For over a year you've had Sony's blessing to cradle a black DualShock 3 in your twitchy little fingers, and though that matte covering makes for a perfect primer base should you care to go the RustOleum rattle-can route, that's still the only color Sony has approved for the US. It's the only color, Sony repeats, even when presented with the image above, which pretty clearly shows a white DualShock 3 safely encapsulated within North American, bi-lingual packaging -- and a Walmart receipt to boot. Sony's specific response was: "We have no plans to release a white Dualshock 3." That means either someone carefully sealed an imported gamepad into a domestic package, or this was one of those unplanned releases. Something else to look forward to at E3? Oh youbetcha.

Update: Commenter Four More Beers looked up the UPC and, go figure, it points to the classic black model on Walmart's site. So, proven hoax, or does Sony also not have any plans to release new UPC codes?

Two years after we thought it was all over, it sounds like the saga of Sony, Immersion, and the rumblin' DualShock has yet another chapter: a New Jersey electrical engineer named Craig Thorner is now suing Sony and its attorneys, claiming that he was more or less duped out of one of his patents in a shady deal designed to help Sony and PDP/Electrosource beat Immersion's cases against them. Oh yeah, it's a tangled mess -- Thorner first signed over his patent to Immersion, hoping to score a little slice of royalty pie when the lawsuit settled, but then took it back when he decided Immersion wasn't pursuing it hard enough and signed it over to PDP/Electrosource, who promised him $150,000. So where does Sony come in? Thorner says PDP and Sony were teamed up to beat Immersion, and that Sony was secretly the one licensing the patent but trying to remain out of the picture to keep the price down -- and he's got proof, in the form of a $150,000 wire transfer between the two companies. Not only that, but Sony's attorneys apparently promised Thorner that they could "wear two hats" during negotiations and represent both him and Sony, which is ten kinds of shady. You can guess what happened next: Sony lost, PDP settled, and Immersion sued Thorner for breaking his agreement -- and Sony's attorneys didn't help him defend the lawsuit. Did we say ten kinds of shady? Eleven kinds. Of course, it's doubtful that Thorner is totally innocent here, so it'll be interesting to see how Sony responds, but at this point we're treating the DualShock 3 as a miracle of nature and leaving it at that.

[Via Joystiq]

Read - GamePolitics article (with PDF of the complaint)
Read - Law.com article

If that all-black DualShock 3 controller has just grown stale, and you're not about to drop any coinage to have Colorware liven things up, GameStop has a fantastic solution -- so long as you're a fan of silver, that is. As of today, the firm's website has a clear listing for a satin silver version of the wireless SIXAXIS, and anyone familiar with the silver PS2 controller will no doubt notice the striking similarities. Just so you know, this one's been available in the Japanese market for eight centuries now, but it looks like the North American crowd can finally yell "me too!" when parting with $54.99 on June 24th.

[Via Joystiq]

Love your SIXAXIS controller? Wish you could just plug it into your PC and enjoy the spoils of familiarity when engaging in PC gaming sessions? You're in luck, so long as you're not terrified of branching out a bit and loading up some new drivers on your rig. A Japanese coder has whipped up four drivers that not only enable Sony DualShock 3 controllers to operate within Windows, but also support rumble and enable all sorts of tweaking. Hit the read link to get the show started, and be sure to let us know how it goes.

[Thanks, craig]

We won't say that the onset of the holiday shopping season has, um, encouraged Sony to get with the program here, but the deafening roar of wallets everywhere opening up probably didn't hurt matters. That said, we're informed today that the long-awaited PlayStation 3 wireless keypad will begin hitting US retailers during the first week of December for $49.99. Furthermore, the outfit's multi-purpose twin port AC adapter -- which can charge a DualShock 3, SIXAXIS, Sony Bluetooth headset and the aforementioned wireless keypad attachment -- will be in those same stores a week later for $24.99.

Even with today's wireless video game controllers, you can't stay untethered forever. After a few hours of gaming on the PlayStation 3, you'll have to plug in that SIXAXIS or DualShock 3 USB cable to charge. Starting December 18th, Sony Japan will offer an AC adapter intended for PS3 controllers at a price of ¥2,800 (just under $30). Like third party solutions we've seen, it has two USB ports so you'll be able to do two controllers or toss in a Bluetooth headset. Nothing yet on availability outside of Japan, but if we get word we'll be all over it, 'cause we feel slightly guilty for leaving the PS3 on overnight to charge -- what with the world's dwindling energy supply and all.

With only one analog nub, the PSP can't seem to nail down a comfortable first or third-person shooter control scheme on its own, but a new tech called "PSP Plus" will allow users to pair the handheld with the PlayStation 3's more genre-capable SIXAXIS or DualShock 3 controllers. Sony announced PSP Plus at the Tokyo Game Show today but didn't provide much info about how it works, so we're not sure if it's the same technology that was patented last year. We do know there's a pretty outrageous catch: you'll need to connect your PSP to your PS3 to use the controller. With only one game supported (Resistance Retribution), we prefer just about any homemade hack to this solution, and if you're at home with your PS3, why not play Resistance 2 instead? It's what Kratos would do.

Immersion, the company that owns virtually every vibration and haptic tech on earth, is getting a taste of its own medicine now that it owes Microsoft $21 million. You may remember back in 2003 when Microsoft floated an unknown sum of cash in the direction of Immersion in order to include patented vibration technology in its Xbox 360 controllers. Around the same time, Sony told us all that we don't need no stinkin' vibration and passed on paying up. Last year, though, Sony bowed to customer pressure and paid Immersion $121 million in order to unleash the Dual Shock 3. Immersion was supposed to share some of that Sony booty with Microsoft -- and they didn't. So there we have it: we all got a piece of Sony and we have the DualShock 3. Everyone happy now?

Console modders out there have been doing crazy things with controllers for a while now, and while this latest piece isn't as crazy as the one-handed Access Controller, it's still good for a double-take -- check out this wired 360 controller shoehorned into a DualShock3 shell, complete with green LEDs. THe modder, RDC, says it works great, rumble included, but that there's no headset connector and the L2 and R2 triggers aren't analog -- both things he's hoping to fix in the next version. We'd suggest keeping the DS3 buttons as well -- while the colorful 360 buttons look pretty hot against that black case, we'd rather break this thing out and blow minds stealth-style.

[Thanks, Aguiluz]

So GamesIndustry's got word that Sony's supposedly-forthcoming Wiimote competitor is taking shape as something that sounds a lot like a break-apart DualShock 3, which would split down the middle and be used as two independent halves. Because that's really what the PS3 needs, is another kind of controller. Seriously, do they really think any new device will be greeted warmly by the PlayStation fans they first disappointed with the SIXAXIS, and then bullied into paying $55 for a DualShock 3 (and only because they spent so much time fighting Immersion over the money they clearly owed in the first place)? There's a chance we could find out at this year's E3 if this controller really is in the works, but it's a small one as they're still trying to help people get over the DualShock 3 hump, after all.

Now that the Dual Shock 3 is finally here, it looks like Sony's finding creative way to dump off old SIXAXIS stock -- like tossing 'em in MGS4 PS3 bundles. Japanese PS3 buyers will be able to choose from three "Welcome Box" MGS4 bundles in Satin Silver, Ceramic White, and Clear Black, and in addition to Snake's latest adventure and a Dual Shock 3, they'll find a SIXAXIS inside. The bundles will cost ¥49,800 ($470), compared to ¥51,800 ($492) for the gunmetal gray bundle that doesn't include the extra controller, so basically Sony's giving Japanese buyers $20 to take a SIXAXIS home. That's quite a deal, but honestly, we'd rather drop the Jackson on that super-hot gunmetal unit than have another (obsolete) controller lying around.

[Via Joystiq]

Oh great lorf of the mighty rumble, the DualShock 3 has finally been spotted on US retailer soil. The one above caught the attention of Stephen at a Maryland Circuit City. Now best get on the horn with your local big box, no telling how long supplies will last.

[Thanks, Stephen B.]

We'd been hearing that the DualShock 3 wasn't supposed to land until April 15th, but apparently Sony decided that getting gamers good and buzzed couldn't wait until Tax Day -- the official PlayStation Blog says the vibration-enabled controllers will hit US stores next week. There's a new DS3-compatible logo for rumble-compatible games, and quite a few titles will be getting updates to support the new controller. Everyone got their $55 together? Sweet, now all we need is an early release of MGS4.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Read - PlayStation Blog announcement
Read - Full list of compatible games

Dare we say it, the tide is turning. With some hot numbers projected for 2008, the PS3 is seeing a lot of wins lately, most notably that little format-war scuffle you may have heard about. Now that we've (finally) got wind of a release date for the DualShock 3, and an SKU that includes MGS4 sweetening the deal, the still-pricey PS3 is looking mighty alluring. So, what's your story, what's it going to take?

Sure, you've been able to get a DualShock 3 on the gray market for a while now, but it looks like that "early 2008" rumor was spot on -- Sony just announced that vibration-enabled version of the SIXAXIS is due to arrive in North America in April 2008 for $55, along with that new 80GB PS3 SKU. We doubt much will have changed from the Japanese version we've already played with -- if you can't stand the anticipation the whole gallery is right here.