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SIXAXISThe SIXAXIS Wireless Controller (officially trademarked in all caps as SIXAXIS) is the official wireless controller for the Sony PlayStation 3. In Japan, individual Sixaxis controllers were available for purchase simultaneously with the console's launch, without a USB to USB mini cable, at a price of JP¥5000 including tax (about US$40). Individual Sixaxis controllers were also available at launch in the United States for US$49.99, C$59.99 in Canada, £34.99 in the UK (€50) and in Australia it costs AU$80. The word "SIXAXIS" (contraction of "six axis" for the directional movements) is a palindrome.
HistoryAt E3 2005, Sony showcased their "boomerang" design for the PlayStation 3's controller. Accompanied by much criticism (such as the difficulty of holding it), this design was later abandoned. Sony later stated that the original controller "was very clearly designed as a design concept, and was never intended to be the final controller, despite what everybody said about it." The original design was replaced by an upgraded, wireless version of the DualShock 2 controller at E3 2006. Until Sony announced the name in early October, reviewers had been calling the controller "DualShake", "DualMotion" or "DualMovement".
Feature and design changesThe Sixaxis can operate wirelessly via Bluetooth; up to 7 simultaneous controllers are supported natively by the console. The controller also features a USB mini-B port, which can be used to connect a USB cable for internal battery charging and synchronisation with the PS3 system. The controller can be seamlessly swapped from wireless to wired operation, and is charged automatically upon connection. The controller, much like the Xbox 360's, still communicates wirelessly with the console when plugged in, although unlike the 360's, some data is still transferred such as pairing information. The PS3 itself comes with a USB to USB mini cable, but spare controllers do not include these cables; only one cable should be needed for all controllers; however as USB cables are commonplace in most households this should not be a problem. The controller can operate up to 30 hours on a full charge. The battery was originally not thought to be replaceable; according to a Sony spokesperson, the Sixaxis should operate for "many years before there's any degradation in terms of battery performance," and stated, "When and if this happens, then of course Sony will be providing a service to exchange these items". Later, it was revealed that the Sixaxis came with instructions on how to remove the battery and that the battery was fully removable. A major feature of the controller is the ability to sense both rotational orientation and translational acceleration along all three dimensional axes, providing six degrees of freedom. This became a matter of controversy, as the circumstances of the announcement, made less than eight months after Nintendo revealed motion-sensing capabilities in its new game console controller (see Wii Remote), with only one game shown at E3 to demonstrate the motion-sensing feature, led to speculation that the addition of motion-sensing was a late-stage decision by Sony to follow Nintendo's move. Further fueling the speculation were comments from Incognito Entertainment, the developer behind the motion-sensing PlayStation 3 game, Warhawk, that it only received development controllers with the motion-sensing feature 10 days or so before E3. Developer Brian Upton from SCE Studios Santa Monica later clarified that the Incognito had been secretly working on the motion-sensing technology "for a while", but did not receive a working controller until "the last few weeks before E3".
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