After more than 20 years on the market, Sony is ditching the DualShock controller. With the PlayStation 5 expected to release later this year, Sony will be shipping the new console with a new controller, the DualSense. The new wireless controller comes with a brand new design, as well new features that build off the success of the DualShock 4. Sony’s focus for the DualSense is to bring a new level of immersion to players via haptic feedback.
The DualSense brings a new level of immersion
In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Hideaki Nishino, senior vice president, platform planning & management, detailed how the haptic feedback aspects of the controller will work to enhance a player’s experience. Nishino compares the vibrations of the controller to those of driving a car through the mud, or by firing a weapon. “We also incorporated adaptive triggers into the L2 and R2 buttons of DualSense so you can truly feel the tension of your actions, like when drawing a bow to shoot an arrow,” he said.
To incorporate the new features, the DualSense underwent some small changes to make it feel like a DualShock but not to seem bulky. The biggest change came with the angle of the hand triggers. Some modifications were also made to the controller’s grips, and the DualSense includes a built-in microphone array. This feature will allow players to quickly chat with one another without a headset, though headsets will still be usable as well.
One of the largest changes to the controller is the removal of the Share button. Instead, the DualSense has a Create button. With this feature, Nishino plans to bring greater control over the content players create, but specifics will be revealed later.
Perhaps the most striking change is the two-tone color scheme. The basic DualShock controllers have typically been a single color. To accent this change, the light bar has been redesigned to wrap around the touch pad.
“In all, we went through several concepts and hundreds of mockups over the last few years before we settled on this final design,” said Nishino. “DualSense has been tested by a wide range of gamers with a variety of hand sizes, in order for us to achieve the comfort level we wanted, with great ergonomics.”
Sony made several other design changes to this new PlayStation 5 controller. The PlayStation buttons are now in grayscale instead of the classic pastel colors. The charging port also received an update, now using a USB-C charging port.
Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan ended the post saying among other things: “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.”
Ryan recommitted to a holiday 2020 release date for PlayStation 5 and promised to share more information on the console’s design “in the coming months.”
