With a price cut, a new Slim model, a 250gb system on the near horizon, and a completely free to use Playstation Network, it's getting hard to nitpick about the PS3. But, if there is one almost completely universal complaint about the Playstation 3, it lies in the Dualshock 3 and its recessed L2 and R2 trigger buttons. And with more and more people experiencing the joys of the slippery, recessed triggers that Sony refuses to change, there are sure to be even more people that are frustrated about their refusal to make them like actual trigger buttons... But I am here to tell you: there is hope! And it isn't in an entirely separate controller, but in two little pieces of plastic known as Real Triggers.



Gioteck Real Triggers for PS3
Company: Gioteck
MSRP: $4.99

At the time of buying my PS3, the trigger attachments were around $10, came with a piece of metal that wrapped around the controller to bulk up the original Sixaxis (the vibrationless controller the system debuted with), and I couldn't imagine spending extra cash just to make my brand new, perfectly functioning Dualshock3 controller a bit easier to hold. And even though I got used to the recessed triggers without much hassle, when I finally got an Xbox 360, the control scheme ended up being a pretty big factor in what version of a game I dropped cash on.

For those who still don't have a PS3 and haven't had much time with one, I'll break it down a bit: the PS2's triggers weren't such a big deal because the Dualshock 2 didn't have it's trigger buttons hanging off into open space like the DS3; instead, its plastic molding went out just beyond them, keeping them at an equal slant as the L1 and R1 buttons and thus keeping them more like buttons than the trigger shaped shoulder buttons on the Xbox. And with the 360, Microsoft took it a step further and made their triggers even more comfortable to use than before, whereas Sony went in the other direction, making them stupider and harder to use. I assumed that the Dualshock3 would change that, since it was already adding vibration, but they didn't fix the problem then. And when I heard about the Slim, I hoped that maybe this would be a good time for them to rectify their stupid mistake... but there has been no sign of relief. So, when I noticed that the RealTriggers were just under $5 and lacked the metal wrap-around, I decided that, for the sake of science, I would go ahead and splurge on something I was pretty sure wouldn't make that big of a difference.



But, I have to admit, they make a huge difference. Not only is it easier to press the triggers in, but it takes less effort and there is no slipping at all. The plastic molding has the exact same feel as the original triggers and the shoulder buttons, so it doesn't feel foreign at all, and if it weren't for a slight overhang on the sides of the trigger, these would almost be completely unnoticeable to someone who wasn't looking for them. Within my first weekend of using them (to beat Arkham Asylum), I had already gone back to buy a second set of them for my extra controller.

The installation is insanely simple. You just open the box, take them out of the plastic baggy they're in, hold onto the trigger, and snap them down over them... and that's it. If you ever need to take them off, you just hold the trigger's at their base, and pull the attachments back off. It doesn't seem to damage the controller in the least, it doesn't harm the RealTriggers, and you can always snap them back on in a jiffy.



Some of you might be wondering why you should pay $5 for a fix that Sony should have admitted with the original Sixaxis and corrected with the DS3... and you are right to question that. This problem should have been fixed a long time ago, but Sony is too stubborn to admit it's mistake and so it is the consumer who loses an extra Lincoln, not them. And for those of you who have opted for third party controllers, I'm sure you're happy with them... but, since you probably still have that controller that came with your system, it might be worth the $5 to make it a little more friendly on the hands of friends or whoever might be using it. After all, the Sony controllers not only use bluetooth (rather than some that opt for a usb dongle), but the battery is rechargeable via any USB port, they're light as could be, everyone has at least the one that came with the system, and the familiarity of the dualshock in the hands at least takes me back to my first romps with the PSone at a friends house in the mid-90s.

If you're curious if these Trigger attachments really are that simple, work that well, or just like getting other opinions from the community, you can check out the other awesome cblogs written by Corak and Xiofire about these very same attachments. And although I don't really like pitching unneeded attachments to friends and fellow gamers, I really mean it when I say: these were worth the money.