Does the PS3 Controller (DualShock 3) Have an Accelerometer?

No. The DualShock 3 (and Sixaxis) contains a 3-axis gyroscope (rotation rate), not an accelerometer (linear acceleration).

Sixaxis Motion Sensing

• Detects yaw, pitch, roll (angular velocity).
• Cannot detect linear motion (tilt, shake, free-fall) accurately without sensor fusion.
• Used in: Lair (flight), Flow, Flower, Warhawk (tilt steer), MotorStorm (trick control).

DualShock 4 (PS4) Adds Accelerometer

• 3-axis Gyroscope + 3-axis Accelerometer = Full 6-axis IMU.
• Enables precise tilt, shake detection, and pointer emulation (gyro aiming).

Practical Difference

Games requiring "shake to reload" or "tilt to balance" work poorly on DS3; they need DS4/DualSense. DS3 is fine for steering rotation.