Written by Kris Rosado  on April 07, 2008

Accessories: A year and a quarter after the launch of the PS3 here in North America, the DualShock 3 has finally hit retail shelves and we got our hands on one.

Tweet

Comments

It is the controller that should have been in the package at the time of launch for the PS3, but a little legal spat kept it out of consumer hands and instead gave us something that felt more Fisher Price than the Guitar Hero guitar. Thankfully, those days have passed and we finally have the opportunity to run down to our local videogame retailers and pick one up. Yes, the third generation of the DualShock controller was sorely missed that much among consumers.





At first glance you could easily mistake the DualShock 3 controller for a Sixaxis one, even the packaging looks similar. So if it doesn't say DualShock 3 in big capital letters on the slant of the box, you picked up the wrong controller. While visually the controllers are identical, actually holding them in your hands will give you all the difference you need. Unlike its non-rumbling cousin, the DualShock 3 actually has a good amount of weight to it, according to Sony it is 6.2 oz. This is roughly 40 percent more than the Sixaxis. In a comparison to the Xbox 360 controller, the DualShock 3 is still lighter thanks to the use of a lithium battery instead of double A. Finally, in a comparison with the PS2 controller, the PS2 controller was surprisingly the lightest.



So how does that long lost rumble feel? It's sadly hit or miss. In some games the rumble felt stronger and in others you could barely feel it. I tested it on games for all three PlayStation generations and it rumbled for all of them. The fact that PS2 games were not listed on the list of compatible games had us a little worried, but it supports them just fine with the latest patch. Since most of the games available for PS3 were not designed for rumble, we are going to let the hit or miss feel slide for now. In future reviews we will add whether or not the rumble has made strides.

In the world of pros and cons, the price of the controller is definitely a big con. $54.99 makes the DualShock 3 the highest priced of the next-gen controllers (counting the Wii Remote and Nunchuk as separate controllers). Adding further insult to injury; is the fact that there isn't even a USB cable inside the package, although since you receive one with the PS3 system, this isn't a major deal just a complaint.