SIXAXIS batteries not swappable, but Sony will replace controllers for free

After having printed so many negative stories about Sony lately -- concerning its battery debacle, Blu-ray delays, and factually-questionable marketing, to name a few -- we're overjoyed to report on a company policy that will be sure to please gamers planning to pick up a PS3. Yesterday it was revealed that the wireless (and rumble-less) SIXAXIS controllers would not sport user-replaceable batteries, and given the fact that lithium ion cells only have a finite number of charges in them, it seemed that users would have to shell out $50 every time one of their gamepads crapped out. Not that this is necessarily a huge deal in a world where $300 iPods are also considered disposable, but it would still be kind of a slap in the face after throwing down $500 or $600 for a console with a purported 10-year life span. Well Sony feels for you starving gamers, so even though the party line is that "it'll be many years before there's any degradation in terms of battery performance," a spokesperson confirmed to Gamesindustry.biz that "we will be providing a service to exchange these items." Unless the service consists of an CSR giving you directions to the nearest GameStop, it would seem like Sony is planning on replacing dead controllers for free, which is a pretty nice feature in this world of planned obsolescence. Congrats on making the right decision here, Sony -- now is there any way we can get you to reconsider tossing a few decent cables into the box as well?

[Via Joystiq]

[Chris Clark @ Oct 20th 2006 1:26PM]

I don't think you could automatically assume that what they mean by that is that they are going to replace the entire battery. He could easily mean that the replacement program is for the batteries in the controllers, not the controllers itself. Second, having a program does not necessarily insinuate to it being free. Look at the iPods, since you used them in an example. They have a battery replacement program.....for a $99 charge.

Besides, it would have been more cost effective for Sony to make them user replaceable than to provide the service for free. I feel that this means that they are going to charge for the service of changing batteries.

[Nate @ Oct 20th 2006 1:27PM]

I didn't see the word "free" anywhere in those quotes.

[Finished Law School @ Oct 20th 2006 1:38PM]

This is Sony we are talking about, this is a lie. They will say this now but realistically they will not replace it until it bursts into flames in public places a few times...

[TT @ Oct 20th 2006 1:39PM]

their response sounds pretty vague. in addition to the fact that it will be hard to hold them to such a vague comment after years have passed, they probably plan on having a program where you can mail defective controllers to them and have a 'refurbished' controller mailed back to you for a 15.00 fee or something. just my guess. i bet they don't even have concrete plans yet, beyond coming up with a media response to the PR threat. and sony has seriously strained their credibility lately when it comes to stretching the truth, respecting customers, and behaving honorably.

[Ryan D. @ Oct 20th 2006 1:42PM]

Well, this is assuming that those reliable Sony batteries don't go exploding in people's hands...

[Paul @ Oct 20th 2006 1:43PM]

Yeah they will replace the battery when it explodes in your hands like all other sony batteries

[uclatommy @ Oct 20th 2006 1:51PM]

What we're seeing is the end of an era. Samsung is the new Sony these days.

[notrealdan @ Oct 20th 2006 1:53PM]

Of course they'll replace them. It'll just be in the form of a recall.

[TS @ Oct 20th 2006 1:56PM]

I have to agree with the other commenters here. That listed quote in no way implies a free service. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a "service charge" associated with this.

[Jvijil @ Oct 20th 2006 1:59PM]

let's hope sony's very "reliable" batteries don't explode before they run out of juice. And then i doubt they will replace it for free because, in the end it will just cost them more money.

[Ed @ Oct 20th 2006 2:01PM]

I agree with the other comments that you can't assume an exchange service means "free."

[riggs @ Oct 20th 2006 2:05PM]

wow @ all the sony bashers in here, and lol @ samsung being the "new" sony.

[Jimmy Palmer @ Oct 20th 2006 2:09PM]

The article does not say this is a free service. The article says that they, Sony, will provide a service to exchange these items. There will almost certainly be a S&H fee involved in sending these items back for exchange. My guess is that Engadget worded the post like this so that in a short while they can run a second story saying "Sony lied about free exchange service".

[Y1n_X1 @ Oct 20th 2006 2:14PM]

Come on guys sony obviously isn't doing so hot right now and as loyal fans it is our jobs, or engadgets, to do their best to give them some good press. Personally I want sony to last long enough to release a PS4 one day. While the battery replacements may not be free from what is written it can be stretched to be made somewhat believable. Sony is taking alot of hits lets give them a little bit of support here.

[hydrogen_wv @ Oct 20th 2006 2:16PM]

And if that's the case, don't expect high quality batteries... the more they spend on batteries, the longer they take to die. Which would mean less replacements and less profit due to the batteries being more out of pocket.

[hydrogen_wv @ Oct 20th 2006 2:16PM]

It's probably the refurbished controller idea that was mentioned above, which doesn't say anything good about sony.

You buy a controller
The battery dies
You send it in w/ $15
They replace the battery (which they bought in bulk for a couple bucks a piece)
They send it to someone else with a dead battery.

Oh, and the shipping will likely be your responsibility. So, what we have is them making $13 everytime one of their batteries dies. Salary for the 'battery replacing person' isn't much, considering s/he could probably replace about 20 batteries an hour, and MIGHT make $10 an hour.

[Chappy @ Oct 20th 2006 2:20PM]

As I'm sure other have already said, "we will be providing a service to exchange these items." is very different from "we will be providing a service to exchange these items for free." Note that Apple similarly "provides a service" to replace dead and dying iPod batteries, and it costs $50.

[Alexander @ Oct 20th 2006 2:23PM]

Come on people. They will be standard Li-Ion or Li-Poly batteries. And even if they aren't, it will be trivial to put other batteries in them. Without the rumble there is plenty of room for batteries in there.

I predict within a week there are replacement batteries on eBay for PS3 Controllers. And if not, broken controllers on eBay which you can steal the batteries from.

[TS @ Oct 20th 2006 2:32PM]

I'd also like to note that it seems as if Sony would be yelling from the mountaintops if it was was offering a free service such as this. Then again, this is Sony, and it's just as likely that they would publicly offer an exchange service for $40, and then declare it a great value for the consumer, perhaps even saying that they are pricing their service too low as a new controller costs a full $50.

[Jim @ Oct 20th 2006 2:56PM]

Wow! Sony just can't do anything right these days!

[mathew @ Oct 20th 2006 3:39PM]

What gets me is I don't want a cordless controller. I'm quite happy with the corded PS2 controller.

I also don't want a controller with a half-assed motion sensor. I'd rather keep rumble.

Oh well, maybe I'll be able to use PS2 controllers with the PS3?

[Steve Ehrenberg @ Oct 20th 2006 4:25PM]

Anyone else think SIXAXIS is the most retarded name for a controller?

[myscrnnm @ Oct 20th 2006 6:27PM]

"This is Sony we are talking about, this is a lie. They will say this now but realistically they will not replace it until it bursts into flames in public places a few times..."

This is just a total lie. We have to look at how SCEI has dealt with similar problems in the past. THe most obvious example is the PlayStation Portable's abundance of stuck pixels when it was first released. SCEI soon allowed people to send in their PSPs for all-new replacements. Knowing Sony, they will deliver.

[jason @ Oct 20th 2006 7:19PM]

remember though...

this isn't a gaming console, per se, so game controllers are optional for use (maybe you just want the remote for watching blu-ray movies, in that case you'll never even recharge the controller's batteries)

[liquid @ Oct 20th 2006 8:17PM]

@Y1n_X1
"Sony is taking alot of hits lets give them a little bit of support here."

Are you serious, they are taking hits for a good reason,they had my support when i forked over my money for there products that always seem to break for no reason at all.

So lets see, SONY wants to install rootkits on my PC without telling me to protect there overpriced CD's, They consistently go against using any standards in any of there products, there software always sucks, my physical body is actually at risk now for using various products that may have a defective sony battery just waiting to explode in my face. And to top it all off, everything they make is typically more expensive than the next guys. So Hummm, give them support, how about they get with the program.

[C.A.M. @ Oct 20th 2006 10:26PM]

So when you pay $300 for an iPod with an intigrated-non-replacable battery, it's not a slap in the face? Seriously, is Sony that bad that that you think their screwing you over at every turn, but Apple couldn't do no harm?

[Jayson @ Oct 20th 2006 10:58PM]

liquid:

Just want to make sure I understand. Sony must comply with every idea and whim you happen to have for them to enter back into the general public�s good graces? I think that is what I am supposed to understand from your post.

Is there anything else you would like to see from Sony so they can get it right from the start? Any style tips you can give or new technology design ideas? Come on man; give them all you�ve got so they don�t f it up again.

�They consistently go against using any standards in any of there products� � I think you mean �any of their products? Since you didn�t specify I will make the standard leaps most people make:
- Memory Stick which is a standard currently being used by a total of 661 different companies. Also, Sony is making a huge effort to include SD slots in many of their newer products.
- MiniDisc which is definitely not a standard in the US but has gone quite far in other parts of the world. Sony has made a strong effort to include other standards such as CD and/or cassette in hifi devices to try and help people with the transition. Portable devices have not included multiple formats for obvious size limitation reasons.
- Betamax which as we all know failed to become a standard in the consumer market. People seem to ignore the fact that Video-8 took over the camcorder business while VHS-C failed to have significant impact. Video-8 is a derivative of Betamax while VHS-C is the derivative of VHS. Betacam also came about thanks to Betamax and became the standard used by professionals. Betamax and all its derivatives have brought in a very large amount of money for Sony so to call it a failure would be very incorrect.

�there software always sucks� � Again, I assume you mean �their software�? Again, you were not very specific so you may want to point out those things you have a problem with and let others on the board rip you apart.

�my physical body is actually at risk now for using various products that may have a defective sony battery just waiting to explode in my face� � If you don�t take advantage of the recalls which cost you nothing than yes there is a very small chance something will happen. As far as I can remember I don�t think that Sony is the first company to perform a recall. Actually I would bet that if you check recalls.gov whatever brand of vehicle you drive will have had more than one recall over the years yet you get in the car without a thought.

�And to top it all off, everything they make is typically more expensive than the next guys.� I do believe that we are still allowing companies to decide their own prices and that if the price is too high the market will not bear it causing the product to fail.

People can easily point fingers and call names but when you think you can better handle a 64 Billion dollar company employing nearly 160,000 people then by all means step forward and be judged.

[C.A.M. @ Oct 20th 2006 11:23PM]

Oops, some typos. they're>their, could>couldn't.
Just to reiterate, it will cost you $59 plus shipping and handling to replace your iPod battery through the official battery replacement program. SLAP!?!

[darkstar @ Oct 21st 2006 12:39AM]

Liquid and all you other folk, I swear this place is run by Xbox fanboys,
If Xbox did the same thing you would praise them, what's the double standard?
Just because Sony got one ahead of your beloved console (yes it is only a console), you
have to flame it? By reading your threads it is obvious that the Xbox fanboys' demographics
is a 17yr old boy who thinks the world owes them something because they have complete
knowledge gadgets, grow up and get a finish school, get a job and a woman OR a life, we're
not forcing you to have both.

[Tamarzan @ Oct 21st 2006 12:37PM]

Hahaha, figures Sony would pull something like this. I didn't know that they wern't featuring rumble. Oh well, all hail the end of sony...

[duckbf @ Oct 21st 2006 10:24PM]

Yeah well if they do replace them then you probabally have to send it to sony. It would be nice if it is free but how am i supposed to play my ps3 now without the controler?

[Aaron @ Oct 22nd 2006 8:58PM]

Actually, they're right; it would probably be at least a few years before you even noticed a difference in the battery life of your controller. I actually wouldn't be surprised if they replaced them for free, since it would be several years down the road, and most people won't need them to be replaced at all. When you add in the fact that the people who will be playing the most will probably own more than one controller anyway and just switch to the "good" one when the old one starts to lose its charge, I don't think it's that unreasonable to expect free battery replacements. What I DO expect, however, is for them to test it and charge a small fee to ship it back to you if they decide it's still good enough.

[James @ Jan 25th 2007 10:13PM]

lmao...how much did Microsoft pay you guys to say any of this crap. I'd like to have you know that i am in posession of a PS3 and a Sony VAIO laptop and i have yet to encounter any problems at all with my PS3. Furthermore, my laptop's battery has died once in the past 4 years that i have had it. Did it blowup? No. Instead, I simply removed it, went to the Sony Style store and purchased and new battery which is working perfectly to this day. Just because of rumors, or because there have been a couple cases of batteries in Sony laptops exploding does not mean it will happen to everything Sony

-James