It’s been an exciting few days for the console gaming community. After weeks of tech and spec updates, we finally get a good look at some hardware because Sony has officially revealed the PS5 controller. Everyone, meet the DualSense.
In a post on the PlayStation blog, Senior VP of Platform Planning Hideaki Nishino provided some details and the DualSense, and they make for some pretty exciting reading.
MORE PS5 NEWS: Sony PS5: News, rumours and reveals
Jim Ryan, President & CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, commented that “DualSense marks a radical departure from our previous controller offerings and captures just how strongly we feel about making a generational leap with PS5.” Now we’ve seen it, what does this really mean for the next generation of gaming?
Immersive gameplay
One of the biggest things about the PS5’s controller is its focus on immersive gameplay.
The DualSense is loaded with haptics, a simulated feedback system which will allow the PS5 an extremely precise and varied level of touch-based communication with the user. Haptic feedback replaces the rumble found in the PS4’s DualShock 4.
As Nishino highlights in his blog post, such an addition “adds [to the] variety of powerful sensations you’ll feel when you play, such as the slow grittiness of driving a car through mud”.
Adaptive L2 and R2 triggers will also add to the sense of in-game touch and feedback, allowing in-game tension and action to be reflected in the trigger activation, “like when drawing a bow to shoot an arrow”.
It's clear from the DualSense details, and system architect Mark Cerny’s announcements around the PS5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech, that immersion is a key focus for the console. Let’s hope developers will be willing to take full advantage of these features.
Buttons, touchpad and analogue sticks
The DualSense controller’s button and analogue stick configuration has remained largely unchanged from previous PlayStation generations.
The DualShock 4’s innovative ‘Share’ button has been replaced by an enigmatic ‘Create’ button. What this truly means for users is still unclear, however, Nishino suggests that they’re building on the function rather than replacing it entirely. So, it’s likely that the ‘Create’ button will, at least in part, offer the same easy content sharing capability.
Other than the adaptive mechanics behind them, it appears to be business as usual with the trigger layout, though the ergonomic curve of the L2 and R2 buttons seems to be reduced. The touchpad seems largely unchanged, and the PS button is raised, engraved and subdued.
The analogue sticks are true to PlayStation form, with Sony holding strong against a marketplace loaded with offset positionings.
Microphone array and headphone jack
The DualSense has an in-built microphone array to allow quick and easy communication. Seemingly foreseeing misplaced hope, Nishino was quick to highlight that despite will not be suitable for serious chatting, so it’ll still be “good to have that headset handy”.
The controller still incorporates a headphone jack for a cabled headset connection.
Design and look
In the blog post, Hideaki Nishino talks of how the DualSense’s design was a negotiation between fan-loved tradition and progression.
Tradition appears to have stayed in the button and analogue stick configuration, whereas everything else was built from the ground up. When you consider that the DualSense houses haptics, triggers and actuators, a decent battery (not an AA in sight), touchpad and microphone array, the seemingly deeper body design is easily understood.
Nishino also let it be known that in-hand comfort and weight of the DualSense have also been considered, but we’ll have to wait until we get hold of one to see how it all relates.
Time for some speculation…
On reading the announcement, and in the light of other spec announcements, we’ve had a few thoughts…
What does this tell us about the PS5?
Truly, not a whole lot more than we already knew. Immersive gaming is clearly a focus, as is revamping PlayStation tradition with progressive tech. The controller also seems to have done away with the ubiquitous PlayStation button colouring, opting for a more minimal look, and the body is largely white. In terms of aesthetics, the controller may indicate that the PS5 is likely to be very white and very minimalist.
If you want to know more about what the PS5 has hidden under the hood, make sure to read our rundown: Sony PS5: News, rumours and reveals
The Microphones
In-built microphones will be really useful for quick online chats and quick, simple in-game callouts and voice messages. But, with the focus on immersion, is it too much to think that developers may be encouraged to start integrating minor voice commands or interactions into their content?
The Create Button
The blog post made the suggestion that the old DualShock 4’s sharing capability wouldn’t be replaced but upgraded. The difference in meaning between the terms ‘share’ and ‘create’ is notable. Given the PS5’s seemingly all-powerful hardware, should we be ready for a console-based footage-editing suite?
Make sure to check back in with us regularly, as we'll be updating this article as we receive more news, updates and reveals.
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