This Is What the PlayStation 5 Controller Might Look Like

Sony is planning to launch the PlayStation 5 in time for the holiday season next year, but we know almost nothing about the console. The company has dropped a tidbit here and there, but it’s talked mostly about the controller. Now, we know what that controller might look like thanks to a Japanese patent filing. There are no huge surprises here, but there are some mysteries. 

If you go back a few generations, Sony’s DualShock game controllers used to have a very distinctive shape with longer, tube-like grips that extended down from the button clusters. The DualShock 4 smoothed out that design and flattened it a bit, making the controller closer in shape to the Xbox controller. 

The alleged DualShock 5 for the PS5 looks very similar to the DualShock 4, but it’s a bit wider and more rounded. The DualShock 5 still has the symmetrical thumbsticks, but they protrude less from the body of the controller. The touchpad is still there in the center, but the light bar appears to be gone. There’s also a USB Type-C port on the top for charging (thank goodness). At the bottom of the controller, the patent drawings show a rectangular inlay that wraps around the edge of the controller — we have no idea what this could be for. 

The slightly bulkier frame of the DualShock 5 could be necessary to enable some of Sony’s new features. The company has already explained that it will use a more precise “haptic” vibration system in the DualShock 5 instead of the traditional rumble system that makes the whole controller vibrate. That’ll surely take up more space, as will the new “adaptive triggers.” According to Sony, developers will be able to specify levels of resistance for the L2 and R2 buttons to simulate different activities. 

Nothing is final yet, but we’d put good money on the DualShock 5 looking very much like these drawings. Images and sketches of a purported PS5 console have leaked as well, but these appear to be a developer kit. It’s a V-shaped, vented monstrosity. The final hardware will probably look at least a little more elegant. 

You can expect Sony to show up at E3 this year with a lot more information about its upcoming consoler. Until then, all we can do is speculate.

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