Sony recently announced a new peripheral for its PlayStation 4 controller called the DualShock 4 Back Button attachment, which gives players programmable buttons to use in their favorite games without needing a more expensive third-party controller. It appears athat a similar system could be coming to the PlayStation 5, but it might just be built into the controller itself.
In a Japanese patent filing spotted by the Dutch website LetsGoDigital, Sony detailed a controller that includes a few more buttons located where your fingers would typically rest on the underside of the controller. This would effectively serve the same purpose as the Back Button attachment, allowing players to keep their thumbs on the analog stick while still performing actions in certain games.
The patent filing also appears to show that the PS5’s controller could be adjustable, with handles that can extend to accommodate larger hands. This would make it usable by a larger number of players, but the feature would also be something we don’t typically see in standard controllers packaged with a system. The ability to move the controller’s hand grips without them breaking during intense gameplay sessions could also be a concern.
We already know from Sony itself that the PS5’s controller will feature several upgrades over the PS4’s DualShock 4. In place of traditional rumble, the controller will have more specific haptic feedback, including the ability to cause vibration in the analog sticks to simulate the feeling of slipping on a surface. Hopefully, these additional features will not be available at the cost of battery life, which is already fairly abysmal on the DualShock 4. We’ll likely learn more as we enter 2020 and Sony has a chance to show off the final design for the first time.
Sony seems to be making more drastic changes to its controller compared to Microsoft, which unveiled the Xbox Series X’s controller during The Game Awards earlier this month. That controller is shaped slightly differently than the Xbox One’s controller, but aside from a new Share button, it features the exact same configuration. Of course, when your controller is already so acclaimed, it’s hard to argue with keeping things the way they already are.
