So I went to grab my Playstation 3 controller and... Even after cleaning it reappeared. It's come from the left stick for some reason...
I'm not sure if this is the same, but when I didn't use my Dualshock 3 for a few weeks I grabbed it and the sticks were very greasy. When I wiped them, they were a different colour to before. I think it's the oils in the rubber(?) degrading out over time.
That's how mine started off. Felt like grease so I wiped it off and also remove the rubber cap to dry it up. Just checked now and there's a whole bunch of it on there. I have the exact same version controller next to me, and it's fine...
Happend to almost all of my PS2 controllers. Sony always had shitty build quality. It's the softener in the thumbstick cap that evaporates over time. All you can do is buy a new thumbstick cap.
At work we had crates full of faulty Dual Shocks hanging around and there'd always be at least two or three with oozing joysticks.
Curiously i've just read that some people's PS4's and Xbones are "leaking" as well. Xbone: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=742225 PS4: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=743929 WTF?!
You'd think they'd use something else in the material since it's been happening since PS2 days :/ I'll replace the caps since I have another broken DS3 laying around.
I'm sure if it was the battery it would of crystalised by now. It's been sitting in a draw for months.
It's definitely not the battery. It's the substance they use to give the analogue sticks a softer feel, although I don't know what causes it to liquefy like that.
Just checked both my DS3s. The temperatures have been very hot the last two weeks... No sort of "leaking".
