By: Tyler Miller
Sony has finally revealed what the controller for the Playstation 5 will look like, as well as its name: the DualSense.
They dropped the news in a post on the Playstation Blog that details the new features of the controller and the design philosophy behind it. In an effort to further the sense of touch in games and make them more immersive, Sony incorporated haptic feedback into the controller and adaptive feedback into the R2 and L2 triggers. This will allows players to really feel things such as “the slow grittiness of driving a car through the mud” and “drawing a bow to shoot an arrow.”
When incorporating these features, the design team faced the challenge of building off of the PS4 controller design without making it too bulky. They worked with the hardware engineers to meet this challenge which led to them changing the angle of the hand triggers and making some subtle updates to the grips, that way it feels smaller than it looks. Sony also took “thoughtful consideration” into maintaining a strong battery life for the controller, as well as reducing the weight as much as possible for all the new features being added.
There’s also no longer a “Share” button. The functionality will still be there on the controller, but the button is now being called the “Create” button. While they didn’t detail what this feature will be able to do, Sony did say that they are “once again pioneering new ways for players to create epic gameplay content to share with the world, or just to enjoy for themselves.” More information on this button will be released closer to launch.
Additionally, the DualSense also has a built-in microphone array that will allow players to chat with friends without a headset if they want to. This would be ideal for a quick conversation, but Sony suggests that a headset be used for longer sessions.
The new controller sports a two-tone color design, with the majority of it being white instead of all black. The D-Pad and face buttons are now completely clear as well, similar to how they looked on white versions of the PS Vita and PSP. On the sides of the touchpad now is the light bar. It used to be at the top of the PS4 controller, but its new position will give the touchpad ” a slightly larger look and feel.”
President & CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Jim Ryan, had this to say about the new controller:
“DualSense marks a radical departure from our previous controller offerings and captures just how strongly we feel about making a generational leap with PS5. The new controller, along with the many innovative features in PS5, will be transformative for games – continuing our mission at PlayStation to push the boundaries of play, now and in the future. To the PlayStation community, I truly want to thank you for sharing this exciting journey with us as we head toward PS5’s launch in Holiday 2020. We look forward to sharing more information about PS5, including the console design, in the coming months.”
The new design and name are a major break from tradition for the Playstation controllers, but I’m actually a fan of it. The new two-tone color scheme is very different and exciting, and helps the controller look more futuristic, especially with the new placement of the light bar. It sounds like Sony is really trying to make gaming more immersive for players with all the features of their new controller, and I’m totally here for it.
TheComfySpot 