I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he meant you need another wireless control while the other is charging for non-stop wireless play. With the 360 I just swap rechargeable AA batteries.

That can be the only logical explanation. I refuse to believe the person who wrote this article is that retarded.

Guys, please approve this N4G as it rebukes that stupid Yahoo writer:

http://n4g.com/tech/NewsPending-441001.aspx

erf, primal anti-nonamerican products ...

Epic fail of the year, i juts hope no one takes it seriously

just one more thing I dont like about the ps3 controller.

So I'm guessing the author has never seen or used a PS3 controller? From the way it is written, it also seems as though she assumes it's an AA battery in there.

Oh, the controller can be opened and the battery easily replaced by the user. All you need is a screwdriver.

EDIT: I see there's been a minor update to the article: http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/technology/A-Grinchs-Gift-Guide/

I just wanted to comment on the whole "Too short USB Cord" thing:

I'm pretty sure the cost of getting a longer cord is alot less than a recharge kit for a 360 or 10 double a batteries for future wii gaming [it uses 2]...

I bought a charger and a few rechargeable AA batteries a few years ago. I can use the batteries for the Wii, 360 and more stuff.

Seriously these battery discussions are a nothingburger (at least regarding the Wii and 360, I don't have practical experience with the PS3).

Even then, the cord would cost you peanuts and less than the charger. Also you never have to worry about battery swapping until perhaps the 4-7 years where the battery actually does die and you get a new controller or pay SONY 10$ for battery replacement. After 4 years, I really don't think it will be much of a problem, and i'm just saying atleast four years because I hang around the PS forums often and I've yet to hear someone mention their controller battery crapping out on them.

When the red light is flashing (while connected to the PS3 via the usb cable) it indicates that your controller is charging, and when it's not flashing it means that it's done charging. As the controller does this even when hooked up to a PC, I believe it does have built-in protection to prevent overcharging.