While we wait for PlayStation to give us a peek at the PlayStation 5, which is slated for a winter 2020 release, the Sony-owned gaming tech company has kept our collective anticipation going by unveiling the DualSense, their new wireless controller. The announcement of the controller comes after an online presentation in March by PlayStation 5 system architect, Mark Cerny, in which he revealed the PS5’s technical specs.
According to an April 7 blog post by Hideaki Nishino Playstation’s Senior Vice President of Platform Planning & Management, “[PlayStation has] reached an exciting milestone with PlayStation 5, as we’re starting to ship our new controller in its final design to developers who are implementing its unique features into their games. But first, we wanted everyone in the PlayStation community to get a first look at the DualSense wireless controller, and hear our vision for how the new controller will captivate more of your senses as you 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.”
Jim Ryan, President & CEO at Sony Interactive Entertainment
In a separate statement, Jim Ryan, President & CEO at Sony Interactive Entertainment, says, “ 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 [Winter] 2020. We look forward to sharing more information about PS5, including the console design, in the coming months.”
All about the device
Right off the bat the DualSense looks like it is a must-have for gamers across the board: from rookie to hardcore. The device looks to combine functional design with appealing minimalism in an all-new two-tone colour profile. The light-bar, which is placed on top of the DualShock 4 controller, now actually sits at each side of the DualSense’s touch pad, giving it a slightly larger look and feel. One of the more anticipated features, though, is Create. Nishino elaborates, “We’ve built upon the success of our industry-first Share button to bring you a new Create button feature for screen-capping. With Create, we’re once again pioneering new ways for players to create epic gameplay content to share with the world, or just to enjoy for themselves. We’ll have more details on this feature as we get closer to launch.” Other features include adaptive triggers, redefined lines for a tactile hold, and the maintained strong battery life for minimally interrupted gaming sessions.
The newly-announced DualSense controller by PlayStation, seen from an angle
The biggest perk? Nishino announces, “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 you are planning to chat for a longer period, it’s good to have that headset handy.”
Nishino points out that a sense of touch within gameplay has not been in focus as much as it could have been, given immersive experiences is the zeitgeist of emerging technologies. “We had a great opportunity with PS5 to innovate by offering game creators the ability to explore how they can heighten that feeling of immersion through our new controller,” he writes, “This is why we adopted haptic feedback, which adds a variety of powerful sensations you’ll feel when you play, such as the slow grittiness of driving a car through mud. 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.”
Now the big question remains, will these devices release as scheduled? With all the gaming releases being pushed by months due to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns around the world, we cannot cement these dates nor can we expect Sony and PlayStation to rush their manufacturing lines. So the only game we can really play at the moment, is the waiting one.
