No lol. You still have to buy a play and charge kit, and no, simply buying rechargeable batteries is not enough, because it only recharges a proprietary Microsoft battery pack (not AA's, despite AA's being cheaply moulded in to the pack).
You still need this pack. Which is only sold with the cable.
So you either have to cough up for rechargeable AA batteries and a wall charger, or you have to shell out for the play and charge kit. Either way, Sony's solution is more affordable, better value for money (lithium-ion batteries are more costly and advanced), charge quicker, degrade at a much slower rate, are smaller, lighter, more refined, modern and convenient.