First images: PS5’s DualSense controller is ‘a radical departure’

Sony has officially unveiled PlayStation 5‘s DualSense controller, which it calls “a radical departure” from its previous DualShock pads.

The PS5 controller’s final, dual-toned design was unveiled on Tuesday. According to Sony the design took many years of mock-ups and concepts to reach, and innovates by allowing creators to “heighten the feeling of immersion” in their games with features such as haptic feedback.

Sony’s Hideaki Nishino said the firm decided to keep “much of what gamers love” about PS4’s DualShock 4 intact, while also adding new functionality and refining the controller’s design.

• Related: 5 questions we still have about PS5’s controller 

Sony decided to go in “a different direction” to previous controllers with a two-toned design, which moves the position of the previous controller’s light bar to the top, which Nishino said gives DualSense “extra pop.”

Sony has changed the angle of the controller’s hand triggers and made subtle updates to the grip, he added.

The company also claims to have put “thoughtful consideration” 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 previously revealed, the PS5 controller’s flagship feature is haptic feedback, which Sony claims adds a variety of powerful sensations players will feel when they play, such as the grittiness of driving a car through mud.

“DualSense marks a radical departure from our previous controller offerings and captures just how strongly we feel about making a generational leap with PS5.”

DualSense also features new “adaptive triggers” via the L2 and R2 buttons, which Sony says will allow players to feel the tension of their actions, such as when they’re drawing a bow to shoot an arrow.

For the buttons, “Share” has been changed to “Create”, which Sony says will introduce new ways for players to edit and publish gameplay content. More details on the feature will be revealed at a later date.

DualSense also adds a built-in microphone array, which Sony says will enable players to easily chat with friends without a headset.

Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan said DualSense marks “a radical departure” from Sony’s previous controller offerings and “captures just how strongly we feel about making a generational leap with PS5.”

He said: “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.”

Sony revealed the official PlayStation 5 hardware specifications in March and confirmed new features related to expandable storage and 3D audio.

PlayStation 5 will be backwards compatible with the majority of leading PS4 games when the console debuts later this year, lead system architect Cerny said in a video presentation.