The next generation of consoles continues to creep closer as the year progresses. While we haven’t seen Sony’s new console coming out this holiday season yet, the company recently revealed the controller that will be sold alongside it. With the PlayStation 5, Sony has decided to drop its traditional DualShock series of controllers in favor of a new one dubbed the DualSense controller. What is new in the controller besides the name? Let’s take a deep dive and find out.
The most notable difference with the DualSense controller is the change in its design. While the button and stick layout appear to be mostly similar for PlayStation fans, Sony seems to have taken a page out of Microsoft’s book and made a controller that is a little longer vertically than the DualShock controllers in the past have been.
Color-wise, the DualSense is two-toned with black and white colors. Not the most Earth-shattering of changes, but unique when you consider how Sony prefers to stick with black controllers at launch. Like the DualShock 4, however, there should be plenty of different color choices to choose from as time rolls by.
The DualSense also features a built-in microphone. Sony says this was meant for quick conversations, and if you are expecting to have more extended discussions, you will want to stick with your regular headset. Hopefully, when we get hands-on with it, people who use it will not sound like robots or have very low quality. Another potential side effect is how the inclusion of a mic might raise the price on the controller. That is only speculative conversation, but it is something to pay attention to.
The touchpad returns from the DualShock 4, but like the rest of the controller, is longer vertically, and now has the light bar on the sides of it rather than the top of the controller to give it “extra pop.” Hopefully, with the smaller light bar, the battery is not as affected as the DualShock 4 was. Speaking of the battery, Sony commented on maintaining a “strong” battery life in the DualSense but did not necessarily say it was a different battery from the DualShock 4.
One area that Sony truly innovated with the DualShock 4 controller was the inclusion of its Share button. While it has been replaced by what they are calling the Create button, this will handle the same functions as Share, but improved and expanded on. Sony has said they are “pioneering new ways for players to create epic gameplay content to share with the world, or just to enjoy for themselves” but did not expand on what the Create button will bring. Be sure to keep an eye out in the future what new features the PS5 will have with its beefed-up power.
Sony has talked about its haptic feedback triggers quite a bit. They explain how you will feel the tension of your actions in-game (i.e., pulling back the string on a bow will cause the triggers to tighten as well). When putting these features in the controller, they had to account for how it would weigh down the controller. When making everything fit together, Sony slightly changed the angle of the triggers. To help the DualSense feel smaller than it looks, they also made changes to the grip of the controller. It seems a significant factor in the design revolved around the idea of making sure the controller was not too heavy. Time will tell how these efforts paid off and how the overall experience is affected because of it.
That is everything we know about the new DualSense controller that will release alongside the PlayStation 5. Sony has been keeping things close to their chest when it comes to the next generation of consoles, but the controller is an area you can tell they are proud of. The new design is significant when you consider how little they have changed their controllers since the days of the original PlayStation. Be sure to keep your eyes out for more information on the PlayStation 5 and the DualSense controller as the year progresses.
