Jan 31
Battery Life Showdown! Fight to the Death!
Finally the most heated argument in gaming has been settled. Fanboys can no longer shout at the top of their lungs about the one feature that truly makes their system better than others: controller battery life. GamePro.com tested out the three major console’s controllers (PS3, 360, Wii…duh) for which one’s battery life was longest. They did a pretty thorough test too, playing all sorts of games from casual to hardcore for all lengths of times, including an 8 hour marathon. The base rule was that you could only use out of the box items, so nothing with a rechargeable station that was purchased separately. A controller was out of life when it wouldn’t reconnect after the third attempt.
So who is the big winner of a contest that really isn’t that strong a selling point either way? Hit the jump.
As you can see from the above chart the 360 controller pretty much dominates the competition with a truly impressive 56 hours and 56 minutes. Coming in second with 36 hours and 43 minutes was the Wii controller and nunchuck and placing third with a disappointing 18 hours and 41 minutes was the Sixaxis.
I’m actually pretty surprised as I would think with all the stuff going on in the Wii controller that it would suck up battery life like none other; I know mine has run out plenty quick. The short life span of the Sixaxis should also be taken with a grain of salt considering you can recharge it at any time out of the box, unlike the other two controllers. So over the life of the system you’ll be saving plenty of money despite the shorter battery life. At first I was surprised by the length of time the 360 controller lasted but then I thought about how many times I’ve actually changed the batteries in my controller at home and realized it is a relatively low number. In the end does this really matter to anyone? I know I’d never base my console decision on battery life, but it’s still fun to know.
Categories: Microsoft4 Comments so far
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no way. my 360 controller has always died within like 15 hours. my ps3 controller i have only had to charge like once since i have gotten it. i think this project is flawed.
It’s good to know, but it’s not something that would make me choose a 360 over a PS3 or vice versa. Frankly, I’m all about the rechargeable stuff; I wish Nintendo would get with the program and release an official charging station or something.
I think I could have told you this. Anyone who owns a PS3 knows about the Sixaxis’ ridiculously short battery life. I really hope the Dual Shock 3 fixes it.
This is in no way accurate. I can tell you right now my PS3 controller last atleast 30 hours. I know I may sound like a ranting fanboy but this test proves nothing.
All this test proves is that the batteries that come with the 360 last longer than the ones that come with Wii.
Of course the PS3 controller would die first out of the box. It has been siting there losing battery life, while the other controllers aren’t losing anything. Take the rechargeable kits and you will see which battery last the longest. I’ll tell you right now it isn’t the 360 one. It only lasts like 6 hours.