You didn't think $600 worth of game system would last you the life of the console did you? Turns out Sony wants to make you buy controller after controller.
It's no secret that the biggest profit margins are in accessory sales, could that be why Sony designed SIXAXIS to be disposable?
When Microsoft designed the Xbox360 wireless controller, they did the smart thing and made the battery removable like a cell phone. Maybe this was to spur battery sales as the battery holds less and less power the runtime also goes down. On the other hand, I'd rather replace a battery for $10 instead of a whole controller for $50. Sony's gone the other way though, the rechargeable battery inside SIXAXIS is like the battery in a cell phone wireless headset or ipod. It's non-user serviceable which means as the battery charge degrades over time (about a year), you'll have to go buy a new controller or deal with shorter playtime between charges.
When Microsoft designed the Xbox360 wireless controller, they did the smart thing and made the battery removable like a cell phone. Maybe this was to spur battery sales as the battery holds less and less power the runtime also goes down. On the other hand, I'd rather replace a battery for $10 instead of a whole controller for $50. Sony's gone the other way though, the rechargeable battery inside SIXAXIS is like the battery in a cell phone wireless headset or ipod. It's non-user serviceable which means as the battery charge degrades over time (about a year), you'll have to go buy a new controller or deal with shorter playtime between charges.
