Sony has officially announced that it is now ready to bring UK PS3 owners a feature they have been waiting for, ever since the console first launched. As of tomorrow, July 2nd, PS3 owners will be able to buy vibrating wireless DualShock 3 controllers for their consoles for around £30.
Why all the fuss? Well, if you had to pick one thing that was really wrong with the original PS3 hardware (apart from the price, lack of games, delayed arrival, poor feature set, did I say price already?) then there's no doubt that the lack of vibration feedback in the controllers was right up there at about number five on the list.
After much bullshitting, Sony grew a pair and finally slipped rumble technology in alongside the motion sensing to create the DualShock 3. DualShock 3 controllers eventually arrived in Japan on November 11th. No problem, us Brits are used to waiting a little while for all the decent tech to wend its way across from the Land of the Rising Sun.
Then it landed in the USA in April. That at least meant that importing it became considerably easier and, once again, the delayed European launch was little surprise.
Then it bypassed Europe and went straight on to Australia. Someone was taking the piss. Being number 3 in the technology stakes is bad enough, but beneath Australia just seems rude.
So finally, the wretched rumbling pad has bothered to show. Needless to say there are hundreds of the original rumble-free Sixaxis controllers gathering dust on store shelves, despite numerous bargain deals.
Sony is planning to peddle the miraculous new controllers for £30 - 35. Which basically means that even if you waited over six months for their arrival, it would have been cheaper to just go ahead and import them. It still is. Silly you.
Their timing is, if nothing else, timely. They are arriving at exactly the same time as the equally (if somewhat more internationally) long-awaited firmware 2.40 for PS3.
Check out Sony's video for a breakdown of what it can do. Essentially it will make many of the most important features of the PS3 Cross Media Bar (XMB) available from within any game.
Normally, to listen to music, send a text message to your friends or to look at someone's user profile (not that there was much point before now), you'd need to quit your game and do it from the main menu. When you were trying to get a game of CoD4 going and had to continually drop in and out to send messages, it rapidly became a huge pain in the bum. PlayStation Network acccess be free, but arranging a game certainly ran up a huge phone bill.
Now you can do all that by simply pressing the PlayStation button in the centre of your brand spanking new DualShock 3 (or crusty old Sixaxis, natch).
Another major feature of 2.40 is the new Trophy system. Essentially, these are Xbox Live achievements for the PS3 - completing games and certain challenges within games will unlock trophies for your profile. You'll also get points that contribute to your rank too. Essentially, it means you can rib your friends for being a bit shit at Metal Gear Solid, however, it may go a little deeper than that with Sony rumoured to be introducing Trophy rooms and features within its upcoming virtual world, Home.
That's getting ahead of ourselves a bit though. For now, just enjoy racking up little trophy symbols with accompanying sound effects for the sheer enjoyment of it. Incidentally, these can not be awarded retroactively, so you may need to go back through your games one more time to get them to register. If you can be at all bothered.
For more PS3 news, check out our dedicated PS3 blog: PSPSPS.tv
Related posts: This isn't the only new controller Sony has in mind | Touchscreen next for PSP?
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