Methods and systems for providing thermal feedback are presented. In one embodiment, a controller for interfacing with an interactive program includes an outer surface having a plurality of first surface regions and one or more second surface regions. The second surface regions are arranged in an alternating and adjacent fashion with the first surface regions. A heating source is coupled to the plurality of first surface regions, and a cooling source is coupled to the second surface regions. A thermal controller is provided for determining when to activate the heating source to heat the first surface regions and when to activate the cooling source to cool the second surface regions, based on thermal trigger data generated by the interactive program.