DIY Friday: Six-Axis Playstation 3 Controller
I haven’t had the opportunity (read: hundred of dollars of extra cash) to get my hands on one of the new Playstation 3s, but, according to some people, the controller on the beast of a console leaves a little to be desired. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still damn cool with its six-axis control functionality (as we saw demoed at last year’s E3), but the design is over a decade old and could stand to be a little changing.
Enter DIY master Ben Heck.
Notorious for backwards engineering and recreating (himself!) portable versions of just about every video game console in recent memory, Heck, also frustrated with the new Playstation controller’s old design, last month announced that he had figured out how to stuff the cutting edge electronics into the (supposedly) more hand-pleasing Xbox form factor. It turns out Heck’s announcement released pent up demand for a modified Playstation paddle that it quickly outpaced his ability to produce the mod-ed controllers even at "consignment" rates.
So rather than keep the details himself, like a dedicated DIY aficionado, Heck, just a couple of weeks ago on Engadget, released an easy to follow how-to guide for the project that’s a lot less complicated then you would think.
More committed DIYers (especially those who don’t like to deal with consoles) should take a look at this post on building your on 6-axis controller for your PC and check out the fan-boy produced video below. It’s undoubtedly a harder project, but at least you’ll have bragging rights.
