Four PS4 Controllers, Under Glass, From Almost Every Angle

Kotaku - We've seen leaked images of the PS4 controller. We've seen Sony people hold the PS4 controller in their hands. But not until our intrepid Kirk Hamilton hustled into the Sony area of the Game Developers Conference today have we been able to see the PS4 controller... in the wild?

[JoGam]

Love the blue color the most. Also the touch pad looks removable. When the video starts, you can see the edge of the touch pad. Doesn't look like its totally connected. More like it can be removed. Do anyone else notice?

[iGAM3R-VIII]

There have been rumours about it being removed but I highly doubt it would be because what would be there in replace of it?

[Ps_alm3k]

a touchscreen would be awesome. why? because you can type words and instead for pressing to go into menu screen. just have a menu on there. use for hot bars on mmo games. but of course they will get shot down for copying wii u.

[Muerte2494]

the touchpad might have some display functionality because there is not other reason for mentioning the resolution on it. 720p if I'm not mistaken.

[MaxXAttaxX]

900p

[SolidStoner]

it seems it has a speaker... I predict it will at least beep when on/off or low battery :)

overall it looks just what I wanted... like the old one, with some nice tweaks... like those new analog stics, I always wanted a space for my finger to catch on, sometimes it slips away....

[colonel179]

It may be because it's clickable

[iGAM3R-VIII]

yea agreed

[torchic]

it was confirmed to be clickable during the aftermath of the reveal. tons of info got lost during the mediastorm.

what I want to know, is it one big clickable thing or is it clickable to the left and right, making an L4 and a R4 button, or is it clickable like that + as one whole big thing?

[Nikhil]

@torchic: It's whatever they want it to be. Programmers could have the button do different things based on the location of the finger when it's pressed.

[Jaqen_Hghar]

a man would think a company would have mentioned that by now and there is no reason for it. A man believes it looks like that because it is clickable like a trackpad.

[Blackdeath_663]

i highly doubt it considering the touch pad is click-able which has been confirmed. i'd like to see some real practical applications to the touch pad otherwise its nothing more than a gimmick, one thing it would be useful for is browsing menus (as in swipe to go back and forth,click to select,pinch to zoom,tap to right click etc...) but those are things you can mostly do with just the controller. only time will tell how it works and what for but for now its nice having the touch pad there.

[3-4-5]

That blue just looks like dark royal purple though.

[DATNEWYAWKER]

It's a button as well, which offers another input method, that's why it looks raised like that. IGN had a pretty crazy detailed breakdown of the controller and the camera from the conference.

[Irishguy95]

I want to touch them

[StraightPath]

looking alot similar to the xbox 360 controller now which is a good thing.

[PR_FROM_OHIO]

How??

[Psn800]

Love them all .

[Bathyj]

Sexy is the word.
SEXY!!

[Rush]

Calm down dude plenty of sexy things on the internet, I suggest a Google search with the alternate spelling of pawn.

[seanpitt23]

Wow thats a nice design but They look expensive.....

[Jaqen_Hghar]

a man would note that switching from analog to digital should help costs and that a trackpad isn't expensive like a touch screen. Making sticks and triggers better doesn't cost a company a dime.

[Alcohog]

Stop talking like that, its freaking me out.

[MasterCornholio]

Well at least it wont cost you 150€ for an extra controller.

[seanpitt23]

Iam guessing £30 to £40

[mcstorm]

Im glad they have changed the design this time around as it looks like it will fit bigger hands better. Biggest issue I had with the ds3 was I tended to get cramp when playing for along time this one looks like it may fix that issue for me. Look forward to getting a ps4.

[ape007]

almost perfect

[Ninjamonkey82]

I want one now.

[PsnGammer21]

Well If u get one now you only get the controller lol..

[Ninjamonkey82]

That will do for now :)

[khowat]

IMHO the controller looks awful...

[SI7VER]

How so? Can you elaborate on your comment. What changes would've you made? Don't just state a problem without thought out solutions.

7

[khowat]

To elaborate, I think that the hand grips like those little things that come out of the controller should be more shapely, instead of just being cylinders capped off by semi-spheres. Second, I think that the fang shaped triggers look kind of weird on the back. Third I really don't like the speaker design, I don't know if it is avoidable because they are on the vita too and they make the whole thing just feel a bit more like a toy. Fourth, the control sticks. I don't like the way the lip around them are so pronounced but then again this might be for precise control and comfort so that can't be avoided. The controller is also very round but no in a good way, Like the xbox 360 game pad is very round but its roundness can also be found in its general shape but the dualshock 4 doesn't have that same general roundness so it just seems to clash. Lastly the touchpad seems that it was literally just tacked on, this might be because it is removable.

Changes I would've made, I would literally just take the dualshock 3 and added the light bar, and headphone jack, maybe the speakers but I would've had made the holes much smaller and much more of them. I would've ditched the touchpad because let's be honest, that is a mistake on Sony's part because they cater to the hardcore and I'm pretty sure no hardcore gamer likes the idea of a touchpad because innovations with controls that aren't extremely vital (like dual analog sticks and dual triggers, rumble packs etc.) don't usually sit well with developers or hardcore gamers so why even bother? Let's face it the dualshock 4 is pretty much a dualshock 3 with a with an led bar on the back, speakers+headphone jack, and a touchpad that will rarely get used in an game, so why make it something else

And I didn't state a problem I gave my opinion, and I'm not Mike Cerny, I don't develop consoles nor their controllers, and we don't know everything about the ps4, maybe there are some reasons why the controller is designed like that

All I was saying is that I don't like the design

Did I elaborate enough for you?

[SI7VER]

Fair enough... I guess we'll all have to wait and see.

I like the design for the most part. Sony did address some of my gripes about the DS3, and added some innovations for the DS4. However, even though I do like the design and all... I am worried about the new PS4 camera. If Sony does no bundle this new camera with every PS4 it's going to fail.

Developers have to focus on the lowest common denominator when making there games. Only if the devs KNOW for a fact that every ps4 owner has a camera connected, will those innovations flourish.

Even though I disagreed with you. I'm glad you expressed your reasoning.

7

[Cryptcuzz]

"And I didn't state a problem I gave my opinion, and I'm not Mike Cerny, I don't develop consoles nor their controllers, and we don't know everything about the ps4, maybe there are some reasons why the controller is designed like that"

maybe there are some reasons why the controller is designed like that?

Yeah its called comfort. Maybe they are designing it that way to be more comfortable in general.

Why not wait and hold it yourself first? Maybe then you will understand why they did what they did.

[khowat]

Even so, design is not only function but also form, I was commenting on the form of the controller, TO ME IT LOOKS LIKE A PROTOTYPE, it doesn't matter is it looks like a prototype for a reason it still looks awful to me but that doesn't matter because if they're gunning for comfort then fine they can make their controller look like a piece of shit it's not going to stop anyone from buying a PS4. Finally to me when it comes down to how a controller looks, its not understanding why they designed it the way they did but liking what they did and I, me, not anyone else, speaking for only myself, do not like what they did

[tubers]

I so agree with you. The whole design seems like a prototype. Very disjointed.

[abzdine]

i wonder how red or green light will show with red green controllers :)

Holiday cannot come soon enough!

[frjoethesecond]

I love how the colours are the same as the face buttons.

X is blue O is red Δ is green and □ is pink (I think).

[PSVita]

Good eye i didn't notice that.

[The Great Melon]

I think they will end up modifying the position light bar. It appears to be at a bad angle unless you place the camera on the ground looking up at your hands. It looks as if you have will have to tilt the controller towards the player in order for the bar to be visible for a camera that is around TV height. ...Or maybe I just have terrible posture. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[maddfoxx]

I really like the look of the D-pad. I just hope its still as good at the D-pad on the Dualshocks 1-3.

[Parasyte]

I'm really liking the design of the new controller!

[_FantasmA_]

I like how the colors match the buttons. Green and blue FTW! Purple ain't bad either but red can go #### # ### ### ####!

[NoobJobz]

It is looking pretty good. Looks like they improved in some areas as well. Obviously, I don't have one in hand but from watching the video, I'll say it looks quite good.

My biggest complaints with the PS3 controller were the triggers and it felt too small to me. It seems they fixed both of these things. Plus, concave analogs which I think will be much better.

[Monkeycan8]

I can't wait to hold it in my hands!!!

[Garbanjo001]

@ KHOWAT I agree with your analysis. However, I think the controller itself is fantastic. And with you saying "add the blue light, add the touch screen, add the speakers..." BUT keep the old design? Not going to happen. People are so opinionated lately, lets put it like this. I'm switching to Sony after buying two generations of Xbox products. I've had my xbox repaired 3 times. I have never played a single month on xbox live (I won't pay the money for it). After just seeing the game capabilities and the controller itself, the PSVita gameplay integrated with the console itself, I am very satisfied with what Sony has done. I think this time, Xbox will have their hands full, and I am very stoked about the possibilities of demoing games, playing them, downloading them without my console skipping a beat. I figure that after all this time, an Xbox fan can switch to a PS4 and not be jaded by it. I'm saving my gear now. I am pre-ordering and I am buying that machine the day it comes out. Whine about a controller all you want, I'm happy.

[gpturbo81]

just a controller. no reason to get a raging boner.

[tubers]

IDK.. the controller design looks very disjointed.

Not to mention the grips look like a sausage cut in half.

The glossy bed of the face buttons are also questionable while most of the body has matte finish.

The front (looking at USB) just looks weird (that "V" bulge). The shoulder buttons also seem to be shaped weird.. R1 and R2 being smaller.

I am so glad that it is written there that the design CAN change for the final version.

[IRetrouk]

Have the dimples gone from tge grips? Or is it just my eyes?

[level 360]

I just hope Sony would also make it standard to offer different paint options for the PS4 console/control pad and not just the LED lights.

I'll take a blue one of course either in piano gloss or military matte blue.