Sony has just unveiled the controller for its next-gen console: the DualSense.
The new controller marks the biggest departure for the company’s controller design in its history of PlayStation consoles since the PlayStation One was released in 1994.
The controller is very aesthetically different to the previous generation’s DualShock 4 controller – appearing more akin to the controllers used by Xbox with its rounded shape and pale bone colour scheme. However, it does maintain the same button layout from the previous generation – except now the PS Button has changed to appear less like a button and more like a grooved logo.
According to The Verge, the new controller has a few important changes on the inside as well. These changes include a replacement to the previous generation’s “Rumble” technology with the recently announced haptic feedback. The new controllers also feature “adaptive triggers” that can adjust their resistance to different gameplay effects.
The DualSense also features an integrated microphone so players no longer require headsets to communicate in multiplayer, along with new USB-C ports.
The “share” button has been renamed the “create” button, which will offer “new ways for players to create epic gameplay content to share with the world.”
Features that remain from the previous generation include the middle-mounted touchpad that proved the previous generation’s most important innovation. The colour bar that was behind the controller has been moved to the left and the right of the touchpad as it has been slightly raised. Sony is also sticking with the symmetrical button layout with the D-pad and face buttons still on the top half of the controller, and the analog sticks on the bottom.
Sony has announced that it will be offering more details soon, including release price. The PS4’s DualShock 4 retailed at release for $59.99, for example – the DualSense is expected to be more expensive.
The controllers new colour scheme and aesthetic could be a spoiler for the PlayStation 5’s final appearance. Perhaps Sony is changing its matte black colour scheme and replacing it with the pale white of its original console.
Twitter’s Reaction
When the DualSense was announced Twitter exploded as the phrase “Xbox Controller” began trending worldwide.
Users have been comparing the new controller to Xbox’s own controller design, insinuating that Sony has ‘copied’ their competition.
