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PS3 Has No Achievements, Replaceable Controllers

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the quite-friendly-of-them dept.

So, there is bad news and good news. The bad news is, despite the popularity of the Gamerscore and Achivements on Xbox Live, the PS3 won't offer that. Despite earlier rumours on the subject, developers will have to pick and choose if they want to have a system like that. Sony says first party titles will offer 'entitlements' ... but none of the launch titles will have it. There is good news for PS3 fans, though, as Sony says it will replace controllers if the batteries wear out. The lithium batteries the company is shipping the controllers with should last 'for many years'.

6 of 98 comments (clear)

  1. Zonk Singlehandedly Scarry Gamers Away by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Anyone notice how few people bother to read or comment in Slashdot gaming stories anymore? Not that Slashdot ever was anyone's first choice for console gaming news, but it still used to have large and good gaming discussions.

    Zonk has pretty much put an end to that. Slashdot needs something better than the gaming equivalent of Ted Kaczynski.

    1. Re:Zonk Singlehandedly Scarry Gamers Away by IpalindromeI · · Score: 2, Informative

      (the WII controller obviously uses batteries etc as well).

      The difference is that the Wii controller takes regular AA batteries. So when they run out of juice or stop charging (if you use rechargeable AAs), you just buy a couple more for cheap. Since the PS3 controller battery can't be replaced, when it stops charging, you buy a new a controller for $50. That's why this story is interesting to people, because now Sony is saying they'll replace the controller. Although, I'm sure that won't be completely free.

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  2. Re:Oh good! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    It's worse than that. In order to get a new controller, you first have to get an RMA (Return Material Authorization) from Sony. The only way of doing that is by phoning Sony and dealing with their automated call-handling system, which does EVERYTHING by voice recognition, no touch-tone allowed. Of course, there is just one problem with this -- the voice recognition DOES NOT WORK!!! After about a dozen tries, each of which results in "Im sorry, I do not recognize your ", you then hang up and BUY a new controller. But hey... they did provide you with a system for exchanging your controller!


    (Actually, I dealt with this system when trying to get warranty work done on my Sony DVD player. Giving up on the automated call handling system was followed by taking the unit to a repair shop, which then shipped the unit back to Sony for me. Sony then held on to the unit for a couple months (just long enough for the warranty to expire -- what a coincidence!) and shipped the unit back to the repair shop -- still not working, but now it's cheaper to buy a new one than have the old one repaired...

  3. Re:Achieve the zonked tag by _xeno_ · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you had actually read the article, you'd see that publishers could have acheivments/entitlements - but there are none planned. At all.

    The title of the article is "No 'Achievements' System for PS3 Games" - that's straight from the article. As a subtitle, it has "But some games will sort of have it. Kind of."

    There's no centralized online service, so there's no way to tie your achievements into a central service to prove you've actually achieved things. This will be just like the final rankings that various games grant people in the PS2: totally meaningless.

    When you complete Okami, you get ranked in several fields. Devil May Cry has a ranking system too. So does Metal Gear Solid. They don't mean anything and there's no way to prove you've actually received a rank online. You can't link to a profile page listing your achievements.

    So, yes, companies can build their own online achievement system, but I'd be amazed if any game actually does. It looks like, just like last generation, if you want to play online games, go for the XBox 360.

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  4. +1 Fuck you Max by loraksus · · Score: 4, Informative

    "Max" (yes, they gave it a name) is Sony's condescending, annoying and buggy voice menu system.

    If you yell "agent" at it long enough, it should route you through.

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  5. Re:Achieve the zonked tag by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 2, Informative

    It would seem better to say 'if you care about rankings or the meta-game of achievements, then go for the XBox 360'. I would hazarad the opinion that most people don't. Only a small, vocal hardcore do. To get anecdotal about it, I don't know anyone who does, but then I don't hang out in online game crowds - just with people who like a casual game. Personally I've been playing online games since Doom and I would find it hard to care less about rankings or even what score I get during an individual game. I play for the fun of it - full stop.