PS5's new controller, the DualSense, made headlines upon its unveiling last week. A two-tone white-and-grey creation with an Xbox-esque ergonomic curve to it, Sony has abandoned the iconic DualShock shape to usher in a new era of PlayStation gamepads.
The controller is stuffed with features including the much-touted haptic feedback on the triggers, which will offer more tension and immersion when performing more certain in-game tasks. They've got in-built microphones and speakers too, while the Share button has been ditched in favour of a new "Create" feature.
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But although there's lots of exciting new facets to the controller, everyone want sto know how it feels in the hand. Bethesda's senior vice president of marketing, Pete Hines, has gotten to grips with the new controller, and has been allowed to take to Twitter to let us know his thoughts on the new technology.
Now, it's best to take these things with a grain of salt: It's unlikely the marketing whiz from Bethesda, the studio behind DOOM: Eternal and The Elder Scrolls, will be putting negative (haptic) feedback about Sony's unreleased controller out into the Twittersphere.
On the other hand, it is encouraging to know games developers are having fun and heartily endorsing the new technology: it's their use of it that will define how successful the technology becomes. Check out Hines' tweets below:
I've gotten to try the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers on this thing and was very impressed. I think games are gonna do some really cool things with them. https://t.co/zZQJrTHfl6April 8, 2020
A second tweet followed, comparing the DualSense to the PS4's old DualShock 4:
You sort of immediately forget about a PS4 controller. I went back and forth between them and you immediately just want to use the PS5.April 9, 2020
It's the haptic feedback technology Hines has sampled in particular, which implies he tested an unfinished version of the gamepad without all the features completed. Nevertheless, it's made us excited for all the possibilities: Sony specifically mentioned "driving through mud" in-game feeling differently than driving through a clear road as a direct result of the haptic feedback.
Let's go further. In a game like Tomb Raider, pulling the right trigger to fire a gun might be a quick experience. But drawing a bow might be very different: the trigger might provide more feedback at the apex of the draw, and continue to fight against you until its released.
Features like this make the gamepad more than a simple controller: they introduce a new element of immersion into the game, and that's what we're really excited about. Stay tuned for all the PS5 news as it happens.
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