DualShock Hits US in April, European Date Not Yet Undecided

Rumble, no longer a useless technology, coming to Western PS3 owners.

The DualShock 3, Sony's new rumble-enabled controller for the PlayStation 3, will be out in the US during April, the company said on Tuesday.

The new controller will sell for $55 in the US - slightly more than the $50 recommended price of the current Sixaxis controller.

The DualShock 3 keeps the tilt-sensing feature of the Sixaxis, adding in rumble - a technology Sony had previously derided as being antiquated.

It's still not clear when Europeans will be able to upgrade. Sony representatives could not give any release information, saying that the date and price were "still to be confirmed for Europe".

The DualShock was originally announced in September, at Sony's conference presentation at the Tokyo Game Show. The controller was released in Japan in November.

Sony has so far avoided explaining why it has taken so long for the controller to be released outside Japan and refused comment on whether this had anything to do with the number of Sixaxis controllers not yet sold.

Already standard in the PlayStation 2 controller, rumble technology was dropped from the Sixaxis in part because of a legal battle between Sony and Immersion, a technology company that sued Sony for violating patents related to haptic feedback.

Sony settled the case with Immersion in 2007 and confirmed that the companies were working together again.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo