Consoles may have radical designs between generations, but the controllers that people use to play their games on them? Not much has changed in that design department. Four face buttons, a pair of triggers accentuated by two more shoulder buttons and two analogue sticks which can be rotated like my nipples. Wham bam, thank you ma’am.
Sony’s fourth primary controller for the PlayStation 4 though, was a genius bit of tech. Coming off the back of the PlayStation 3 which simply recycled the brilliant OG PlayStation controller only with crappier plastic once it was determined that nobody wanted to play games on a silver boomerang, the DualShock 4 added just enough new bits and bobs to the design. Which were promptly ignored by most developers. RIP speaker port, we hardly used ye.
The biggest addition by far was the touchpad that players could make use of, although nine times out of ten this functioned more as a pause button than anything else. So what will the PlayStation 5 controller look like then? Not too different! According to the controller patent that was published in Japan, the changes are subtle but shiny enough to give you instant technolust: Bigger triggers, shrunken analogue sticks and a USB-C port.
Perhaps the best addition is one of subtraction, as it looks like Sony will ditch the light bar. I liked the idea, but let’s face it: That feature was more useless than a real estate agent in a lottery to determine which of the planet’s best and brightest should be saved before an asteroid smacks the planet. It was necessary for some VR application though, so this likely means that Sony’s next foray into VR will be different. The patent also lists “Adaptive Triggers” as part of the PlayStation 5 design, which will probably make the L2 and R2 inputs have a greater range of sensitivity to deliver more nuanced gaming experiences. I’m still going to hammer them like a moron in Call of Duty mind you.
The new controllers and console will launch at the end of 2020, which isn’t too far away.
Last Updated: November 19, 2019
Allykhat
November 19, 2019 at 09:38
Once again, no paddles :/
After using a Strikepack and/or a Nacon, I cannot go back to a stock DS4 without feeling like I’m missing a limb
Admiral Chief
November 19, 2019 at 09:48
OR, you know, just use keyboard and mouse for l33t sk1llz
Allykhat
November 19, 2019 at 10:18
OR… OOOOOOOR…
You could just let me play with whichever input I like! Radical idea, I know, but it’s amazing what an open mind can achieve 😛
I’ve been foraying into Destiny on PC more and more lately and while the Mouse/KB has insane accuracy, it doesn’t feel comfortable to me. Controller, from a pure comfort PoV, outshines it. The only time that insane accuracy actually has any sway is in crucible too, which is so full of hackers right now I jump back to the PS to play it hacker free anyways.
Admiral Chief
November 19, 2019 at 10:23
Pffff, open mind, hahaha, this your first day on the interwebz?
I get the comfort section, I get the ease of use section, I get the less/no hackers section, I really do. But, in certain games the experiences is diminished by limited controls. In other games, just lounging and jamming, the experience is more laid back.
I don’t mind the controller, I just don’t prefer it
Admiral Chief
November 19, 2019 at 09:43
BUT HOW WILL I BLIND MYSELF NOW???
Hammersteyn
November 19, 2019 at 10:13
Good, that wasn’t a very bright idea to start with