The complaints are coming in via a big thread over at the official PlayStation 3 forum. Regardless of PS3 model: Some claim the issue affects their authentic DualShock 3, though it now looks like any problems may be specific to knock-off controllers.

Kotaku also mentions that a handful of users are reporting mid-game freezes in Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, but points out that it's not uncommon for this sort of thing to happen with PS3 or 360 system updates.

They've contacted Sony for comment, and we'll let you know what they have to say. In the meantime, have you run into any problems yourself? [Kotaku]

The Price: $40

The Verdict: Even at $10 less than Sony's Dual Shock 3, the Datel Wildfire is a pass. The controller actually feels decent in your hand, with an interesting pistol-like contour and a useful rubber texture. And its build quality is decent—it doesn't feel cheaper than a Dual Shock or SIXAXIS.

But the rumble isn't fantastic, the buttons are all a bit stiff and the altered, trigger-like position of L2/R2 buttons makes it a leap for your fingers to reach L1/L2 (similar to the Xbox 360, but exaggerated for the worse). I didn't notice any inherent lag or inaccuracies in either the analog sticks or the tilt sensitivity, but I found it hard to pull off any maneuver with laser speed. And additional turbo functions can do little to combat buttons that are hard to press quickly.

Plus, even though it plugs in via mini USB like official PS3 controllers, the Wildfire runs on AA batteries. Sony's integrated rechargeable lithium ion alone probably makes the $10 premium worth it.

Comfortable to hold

Bluetooth pairing was super easy, no dongle required

Stiff Controls

Awkward trigger placement

Mediocre rumble

AA batteries required
[TotalConsole]

On top of tilt sensitivity, vibration and Bluetooth (we believe the Wildfire is the first dongle-less third party PS3 controller), the Wildfire features variable turbo and a design that looks like it could cut you. The only downfall on the spec sheet is its requirement of 2 AA batteries...which is probably a dealbreaker unto itself.

Since feel is everything in a controller, we'll try to get our hands on one to test. Until then, the Wildfire is available for about $50 at various vendors. [Total Console]

The first instance comes from a 12-year-old Swiss girl who had sores on her hand from playing way too much. The doctor first thought she had "idiopathic eccrine hidradenitis", a condition that affects both the hands and feet. After 10 days of laying off the sticks, she was fine and her doctors got to name a new disease.

We expect the Wii will get its own disorder some time in late 2009 or early 2010. [BBC via Kotaku]

Image credit

The adapter plugs into your PS3's USB port where it accepts wired Xbox 360 controllers. Beyond mere "it works!" functionality along with new rumble support, you can also toggle turbo on any button—which is why the unit has like a thousand switches.

The XCM Cross Battle Adapter is available at a few online retailers where it appears to be selling for about $55. So the question is, just how much do you hate yourself, fanboy? [XCM via Maxconsole]

The 3-in-1 Wireless Keyboard is first and foremost a Blu-ray remote, but it also appears to be a slider of sorts, packing full QWERTY and—if our eyes are telling us correctly—dual analog sticks.

Especially for BD-Live content, the keyboard could make all of the text entry a lot more convenient than even Sony's own QWERTY option. And dual analogs? Really? The PSP doesn't even have that!

We really wish there were more to the product's description, but if you're willing to make a gamble with $28.52 of your hard earned cash, let us know how it goes. [Superufo via Kotaku]

First, the good news. PSP Plus will support controller vibration and add the use of the second analog stick. Yay!

Then the bad news. It's still unclear just how all of the hookups occur, but it will require you have a PS3. The first supported game, Resistance Retribution, will need the PSP Plus option to be activated through Resistance 2 (which is a PS3 game). This syncing sounds more invasive than a simple A/V out cord to your TV, which may or may not also be a required component of the hookup.

In other words, that dream of a Dual Shock that snaps onto the PSP is not happening. And by requiring a PS3/TV, Sony may have defeated the whole purpose of the PSP. But we'll let you know if/when we get a clearer picture of how the peripheral support works. [Kotaku]

The first is exclusives. Final Fantasy 13 coming to the Xbox 360 was a pretty huge blow to the PlayStation brand seeing as they no longer having exclusivity to the main Final Fantasy line. This is just the latest in the line of Sony losing titles that were previously exclusive (or planned to be exclusive) to PlayStation. Grand Theft Auto, Devil May Cry are two more recent ones, but Wired also lists Assassin's Creed (could have been PS3-only), Virtua Fighter 5, Beautiful Katamari, and Fatal Inertia. What does Sony have of big third-party exclusives? Metal Gear Solid 4.

This, as we learned from Sony's Jack Tretton, is because they're "not in the business of writing checks for exclusives." Jack goes on to explain quite logically that in this day and age, it's just much more profitable for game publishers to put their titles on as many consoles as possible, and companies would have to throw out some big chunks of money to convince them otherwise. The kind of money Microsoft has been doling out.

The second is Home. Tretton called the current state of Home a "no man's land," a phrase which he immediately wished he didn't use. However, it's as accurate of one as we could come up with. The problem right now is that Sony's at an impasse. They've finished the shell of Home and much of the core functionality is done. However, there's no content for it.

The Price: $54.99

The Verdict: Fantastic. It's what the PlayStation 3 controller should have been at launch. You don't realize how much you're missing rumble until you actually get it back. We tested it with Folklore, Resistance, Super Stardust HD and Heavenly Sword and all of them behaved just like rumble should. It vibrated when you blew up ships in Stardust, when you shot and got shot in Resistance, and when you whipped out your little demons in Folklore.

We didn't have the time to play through the entire game(s) to see if there are tons of different varying levels of intensity—say, if some cut scene started with a gentle vibration that ramped up to something crazy—but we've been hearing online that it does.

The DualShock 3 is also heavier than the SIXAXIS—still slightly lighter than an Xbox 360 controller—but definitely heavier. It feels right, not like the feeling you got from the SIXAXIS that someone hollowed out your controller while you weren't looking.

It might not be worth your $54 if you already own a SIXAXIS and don't need another controller, but if you're a big gamer that really loves the PS3 (and is waiting for Metal Gear Solid 4), it's a good idea to invest in one. There's a list of games that currently support rumble, which will most likely be supported by just about all games released from now on. [Amazon]

- SCEA - Formula One Championship Edition* (PS3)
- SCEA - MotorStorm* (PS3)
- SCEA - PAIN (PSN)
- SCEA - High Velocity Bowling (PSN)
- SCEA - MLB 08: The Show (PS3)
- SCEA - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)
- SCEA - Resistance: Fall of Man* (PS3)
- SCEA - Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3)
- SCEA - Go! Sports Ski* (PSN)
- SCEA - Folklore* (PS3)
- SCEA - Heavenly Sword* (PS3)
- SCEA - Warhawk* (PSN / PS3)
- SCEA - Super Stardust HD* (PSN)
- SCEA - Snakeball (PSN)
- SCEA - Toy Home (PSN)
- SCEA - PSOne Emulation (PSN)
- SCEA - Piyotama (PSN)
- SCEA - PixelJunk Monsters (PSN)
- SCEA - Blast Factor* (PSN)
- Sega - Condemned 2: Bloodshot (PS3)
- Ubisoft - Lost: Via Domus (PS3)
- Ubisoft - Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2* (PS3)
- EA - Burnout Paradise (PS3)
- KOEI - Dynasty Warriors 6 (PS3)
- Capcom - Devil May Cry 4 (PS3)
- Atari - Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit (PS3)
- Disney Interactive - Turok (PS3)

I've played that Lost game on 360, and let me tell ya, the rumble adds nothing. [PlayStaton Blog]

[MTV via Kotaku]

This is undoubtedly because Sony didn't want to license anything more than they had to from Immersion, who caused this whole rumble/no rumble mess in the first place with the lawsuit. After paying up to Immersion, Sony could put rumble back in to their DualShock 3s—which works just fine with the SIXAXIS sensing technology at the same time. As if anyone believed that rumble and motion sensing couldn't work together in the first place, which was Sony's first excuse. [GameDaily]