In the mood for a good laugh, a proper el-oh-el? Then read this unbelievable, oblivious and altogether hilarious Gamesindustry.biz article regarding the wondrous insides of the PS3 controller. The gist of it sees the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences bestowing an Emmy award upon the Sixaxis -- for technology and engineering.

As you might expect, the award arrives in response to new-fangled "motion sensing technology", currently not featured in any other console in existence. Indeed, the engineers at Sony deserve a hearty pat on the back for taking the time to "re-define the original Dual Shock controller" and painstakingly remove any traces of rumble technology. Indeed, putting rumble and motion sensing into the same controller would likely spell unmitigated disaster.

Meanwhile, Jack Tretton, CEO of SCEA, chimes in on the whole affair and in doing so, sends out a distress signal from deep within an alternate reality. "The overwhelming consumer demand and critical acclaim for PS3 is testament of the platform's strength and the industry's desire for a true next-generation entertainment system." Come on, Mr. Tretton, even Quinn Mallory has a subscription to Time magazine.

Update: Oops! Sony got their controllers mixed up.

Today at the Gamer's Day event in San Francisco, Sony revealed the prices for various peripherals. The Sixaxis controller will be $49.99, which is the same price as the wireless Xbox 360 controller and $10 more / less than the Nintendo Wiimote (depending on whether or not you include the nunchuk add-on). The age of $50 controllers is very frackin' nigh.

The PS3 memory card adaptor, that allows you to transfer PSOne and PS2 memory card data to the HDD, will only be $14.99. The BD Remote Control, which is "coming soon" (read: not available at launch) will be $24.99.

See Also:
PS3: Dual Shake is dead, long live Sixaxis

After the CliffyB coincidence, we thought to give you another look at a retro article with modern application. From the very first issue of PSM Magazine from September 1997 (found as a PDF on Retro Gaming -- click on the image to the right), a Kotaku reader pointed out an article on page 16 talks about the then-imminent US release of the PlayStation One dual analog controller. The US version had one slight difference than its Japanese brethren: no rumble.

The article cited "another company" (Immersion?) who owned the patent to the vibration technology -- my, how times have changed. However, the other theory (not from Sony) is that the new-fangled vibration technology, "however slight, eventually causes the controller to break" after extended use. Obviously, with such a powerful seismic force, there's no way Sony could figure out how to combine rumble and motion sensing. Oh, wait a second ...

Skin of your teeth, white-knuckle and overly elaborate escapes can be made all the more engaging and memorable by the subtle rumbling of the controller in your hands. Of course, having just stolen a Dual Shock 2 from the lonely demo unit in your local games retailer, palpable excitement is something you have in droves, not to mention rampant kleptomania. The vibration emitted by most of today's controllers also adds an extra level of immersion to games like Silent Hill and Halo -- just ask Immersion, they named their company after the idea.

Don't ask Sony, however, since it's a touchy subject. Currently appealing against a court ruling in favor of Immersion's claims that they treaded upon specific patents when they created the Dual Shock controllers (like the one you stole), Sony has come under some fire for dropping rumble functionality from the PS3 controller entirely. An accusatory finger was pointed at the newly implemented motion sensing technology, a move interpreted by some as Sony being unwilling to hand licensing fees over to Immersion. Whether or not that's the case is still up for debate, though Immersion has now unveiled new technology which indicates, at the very least, that a rumbling Dual Shake may still find its way into hands (especially thieving ones).

The "TouchSense" technology for use in next-gen controllers promises added realism in addition to full compatibility with motion and tilt sensing devices. "Because the speed at which a user moves the controller is much slower than the frequencies generated by TouchSense technology, the two signals can be differentiated using filtering and other techniques." Their statement goes on to say that Immersion "offers engineering services to implement the technology within a particular console system."

Will Sony grab this opportunity, or let it slip through their fingers? Is it really that big of a deal?

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Yesterday, we asked a few people on the show to give their reaction to the following question: "Will the lack of rumble in the Dual Shake hurt the PlayStation 3?" Here are some reactions we got:

David Edery: Game Tycoon
It's certainly a shame to lose something where rumble matters in the design context. Rumble has always felt like icing to me; it's not crucial. Not having the motion sensing at all, that's a huge problem. I'd be much more worried about Microsoft, frankly. Rumble has never mattered to me that much. I think it'll hurt them, but I don't know how much. I don't think it's a huge deal. People want to move, though. Not having [motion sensing] when others do have it, will be a huge disadvantage.

Jessie: GamerSurvival
"It'll hurt; I've heard a lot of people upset [over the decision]."

David Reid: VP Marketing for GameTap
I've never thought of it as a big deal. That's me personally. There was a time when i was deep in the weeds at Xbox when we were like, "do we pay for one motor or two motors?" I think the bigger story is a $499 box that doesn't have HDMI, doesn't have Wi-Fi, doesn't have a memory unit. I think lack of rumble is the least of their problems. Those are really smart guys, they've got a really great business, I'm sure they know what they're doing but it really struck me as odd.

Delila: OnTheXbox.com
"[The rumble] adds to the experience, feeling the explosions for example. It's gonna hurt them."

Roman: Industry Analyst
[Lack of rumble] is not the main thing that's going to hurt them. To me they're the loser of the show. I'm very concerned actually. Rumble is marginal compared to other issues.

Cesar: Gamerscore
"Not as much as the price."

See also:
E3 Vox Populi: What are your thoughts on the PS3 prices?
E3 Vox Populi: Who had the best press conference?

[Update 1: fixed horrible, horrible typos. Please forgive us!]

That's the impression given by a Eurogamer interview with Warhawk developer Incognito. One of the questions posed in our controller comparison editorial was in relation to how long ago the decision had been made to enhance the PS3 controller with automagical motion sensing capabilities. The article states that the developer only got their hands on the technology within the last two weeks, but the actual response given by Dylan Jobe to one of the questions is far more telling. When prompted about how long they had actually known about it, Jobe responded with, "We've really known officially for about a week and a half, and we did the final tuning just a couple of days ago."

A couple of days ago? Yikes.

Note to PS3 game developers: The PS3 controller has motion sensing abilities. Just thought you might like to know.

[Thanks Kimmo!]