GamePro tests console controller battery life

xbox controller last 57 hours? Mine must be defective. It lasts about 15.

I call BS, My ps3 controller seems to never die. On a full charge its lasts a good 40+ hours, my wii controller lasts about the same and my 360 controller last like 10...

Being an owner of all 3 systems, I find it hard to believe they got so much battery life out of the Wii-mote. I probably should check the freshness date on my AA batteries before I buy them.

Yeah... I've drained a pair of coppertops in 5 hours, so either RE4 eats batteries alive, or my Wii eats batteries alive. Given that I went through a giant 40 pack of duracells during the first month I got my Wii before realizing that I needed rechargables, I'm fairly certain those results are... not accurate.

The 360 controller probably does fare the best of them all from my experience, but I still like my Sixaxis because I can charge and play without an emergency battery swap. Plus the sixaxis can charge off of any USB, not the just the PS3, so if you sit next to a computer there's no real reason you should ever run out of juice...

All comments aside, I should note that I find the study distinctly lacking in the way it was performed, as they don't account for the usage of rumble by a game, or the usage of features, and they don't document much of how the study was performed, other than the batteries used as a sub-par "control" to the experiment.

interesting test, but ultimately useless
I use eneloop, surprised no one else has chimed in the same

My 360 controller lasts forever. I can't imagine having to plug a cable in while you're playing. By the time you get done doing that you could have just slapped two more rechargeable batteries in the controller.

Who sits close enough to their TV to plug a cable in anyways? If Guitar Hero 3 wasn't wireless I wouldn't even own it.

i had the 360 play and charge kit at first, then it stopped holding a charge. i bought a bunch of Energizer 2200 mAh batteries at that point for my controllers and the GH3 wireless guitars. Love 'em.

Good job joystiq not even mentioning that the type of AA's used in the 360/Wii controllers were superior to the type of batteries in the SIXAXIS. Li-on vs Nimh.

And I don't know what's wrong with everyone's SIXAXIS. Mine auto shuts off after a while of not using it.

am I the only one that just plugs my ps3 controller into my laptop to let it charge while playing?

I have all three systems, and I can tell you that in real-world experience, they're dead on. Never mind the fact that the PS3 controllers are already starting to have problems holding a charge at all.

I'm running 2500/3500mAh (forget which) capacity rechargeable batteries in both my Wii and 360 controllers. I don't understand why more people don't just buy them and super fast 15 minute chargers. I've had way more hours play with them batteries than what that graph says...

i happen to own two dual shock 3 controllers and the battery capacity on those is 300mAh as opposed to 30mAh on the original Sixaxis. Obviously when playing games that aren't patched with rumble yet, the battery lasts waaay longer but for games with rumble, like RFOM, it turns out to be about the same, maybe a bit longer, but not much.

The sixaxis actually does automatically power off ever sicne a recent firmware update. Maybe when they did the "out-of-the-box" test they didn't update the firmware? Or maybe they ran these tests without the consoles being on at all. The PS3 itself seems to control the auto-off function whereas on the 360 controller it's just a normal function of the actual controller.

Anyway, I've never had any problems with the batteries of any of the current consoles. What I'm really surprised abou tthough, is how long the batteries in my Rock Band guitar have lasted. I've played the game, on average, a few hours a day since launch and still haven't had to replace them. On the other hand I had to swap out the guitar hero 3 batteries after like a month and a half. Seems kind of weird since RedOctane generally has solid hardware.

My PS3 controller seems to hold a longer charge than whats indicated. I could be wrong to though since I haven't bought a game that lasts longer than 9 hours.

The reason is that the Wii and 360 are made to run on replaceable batteries. Why put heavier more expensive batteries in the dualshock if you don't need it? Does anyone really game for more than 19 hours at a time? I've got a PSWii60 setup, and I have to say that PS3 controller is definitely the least hassle. Out of the box you need no batteries or any additional chargers or anything, and the fact that it charges through any USB makes it even more convenient. There are good rechargeable options for all 3 consoles that basically make battery life a non-issue unless you're going on 20+ hour wireless gaming binges, there are no issues. At that point, controller battery life is probably the least of your problems. Even then, you can just use the charge and play features. All the controllers are effectively the same, the only real difference is the ps3 is set out of the box.

For those of you with PS3s, here's another option. Blackberries and quite a few (all?) Motorola phones all charge from USB, and therefore the phone charge is just a mini-USB plug with just the power lines connected. You can use that to charge your sixaxis/ds3 without having to leave your PC on, or buy hilariously-long cables to string across the room - just plug it into a socket by your chair.

Costco batteries. 48 AA's for $10. Work great, and on my 360 they do last a long time like the study suggests.

Sure maybe a couple years from now I could have saved money by the play a charge kit but, bleh. Costco batteries!