Not counting the name, the controller is probably the least exciting part of a new PlayStation console. Sony has been extremely reluctant to change what is admittedly a winning formula for its DualShock line of controllers, and even the DualShock 4, which broke the mould its predecessors set in a lot of ways, is cut from the same cloth as they were, in the end.

So I’m sure there’s not a lot of anticipation (or worry, for that matter) over how the DualShock 5 (presumably that’s what they will call the controller) will turn out. Sony’s never actually turned out a bad controller, and we can assume their next one will be much like their previous ones. Still, for those of you who wanted a good look at what to expect, we got some of that today, thanks to a patent filing made in Japan by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

This patent filing (you can see the pictures below) is interesting, because it seems to confirm a number of things: the controller apparently keeps the same basic layout and form factor as the DualShock 4, though we are now treated to larger analog sticks, larger triggers, and what seems to be the removal of that extremely annoying light bar on the DualShock 4. 

We also get some direct comparisons between the patent filing and the existing DualShock 4, thanks to ResetEra’s gofreak. On the whole, nothing too exciting—but also nothing too disruptive. But if it’s not broke, why fix it?

I just hope the battery lasts longer than the average Marvel movie this time, that’s all. 

However, much of the discourse has centered around the hardware capabilities of these machines, or their online and services, or their backward compatibility and ecosystem lock-in with their predecessors. One thing that people have, surprisingly enough, not brought up much with respect to these consoles is the controllers—which are, in fact, the primary (and only) way you interact with the games you play.

On one hand, this represents a certain level and degree of contentment with where controllers currently are. The DualShock 4 and Xbox One controller (as well as the Switch Pro) have all achieved what we might view as the pinnacle of controller design. All three are exceptionally ergonomic, well designed, support multiple forms of input, and allow for complex control schemes. Sure, people have some complaints with each of them—for instance, DualShock 4’s light is annoying, and the battery life is awful; Xbox One controller’s lack of a dedicated Share button is killer; Switch Pro’s D-pad is terrible—but on the whole, what people want are very specific complaints addressed with these controllers, rather than a full-fledged reinvention. No one is looking for an N64 Controller/Wii Remote style radical reimagining of what a game controller is anymore.

Which, combined with how the next generation of consoles seems to be iterative, building on the PS4 and Xbox One, rather than being a clean break from their predecessors, as has been the norm with every console generation in the past so far, seems to suggest that the controllers will similarly be more or less alike to the current ones. The DualShock 5 will probably have better battery (please), and it will support USB-C. The Xbox Scarlett controller presumably gets the Share button it lacks, and now uses an in-built battery. But anything beyond that seems to be a bit off the table. After all—what would it even be?

A look at other controllers gives us some ideas of what other improvements these future controllers could implement. A very obvious addition is paddles—Valve first introduced them with the Steam Controller, and Microsoft included them with the Xbox One Elite Controller (as well as its follow up). The Steam Controller and the Elite Controller both have limited market penetration, but the paddles were received very well, and it is possible (though not necessarily likely) that we see them on the next DualShock and Xbox controllers.

I’m not entirely sure on whether or not that might happen—currently, games don’t need any additional input beyond what present controllers already have, and paddles add fragile parts to controllers that could lead to higher defect rates; they also look goofier and more intimidating to the average person, making it less likely that they would want to pick the controller up to play a game with it. At the very least, I feel like paddles might be offered as an option, whether on a pricier variant of the controller(s), or as something you can snap on if/when needed, but not a permanent part of it otherwise. I just don’t see paddles being a permanent fixture on the only controllers these next generation consoles have, however.

Another obvious fix, this one specific to the Xbox controller, is the inclusion of gyro. Motion controls aren’t the primary form of interacting with games, but they’re still widely used for aiming and move assists, usually implemented as options. The DualShock 4 and Switch controllers all have gyros, but the Xbox One controller does not. It makes sense to a certain degree—the Xbox One controller was designed when the console was going to have the Kinect be an integral part of it, so any motion sensing needs could be implemented using Kinect rather than having to be built into the controller itself. This, of course, is also the reason why there’s no Share button on the controller, because back in the day, Microsoft envisioned us shouting “Xbox, record that” to take photos and videos.

The Kinect ended up not being the future of Xbox, which means the Xbox One is now the only major platform on the market to not support any form of motion input—PS4, Switch, 3DS, phones, tablets, VR, even the PS Vita, all support motion, but the Xbox One does not. Presumably, Microsoft will be throwing in a gyroscope in the Xbox Scarlett controller, because it is an obvious and unobtrusive addition that can be entirely ignored by those who want nothing to do with it.

But those additions feel small. Certainly they don’t seem to be introducing anything anyone might consider a dealbreaker. Then again, however, when was the last time that actually happened? Nintendo’s fiddling with controllers aside, they’ve been pretty static for the last two decades now. When was the last time Microsoft or Sony actually substantially altered their core controller design?

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course. The core controller design has remained the same for so long because it works. There’s no reason to upend a table that doesn’t need any upending. And while for a mechanics focussed company like Nintendo, it does make sense to want to experiment with input methods (though even Nintendo seems to have given up, and has settled into the “standard” controller design now), Microsoft and Sony, as well as all the third parties who put games on their system, know the controller design, know what to expect from it, and design their games around expecting that standard of input. Changing that would be disruptive to a whole lot of people, and not just change-averse players who would inevitably cry foul were it to happen.

So, when the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett hit next year, we can expect to see them build up on the PS4 and Xbox One in all sorts of ways—hardware that builds upon current generation hardware, services that build upon current generation services, backward compatibility with current generation games, and yes, controllers that are largely iterative (if that) improvements on the current controllers too. Nothing more is needed. For many, the controller is just a means to an end—said end being the fantastic games these consoles will inevitably be host to—anyway.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

But those features are there. They are largely unused, out of some VR games that put them to great use (such as Astro Bot: Rescue Mission), but they do exist. The question is, should they be retained in the DualShock 5 (or whatever the PlayStation 5 controller is inevitably called) given how low their usage is?

The basic answer to this question is, yes. In fact, there’s absolutely no reason to have a position other than “yes” for this question, but let’s look at the many reasons why Sony should retain the Touchpad and the motion controls and even that annoying LED light for the DualShock 5.

Backward Compatibility

Unless the PS5 is allowed to connect to PS4 controllers (which it might not be—the PS4 can’t connect to DualShock 3, even though it can connect to PS Move. There is no technical limitation for this either, it’s just an arbitrary restriction), Sony needs to include every possible input on the DualShock 4 in the DualShock 5 for the purpose of backward compatibility, which at this point we can expect will be included on the PS5. Even games that only cursorily utilize these features will run into compatibility issues on the PS5 unless they have access to the inputs to begin with.

VR Compatibility

Maybe Sony ensures that any games made for the PSVR2, or whatever the PSVR accessory for the PS5 ends up being called, aren’t designed around the DualShock 4, but in the here and now, we have multiple VR games that are designed around the DualShock 4, and in fact can only be played with it. Games such as Resident Evil 7 can only be played with DualShock 4, while a game like Astro Bot is explicitly designed around the controller’s capabilities, specifically touchpad and LED light. Unless Sony wants to break compatibility with these games on the PS5, DualShock 5 would have to retain these inputs.

They’re Just Options, And They Don’t Hurt

This is the big thing here—the gyroscope and the touchpad are just options. They don’t hurt anyone. At worst, if they’re not used, they’re just there, completely unobtrusive. The touchpad can end up acting as additional buttons for developers to map to, and the gyro can be completely disabled. There’s literally no reason to remove either feature. No, they don’t add to the cost of the controller—the DualShock 4 costs as much as the DualShock 3, and as much as the DualShock 2, and those controllers lacked one or both of those features respectively.  The cost of the controller doesn’t rise because of those features. And no, they don’t hurt battery life either. Okay, the LED light does, but that’s more because you can’t turn it off. If you had the option to disable it completely (like you do with the touchpad and the gyroscope), then even that wouldn’t be an issue. There are literally no grounds to argue against the inclusion of these features.

Sony needs to do a far better job of supporting both features in their games

But this brings us to the next point—Sony needs to do a better job of actually supporting these features. And I don’t just mean by making them cool gimmicky ways to input text on the system UI—I mean that they literally need to support these features better in their own games. Third parties follow a platform holder’s lead, since what a platform holder does is what establishes a community on a platform. If Sony doesn’t implement gyro controls or touchpad support in their games, why would third parties?

For evidence, consider the case of Paladins. The game recently got gyro aiming enabled on the Switch version. This happened because the Switch community actively demanded for gyro aiming to be available as an option. They in turn demanded that option because first party games such as Breath of the Wild and Splatoon 2 support this feature. Since that set an expectation for gyro aiming to be supported as an option, third party games such as Paladins, DOOM, and Fortnite have all enabled this option for their Switch version. And yet, in spite of the fact that the DualShock 4 has a gyroscope built right in, they haven’t done the same for the PS4 version.

It would cost them nothing, since the work to develop the feature is done. It would cost nothing for the players, since only those who want to use it would enable the feature. But because there’s no expectation of the feature on PS4, third parties don’t deliver on it. In such a scenario, of course features like the gyroscope and the touch pad will go under utilized. Sony themselves don’t seem to care about either of them—so why should third parties?

DualShock 5 should have everything on the DualShock 4, and more

We don’t yet know what form the DualShock 5 will take, but I hope it will be very similar to DualShock 4. The DualShock 4 is a great controller—the shape and ergonomics are great, and it is very feature rich. The low battery life is an issue, but one that’s will be hopefully countered by allowing us to turn the light off on the next controller. But that apart, I hope the DualShock 5 retains everything the DualShock 4 has—the same buttons and triggers and bumpers and sticks as always, but also the Share Button, the touch pad, the Sixaxis motion capability, and then add on top of that something new, such as paddles for additional control. Make it the perfect, ultimate controller. The PS5 will probably be the home for some of the most sophisticated games ever made. No reason the controller can’t be the most sophisticated one ever as well either.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.