The Red LED wasn't used to indicate the operation of the Rumble capability. It was for indicating the operation of the analogue mode. The sooner Sony pull their finger out and get this pad released, the better. Some good games wouldn't go amiss either...

"On Sony's PS2 controller the equivalent of the red button, a square LED, was used to indicate the operation of its rumble capability"

I thought it was to indicate whether you were in digital (d-pad) of analogue(stick) mode? Or was that just the PS(1) Analogue stick controllers?

In any case, it's a welcome return. Will it cause issues with charge times? I would think so, which was probably part of the initial problem. I haven't found much use for the motion sensing stuff yet.

At least on the devkits, the red light indicates that the Sixaxis is being charged. And the light on PS2 controllers is for analogue mode.

Sorry to bust the bubble on this one, but the so called 'debug' controllers that were around *before* the PS3 was release had this LED begind the PS button in the center of the controller. It was possibly an indicator that the thing was on, or perhaps charging?

When the final controllers were shipped, the LED had been removed. I believe that you can mod your controller to put an LED in there if you so desire. From what I understand it will light up when the controller is charging.

The fact that the controller in the picture on the box has this light might be a little mis-leading, unless of course Sony has decided to put the led back in. If so, I will have to upgrade my controller, I wanted the nice orange-red glow since I got mine...

I guess it indicates that the batteries on the wireless controller are about to fail on you, since the rumble should chew them up. I bet several people will claim for a über-capacity battery pack for these, or a wired version.

On other point of view, only REAL joysticks (First generation Microsoft Sidewinder, a couple from Logitech, and few from Thrustmaster, for example), could be called Force Feedback, since they responded with vectorial force according to the game, not just rumbling. (I'm glad they used the 'rumble' term correctly, not Force Feedback). Real vectorial response on one of these, I find hard to believe, you need some mass to be moved by electromagnetic coils, like a pinball machine's flippers, or electric motors. Pads can't have actual, vectorial Force Feedback, because they need two mechanically articulated surfaces, where to apply those said forces. Joysticks have their force applied between stick and base, if you hold only one of those, without a surface for reaction, there won't be feedback, except for a light, instantaneous inertia effect. Pads don't have articulations or anything like it, all they can do is rumble.

Now that the obvious has been set aside, rumble pads are neither new, nor innovative. The M$ joystick (and steering wheel now) with REAL Force Feedback has been around for 10 years or more.

When I bought a PSOne (a cost-down remodeling of the original PSX) it came with a single white rumble-pad. So what is the news after all? It is the same thing as saying that the latest (pick a car model) came with cup holders on the center dash on all versions.

...what on earth is someone who's obviously never used a PS2 pad (WTF!) doing writing on a tech website.

And rumble was dropped because if it goes off the silicon leaf in the motion sensing chip goes mental and returns wild values back to the PS3.

Sure you could get around it by only using rumble in periods without motion, but the marketing droids convinced themselves that putting motion detecting in would make every game use it, Wii style.

Again Sony in its stupidity has forgotton Europe. Lets take Jim Hendrix, he didnt start off well in US he went to Europe to sort himself out and went back a King. Sony should do the same...Sony Execs start listening. Europe wants this Console...Get the price right, and Microsoft will disappear as quickly has the Master Chief can shoot.

The rumble was not dropped due to technical matters. If the motion senser was bothered by the rumble motors, how come then the Wiimote has a rumble motor inside as well as the motion sensing chip? If wild results are given out, surely they can be filtered by a software routine.

As for the Red LED, on the PS2 and PSOne Dual Shocks, it indicated the Analogue Sticks were active. The reason been that when you tried to play an earlier game which didn't support the controller, it would not respond when the analog was turned on. Switching it off made the Dual Shock function like a standard controller. Try doing this on earlier games such as Final Fantasy VII to see.

I can guess the one who wrote the article has probably never seen an original Playstation controller, and understand the simplistic methods Sony used to achieve 100% compatability back in the old days. Unlike the N64 controller, which was designed with the Analog Stick and ability to add the Rumble Pak, Sony added these features at a later date, modifying a controller design which was very close-ended at the beginning, meaning modifications would causes problems with existing software.

Now, the issue is this. If Sony DID make a Rumbling Controller, it will possibly alienate all its current Playstation 3 owners from any new software, especially some designed with the controller in mind. People aren't paying £30-40 for a new controller just to play one or two games. If Sony decide to change the controller now, it will probably be the last, fatal Torpedo to the hull of the sinking Playstation 3.

the red PS button was on the early controllers that were used when they were first previewing the PS3 last year if i remember correctly. there was lots of talk when the PS3 first came out with people asking why their PS button didn't light up red like we'd seen in the pictures

here's a forum posts from last november:

http://www.gamer411.com/blog/26

i've heard someone suggest that it's the early japanese controllers that have the light up red button - which would make sense as I'm sure when Suzi Perry was first previewing the PS3 on the Gadget show last year, the PS button on her controller lit up red too.

As said above, the red button on my PS2 turns the analog joysticks on and off...

All the people bitching about rumbling makes me laugh, "it hurts my hands!" etc.

Tis funny. Even if you don't like it, it hurts your hands? C'mon. Lock it up!