Kotaku
We have more word from retailer conference Destination PlayStation: the DualShock 3—you know, that DualShock we've been waiting for since the PS3's launch—has gotten a US release date.
Set to launch April 15th for $54.99, it's slated to coincide with the release of GT5 Prologue. Oh yes, feel those engines roar through your controller and make your SIXAXIS-wielding friends envious...like they're just playing a video game or something.
UPDATE: Sony has confirmed all of this information. Press release on the jump.
SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA INTRODUCES METAL GEAR SOLID®4: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS PS3 BUNDLE AVAILABLE IN LATE Q2 2008 IN NORTH AMERICA
Company Also Announces Limited-Edition God of War® PSP® Entertainment Pack and April Availability of DUALSHOCK®3 Wireless Controller for North America
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., February 26, 2008 - At its annual retail and publisher conference Destination PlayStation, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) announced details of upcoming PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) (PSP-2000) hardware bundles with two of the most highly anticipated 2008 titles. The company also announced the April 2008 availability of DUALSHOCK®3 wireless controller in North America.
To coincide with the much-anticipated North American launch of Metal Gear Solid®4: Guns of the Patriots in late Q2 2008, SCEA will introduce a PS3 bundle, which will include an 80GB PS3, the upcoming blockbuster Metal Gear Solid®4: Guns of the Patriots and a DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller for $499 (MSRP).
SCEA also announced the June 2008 availability of the limited-edition God of War® PSP Entertainment Pack for $199.99 (MSRP). The God of War Entertainment Pack will include a "Deep Red" PSP with God of War himself, Kratos, silk-screened on the back of the unit, a copy of the highly anticipated upcoming God of War: Chains of Olympus game for PSP, the hit comedy movie from Columbia Pictures, "Superbad™," on UMD™ (Universal Media Disc), and a PLAYSTATION®Network voucher to download Syphon Filter®: Combat Ops from PLAYSTATION®Store. The stand-alone version of God of War: Chains of Olympus launches on March 4, 2008.
"Working closely with our retail and publishing partners and sharing our hardware and software roadmaps at Destination PlayStation gives us a great opportunity to outline some key milestones for the year. In response to incredible demand, we will be manufacturing more 80GB PS3s for North America and the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots 80GB PS3 bundle is an ideal way to offer that continued value to our consumers," said Jack Tretton, president and CEO, SCEA. "With Blu-ray having won the format war, our stellar software line-up and a broad product portfolio, we will continue to drive the incredible momentum we've been generating since last fall."
SCEA will introduce the DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller for the first time in North America in April 2008 for $54.95 (MSRP). DUALSHOCK 3, which incorporates both rumble and motion sensing SIXAXIS™ technologies, maintains the award-winning design and precise, responsive features of PlayStation controllers. The added rumble feature, combined with the SIXAXIS system, enhances the gamer experience with more interactive, intuitive and immersive game play experience and will work with more than 100 current PS3 titles.
In additional news coming from Destination PlayStation, SCEA announced Metal Gear Solid®4: Guns of the Patriots will be available in North America in late Q2 2008. A Metal Gear Online "Starter Pack" will also be launched to support online game play. Gamers can select a single player experience or take the action online with up to 16 players and battle it out using the latest weapons and stealth techniques. For those eager to take on Solid Snake's nemesis, Liquid Ocelot, a nationwide pre-sell promotion will enable gamers to pre-order Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and be guaranteed access to a multiplayer beta test for Metal Gear Online scheduled for late April.
Comments
um w00t?
That's WAY to expensive for a controller, imho. I'll pass for now ... and I'm one of those that's loves the rumble.
as someone staying in asia playing region free english games like R&C/DMC4 with rumble for a long time now, let me be the first to welcome you all and then rub it in your face: nyahahaaha i've had it longer than youuuuuuu
@jayntampa: gah ... that should be "too expensive" -- damn homonyms!
that's a little pricey for a controller.
Eh, I need it, so might as well plop down the cash. I keep dropping my Sixaxis by accident...it's gonna explode one day.
What's up with the price that's outrageous!
$55? but it's last-gen technology right?
Too wait or to import? That is the question.
nice! totally in for one!! on the first day, too!
I think we can expect a very similar release date for Europe, so I'm buying it.
Really don't want to import this kind of stuff. No obvious reason. Just don't want to. Also, it's more expensive due to shipping.
... not sure if I'll buy one of these early, or just tough it out until I pick up one of those buttery sweet MGS4 bundles.
@Nglan: Not really that bad, a wireless MS controller is already $50 and then you have to buy the battery pack. It's about $3 cheaper if you want to get technical.
meh to PS3 controller news. More vikki blows pics ftw!
hmmm so i'm gonna get to play with my import Dualshock3 for about a month before the US ones come out? oh well i'm glad they finaly have a release date for them
Sony is only charging $55 because Nintendo has set the $60 mark already for remote and nunchuk.
Way too much money for a controller imo.
Jesus, 55 bucks for a controller?!
Why are controllers so goddamn expensive?! The Wiimote + nunchuk is 60 bucks! An Xbox 360 wireless controller is like 50 bucks!
It's fucking ridiculous that for the price of two Dualshocks I could get a DS Lite. Or two games.
I@rotcepsurt: I'd gladly pay less for one with no rechargeable battery, I've got 20 aa rechargeables already.
Ouch bad move sony, bad move indeed.
Already imported one for the same price~
Lol that's 5 bucks more than the Sixaxis, or the 360 controller. And it has BOTH rumble AND motion sensing. That said, April 15th! I don't regret having imported mine.
if that's the case, i'm gonna import it...like right now.
I picked up three of these babies in Akihabara when I was in Tokyo area last year. The price looks to be no different than picking them up there.
Of course, you save yourself the money of shipping them or flying out there. ;)
I think they will average out to $49 with retailer discounts and all that.
Way too pricy. I'll pick up a single one for myself but friends will get to use the cheapie ones.
@BuckTwenty:
dude it vibrates.
totally worth it. :\
I imported mine for a little under $60 shipped. I can safely say that importing was a good idea in this case.
@Witzbold: Do you mean the price too or just the lateness?
Something that should have been out on launch, along with in game XMB!
this is the cheapest remote control out of all three next gen systems. im going to trade in my 2 sixaxis remotes to bring the overall price down
@slomo788: what website did you go to import yours?
ripoff. I paid $60 for it shipped, from Japan back in December. Totally worth it for a 5 month headstart.
ill get another two so that makes it 4
Fifty five fucking clams?
@jayntampa ,BuckTwenty, @Grumps:
Sixaxis MSRP is 49.99... what's the big deal?
How about a trade in program, Sony? A discount for selling you back my old controller? That way, you can take it, stick a motor or two in it, and sell it as a "refurbished" Dualshock.
$55 is a lot of money for something that should have came out at release.
@PapaBear434: Amen
@slomo788: The price. The lateness thing is a dead horse already.
If they can sell sixaxis controllers for $20 on Amazon on black friday, they can sell DS3's for less than $55.
Huh...I imported a DualShock 3 from Play-Asia for $55 + shipping. I'm glad I did now. Burnout: Paradise wouldn't have felt right without it.
@rotcepsurt:
I would argue that technically it is 5-15 dollars more for the PS3 controller.
Since you actually have the choice to get a wired controller for the 360 that comes with rumble anyway, and you don't HAVE to buy a battery pack if you get a wireless one.
On the other hand $55 is the only legit choice if you want rumble on PS3.
But in the end it is all a bit nit-picky. Controllers this gen are outrageously over priced. The WIi really has the most expensive one when you consider the need for $20 add ons.
$54.99? Too expensive? A trip to Chinatown for a discount price, you say? Why, problem solved for me. About damn time this was announced.
@Ktzero3: Retail items have this barrier to them -- primarily artificial, that causes people to turn away. Weird, but true ... and shown time and time again in behaviorial economics studies. $54.99 for a controller seems to pass that mark, setting up a barrier to purchase -- if you look at the responses here.
$49.99 for a controller doesn't seem to.
Price isn't really an issue considering the Wii remote/nunchuck set is $60.
I already own 4 Sixaxis controllers... and I won't upgrade at $55 a pop.
$55 ?!?! Pass
@jun581: I did it through eBay, but it was from a company, egamestar. Came sealed and all that, 7-10 days after the purchase.
this is the cheapest remote control out of all three next gen systems. No, the Xbox 360 controller is. Unless you count a Wiimote with no nunchuck, which is only $40.
Yeah, $55 is too high. They would have been much smarted to make it $40 and drop the price of the SixAxis. As it stands, I'm just going to import a silver Dual Shock 3.
@relax_guy: Only if you're a chick.
Seriously though, $55? Hopefully that won't mean $60 Canadian. With our 14.5% sales tax that comes out to just about $70. Ridiculous.
With that price I'm not even going to bother waiting I'll just pick one off ebay for $5 cheaper, that is unless they raised their prices now.
@Cagalli: Considering the number of people saying "pass," I would argue price is an issue.
@Heyyou27: That's it exactly -- I'm not going to pay $55 to upgrade ... that's basically like paying $105 + tax to get what should have been in the box originally.
@Witzbold: The 360 controller and the Sixaxis are $50 bucks, and they each have only one feature of the whole thing (motion sensing or rumble). The Wii controller (nunchuck plus Wiimote) is $60. I don't find it a rip-off at all, especially considering it comes with rechargeable batteries.
Why must next-gen (current-gen?) controllers cost so much damn money?! It's kind of like the PS3 and 360 video games "because it's next-gen" price hike.
I think that the price is high to purposely make the regular sixaxis controller look more attractive. They still have a lot of those to go through. I'm sure the price will come down quickly.
I actually prefer to not have the rumble so I'm glad I already have my controllers.
Doesn't apply much to me, I get employee discounts.
@jayntampa: Splitscreen, offline multiplayer, etc. And most of those people will end up buying it anyways (MGS4, anyone?). But I don't really care. The thing does add to the fun, but a year with Sixaxis taught me to play without rumble.
I never heard anyone complain about the wiimote/nunchuk combo at 60$ but now people are complaining about about a controller that cost 5$ more than the average 50$ !?
I dont mind the rumble but I will still buy two copies of this item. I will have 4 and will be that closer to having the full 7 that the system supports.
@Shteve: I know right? It's $5 bucks over the rumble/motion sensing only remotes!
I've imported mine from yesasia for £30 which when you consider the SIXAXIS sells for £35-£40 is pretty good value. I never did get what the big deal is with rumble though, you notice it when you start using the controller for the first time but then you get used to it. The whole time I was playing games without it, I never missed it.....hmmm starting to wonder why I brought one now. :|
@Nglan: I know! $5 more than the regular PS3 controller? Unacceptable! We should march on Sony and demand that they pay us to take the DualShock 3 off of their hands. *rolls eyes*
Seriously, though, I imported one a month or so ago, and it's fantastic. Really strong rumble, and the added weight makes the controller feel much better.
Jesus April?! I was expecting March at the latest. Also, that $55 is fucking insane. Amazing how $5 extra can make or break a purchase. I'll just keep playing games on my 360 with rumble and points thank you. Poor PS3, probably won't be booted up til MGS4 or LBP (whichever hits first).