The console wars are about to get a lot more intense with the release of the newest wave of consoles and eager gamers can get their first tastes of the PlayStation 5. The release of every PlayStation console has been treated like a major event and Sony always manages to come up with some new features to entice both new audiences and returning customers.
It’s important for a console’s hardware and their library of games to be impressive, but a comfortable controller is also paramount. The DualSense is the new PlayStation 5 controller that gamers will have their hands on for hundreds of hours, but the new accessory can do more than people realize.
10 It Incorporates Ergonomics
Sometimes video game controllers can wildly change their designs between generations, but Sony has impressively more or less kept to the same design across all of the different PlayStations. PlayStation controllers have evolved in subtle ways over the years, but the PS5’s DualSense works specifically hard to be the most ergonomic Sony controller yet. The DualSense is bigger and rounder than the DualShock 4 and certain features like the light bar have been moved around for added ease. Its design has carefully been perfected by both designers and players.
9 It Can Create Content
A major step forward from the DualShock 4 to the DualSense controller is that the PS4’s Share button has now been replaced with the Create button. The Create button offers players to highlight their work with the rest of the gaming community more than ever before. The old button would allow players to take screenshots and record video, but Create provides even more freedom with what players can share with each other and the DualSense has literally made it as easy as pushing a button.
8 It Improves In-Game Feedback
One feature in controllers that’s been around for a while is the advent of rumble technology to add an extra level of immersion. Rumble technology has been able to efficiently evolve into haptic feedback, which offers a more sophisticated system that can present the mildest of changes.
The DualSense has voice coil actuators that perform precision haptic feedback support to make it feel like he player is really in the game. Even tiny details in material, like walking from wood to wool, can be represented with this level of feedback support.
7 It Allows Voice Chat
It’s amazing to look at how multiplayer gaming has changed over the past few decades as online play gained more importance. The utilization of voice chat has continued to evolve and it offers another level of communication that some gamers consider to be fundamental. The PS5’s DualSense controller delivers a highly sophisticated voice chat system that doesn’t involve any extra accessories. An improved speaker and built-in microphone allow the controller itself to facilitate communication with a surprising amount of clarity and precision. The DualSense can even record conversations t ohelp report abusive players.
6 The Adaptive Triggers Can Adjust Resistance
Adaptive triggers with multiple levels of response and resistance are something that consoles have been experimenting with for years, but it’s difficult technology to perfect. The DualSense features this technology in an impressive way where the resistance of the triggers is supposed to create a more realistic feeling for whatever the player is doing within the game. This may not feel like that drastic of a change, but there are already many PlayStation 5 games that are coming up with clever uses for adaptive triggers and how different levels of resistance can simulate actions within the title.
5 It Can Connect With A USB-C
As gaming moves forward to new generations there are many ways that it tries to incorporate the newest forms of technology to design a product that won’t need to be updated in a few years.
There’s been an increasing shift towards USB-C ports and the PlayStation 5’s DualSense finally makes the transition and ditches the old microUSB connection as a result. The DualSense controller also comes with a 3.5mm audio jack and Bluetooth 5.1 support, so it just generally offers more convenient options for modern connections.
4 It Has Motion Controls
The gaming community has had a tumultuous time with motion controls and it’s been hard to consider them anything more than a heavy fad, but there’s still a subtle way to incorporate them that can work. The DualShock 4 supported limited motion controls for titles, but the DualSense offers an even more refined experience in this department. The DualSense offers 6 axis motion sensing, which is made up of a 3 axis accelerometer and a 3 axis gyroscope. The DualSense has enough technology to offer motion controls that are more immersive without feeling extraneous.
3 It’s Easy To Open Up
Video game consoles and controllers are essentially pieces of art and there’s an incredible amount of work that goes into every aspect of their production. Sony appreciates uniformity, but gamers relish the opportunity to make custom modified consoles and controllers and it can be a real pain to disassemble the materials. The plastic piece on the back of the DualSense controller can be snapped off without any intensive maintenance and allow the user to get inside if they need to examine the internals. In theory, this easily removed back to the controller could also be replaced with custom colors.
2 It Has Touchpad Support
The touchpad is another element from the PS4’s DualShock 4 that was used in a limited capacity, but could be brilliant when properly implemented into a video game. It’s possible to entirely ignore the DualShock’s touchpad feature, but the DualSense strives to make it a more practical piece of the controller’s hardware. The DualSense offers a 2 point capacitive touchpad with a click mechanism for an even more enhanced level of response. The DualSense touchpad probably won’t become a mandatory component of games, but it’ll at least feel more natural when it does.
1 It Finally Offers Universal Button Controls
Consoles are largely the same between regions, but video games have had an interesting relationship in the past with how they regulate themselves in different areas. Some consoles prohibit games from other regions to play and it’s been a unique dynamic to negotiate over the years. This may not seem like a major change, but the DualSense controller actually creates a universal button scheme across all regions. The Cross and Circle represent “confirm” and “cancel” respectively in America, but it’s the reverse on Japanese controllers. This is a superficial change, but it helps create a consistent product across the world.
NEXT: 5 Most Innovative Video Game Controllers Of All Time (& 5 That Made No Sense)
