PS3 Controller "features"

[Bad_Boy]

How are bluetooth and "familiar usb cable attachment" improvements and/or pluses? Just curious.

From my experience with Bluetooth it is very laggy and not very responsive. I hope this is some new implementation of it.

Bluetooth 2.0 works pretty well actually, if there was lag I think we would of heard about it about now. And it should be more versitile when moving around. Not to mention that gives the ability of other bluetooth items now that the controller has it supported. (keyboards, mice, headsets, etc.) And I wouldnt be surprised if somebody homebrewed the use of the controller with a PC via bluetooth dongle.

USB *COULD* provide uses like the psp's usb attachment, attaching things like a microphone into the port or something. Possible as a power pack type thing that attaches to your controller to give it more power. Thats just speculation on my part. I also wonder if mini-to-mini USB cables would be possible to link two controllers up, say if one is on a full charge and another is low. USB also means you can probably charge the controller up via a PC. Maybe I should have put that as even (neither plus or minus, as the options are not clear atm)

Mainly I'm talking about lacking a feature like allowing people to use double AA's or rechargeable AA's. But I'll playa long. for the sixaxis I would list it like this.

• 
  
  For the 360 controller I would list it like this.
  

• • 
    so they are about even now? not sure how a wired controller is a plus, more like neutral zone, but whatever.
    
    

    I don't game more than 30 hours at a time currently yet I've run out of battery power in the middle of a game more than once. probably 5 or 6 times.

    again, that sounds like a personal issue. I have a feeling most people will opt to charge their controller overnight, just as they would their house phone. Infact, I'd say Its as big of a problem as when your house phone dies, so it will depend on different people. Maybe even less so.
    
    

    covered in a warrenty? come on, I don't see any reason that is a valid way to look at this. Sony should be giving the option of using different types of batteries in those controllers and they should be replaceable.

    I wasnt really making that the justifcation of why batteries wouldnt be replaced, I was just making a statement on the whole battery dying for good situation.
    
    

    I don't care if they are 10 bucks less. You shouldn't have to toss or be forced to plug in (a permenant situation) a controller because the battery can't charge.

    As Powderkeg noted before, how much is the the difference when you add things together. Say the controller is 10 dollars cheaper, then you have to buy the power pack, and then you have to buy rechargeable batteries (or regular batteries if you like to spend more money). Thats a pretty big difference in price if you MUST have all those extras you named. Others may see it as, I rather not buy those items and spend the saved money on another controller. It's all personal opinions here.

 

[Guden Oden]

It's a bit of a bummer that the battery can't be removed, but it's not the end of the world if one has the forethought to pre-emptively attach the charging cable when they're done gaming every once in a while. Unless they're really heavy gamers (ie: school dropouts or unemployed, possibly retired ), it should only be neccessary once a week anyway, at least initially while the battery is still fresh.
One could argue I guess the reason the battery is fixed is to keep the weight down using a custom Li-ion cell (rechargeable NiMHs are pretty hefty in comparison), truth is probably that it's just cheaper to build the controller this way.

When the battery is finally worn out, I'm not so sure anyone would really WANT to replace it. Take a long hard look at a controller you've been using for a couple years. They look pretty worn and grubby, and generally just plain NASTY. I got plastic debris around the analog sticks of pretty much all my consoles, N64 and all the way up to 360. I think I'd prefer paying a bit more and getting a fresh controller rather than still paying quite a bit just to shock that ratty old piece of plastic back to life once more.


Anyone worrying about recharge cable length, in case power starts to wane in PS3 controller while you're on a roll in MGS4 or whatever - just get a standard USB extension cord. Problem solved. This little trick even works on the 360 with its proprietary play and charge kit cable I might add, a cable that isn't particulary long at all. This criticism is probably the lamest yet in this thread, since it's so easily fixed.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I'm just dissapointed to see sony come out with something like the new sixasix controllers that has less function then the competition.

Adding six degrees of motion sensing along with the same array of buttons and triggers is less functionality?

Sony should be giving the option of using different types of batteries in those controllers and they should be replaceable.

That'd certainly be preferable. If I were Sony I would consider using PSP battery packs in the wireless controllers. This would increase the market for that design lowering costs, and again promote the PS3<>PSP interoperation as another shared component to go with Memory Sticks and media. Best of all worlds I'd say.

Then again, there might be a technical limitation in needed a cell that can be charged off USB. Or put a PSP power adaptor in the controller for charging and operation!

 

[Qroach]

Adding six degrees of motion sensing along with the same array of buttons and triggers is less functionality?

I said less function, not functionality. As I wrote above, I was talking mroe about the about the option to use different types of batteriess and replace them then specific features like rumble. However I do find the fact a new wireless controller comes out with motion sensing and not rumble and a battery that can't be replaced more of a step backwards instead of forwards.

 

[quest55720]

I really don't want a product where I can't change the battery easily. One of the biggest mistakes I made was to buy my niece an IPOD for her birthday. It really sucked when the battery died and there was nothing that could be done but buy her a new MP3 player. That is part of the reason I bought a creative zen nano because I can replace the batteries. If I forget to charge the battery on my MP3 player I always have a spare in my gym bag. I can not imagine working out with out a mp3 player. MS is not completely in the clear either because thier controller is way over priced.

 

[Powderkeg]

As Powderkeg noted before, how much is the the difference when you add things together. Say the controller is 10 dollars cheaper, then you have to buy the power pack, and then you have to buy rechargeable batteries (or regular batteries if you like to spend more money). Thats a pretty big difference in price if you MUST have all those extras you named. Others may see it as, I rather not buy those items and spend the saved money on another controller. It's all personal opinions here.

Since you brought me into this part of the discussion I must mention that you can get a 360 controller plus the Nyko Play and Charge kit (Which comes with a rechargable battery pack) for a total of $66.

So an extra $6 to ensure you don't have to replace the controller.

 

[Bad_Boy]

Since you brought me into this part of the discussion I must mention that you can get a 360 controller plus the Nyko Play and Charge kit (Which comes with a rechargable battery pack) for a total of $66.

So an extra $6 to ensure you don't have to replace the controller.

I thought the 360 wireless controller was 50? I suppose its worth noting the ps3 controller is confirmed 50 as well. :/

 

[Powderkeg]

I thought the 360 wireless controller was 50? I suppose its worth noting the ps3 controller is confirmed 50 as well. :/

You are correct, and I was just checking to see if I had that right because it didn't sound right when I re-read it.

But the Nyko Play and Charge kit is only $16. The controller is $50, so that is $66 as I said. But I guess I confused the Wii combined controller price with the PS3 or something like that. Anyways, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Bad_Boy]

You are correct, and I was just checking to see if I had that right because it didn't sound right when I re-read it.

But the Nyko Play and Charge kit is only $16. The controller is $50, so that is $66 as I said. But I guess I confused the Wii combined controller price with the PS3 or something like that. Anyways, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Nah I think I misunderstood your post, I was thinking you meant the controller was 60 dollars and the charge kit was 6. But 50 and 16. Sorry about that. Still, gotta hate these over priced accessories from all three of the companies.

 

[MechanizedDeath]

This is such a silly argument. Buy a 3rd party controller that has replaceable batteries. Problem solved. Complaining about it won't change the Sixaxis design, period. Besides which, more than a few of us prefer an internal li-ion battery. NiCd, NiMH and alkaline batteries are heavier and more succeptible to not only corrosion, but cell-failure as well (from my experience). You have a higher voltage per cell for Li-po/Li-ion batts, so the probability of a battery going dead (from a failed cell) is reduced. Most failure comes from over-discharging a battery (allowing the voltage to drop below certain levels). I wouldn't worry much about having to replace a controller. I'd rather keep the weight down, and have built-in rechargeability. It's something I wish I had for my mouse, since the NiMH batts I have add unnecessary weight. PEACE.

 

[DemoCoder]

If it's like the 360 controller then the USB cable will just be for charging and the controller itself still works in a wireless mode regardless of the USB cable being present.

Or, it works like many multifunction BT/USB devices which can be charged and can communicate over USB. The number one reason why this capability exists in many BT devices is to enable upgrade of the CSR BT firmware.

So you would need a Bluetooth reciever in your PC to even think about using the Sixaxis with the PC.

Many computers, especially mobile computers, (and of course, Apple systems) come with BT. And knowledgable people with BT enabled (camera) mobile phones tend to have BT dongles, because it's the most convenient way to upload photos, as well as sync calendar/contacts. But SIXAXIS controllers are not likely to work with PCs out of the box (not the least of which is sucky PC BT stacks with missing profile support)

BT mice are laggy, but other BT devices don't have similar lag. BT latency and throughput are no where near bad enough to cause the serious lag in BT mice. The problem is not BT, but the HID profile. It is not likely that the SIXAXIS controllers will use high level BT profiles, especially HID. Most likely, they will use low-level L2CAP layers of BT which have less overhead. Think of it as using UDP or raw ethernet frames instead of TCP. Also, BT has two quality of service guarantees for BT packets: synchronous guaranteed connections with bounded time guarantees and asynchronous connectionless links which transmit when free timeslots are available. In regular BT use, bluetooth headset voice channels use the synchronous channel, and file transfers, HID, and other protocols take the async channel. Hopefully, SIXAXIS uses sync channels.

In any case, a PC would need a driver to work with SIXAXIS. I bet Linux hackers are the first to reverse engineer the SIXAXIS and write a BT driver.

 

[-NakedZ-]

Well, according to Sony over at GI.biz "we will be providing a service to exchange these items." referring to battery.

.Z

 

[Arwin]

Well, according to Sony over at GI.biz "we will be providing a service to exchange these items." referring to battery.

.Z

Not to mention that

The latest generation of Lithium Polymer batteries hardly suffer any memory effect at all, so it'll be many years before there's any degradation in terms of battery performance.