in North America on April 15 for $55 and is definitely worth the $5 increase over the SIXAXIS controller. I have sold 2 SIXAXIS controllers myself and have picked up a white DualShock 3 and just bought one of the new Satin Silver DualShock 3 controllers *neither color confirmed to be coming to America, so far it’s just the black*. I plan to sell my final two SIXAXIS controllers soon and pick up 2 black DualShock 3 controllers once they reach America next month. You’ll see rumble functions added to a lot of games within the next month, and it’s a feature that should have never been taken out of the PS3 in the first place.
Once again thanks to my HANDY-DANDY PLAYSTATION EYE~! I can capture pictures of my hot DualShock 3 controller. So feast:
What a sexy beast!
Exciting, isn’t it?
As a final note no I will not be changing the name of the column from the SIXAXIS Report to the DualShock 3 Report. Stop asking! Although if someone does come up with a better name for the column let me know and I will take it into consideration, a name change wouldn’t hurt at all now that SIXAXIS is inferior to DualShock 3.
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