SONY, as you may have heard, officially unveiled the new controller for the upcoming PlayStation 5 last night while most of us in Australia were asleep.
There’s already been a number of stories about the new controller published by overseas outlets and it’s generated plenty of discussion online, but the reality is right now I simply don’t have anything new to add to the discourse – so instead, am going to take the unusual step of both linking to the Official PlayStation Blog post announcing the controller and simply presenting Sony’s Australian press release so you can read about it from the company themselves.
[Media release begins]
Sony Interactive Entertainment has today revealed the first images and design details of the DualSense wireless controller, the new wireless controller for PlayStation 5.
Building on the successes of the DualShock 4 controller, DualSense is set to captivate more of the player’s senses as they interact with the virtual worlds in PS5 games. The features of DualSense, along with PS5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech, will deliver a new feeling of immersion to players.
Utilising haptic feedback DualSense will heighten the feeling of immersion within games, and add powerful sensations you’ll feel when you play, such as the slow grittiness of driving a car through mud. DualSense will also incorporate adaptive triggers into the L2 and R2 buttons of DualSense so players can truly feel the tension of their actions, like when drawing a bow to shoot an arrow.
The design of DualSense has been curated with playability and ergonomics front of mind. The design team worked closely with hardware engineers to place new features of the controllers, without giving a bulky feeling. In the end, designers changed the angle of the hand triggers and also made some subtle updates to the grip. Thoughtful consideration also went into ways to maintain a strong battery life for DualSense’s rechargeable battery, and to lessen the weight of the controller as much as possible as new features were added.
For the buttons, players will notice there is no longer a “Share” button as featured on DualShock 4. Don’t worry – it’s not going away. In fact, building upon the success of our industry-first Share button, DualSense will also bring players a new “Create” button feature. The Create button pioneers new ways for players to create epic gameplay content to share with the world, or just to enjoy for themselves.
DualSense also adds a built-in microphone array, which will enable players to easily chat with friends without a headset – ideal for jumping into a quick conversation. But of course, if players are planning to chat for a longer period, it’s good to have that headset handy.
With a new two-toned design, DualSense offers a new colourway for players to enjoy. Additionally, the changed the position of the light bar that will give it an extra pop. On DualShock 4, it sat on the top of the controller; now it sits at each side of the touch pad, giving it a slightly larger look and feel.
DualSense has been tested by a wide range of gamers with a variety of hand sizes, in order to achieve the comfort level we wanted, with great ergonomics. The goal with DualSense is to give gamers the feeling of being transported into the game world as soon as they open the box. We want gamers to feel like the controller is an extension of themselves when they’re playing – so much so that they forget that it’s even in their hands!
SIE President & CEO Jim Ryan also shared with the community around the reveal of DualSense:
“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.”
[Media release ends]
Since I haven’t had a chance to play with one of the controllers and have seen the same pictures as everyone else, I don’t really have anything insightful to add right now – except to say I personally rather like the aesthetic and look forward to trying the unit out in person when the opportunity becomes available.
