Sony Says PlayStation 5 Controller Has Haptic Feedback and Adaptive Triggers
Sony confirmed today that its upcoming console will in fact be called the PlayStation 5. Although it hasn’t fully unveiled its new system, the company did discuss some of what you can expect from the PS5’s redesigned controller.
As part of its new design, Sony has scrapped the traditional rumble hardware inside the controller and has instead opted for new haptic feedback technology. The company says that the haptics let you feel a broader range of feedback, which can be distinguished enough to give players a sense for different game textures, such as when running through grass or mud. With its new haptics configuration, Sony says that crashing a racecar into a wall feels much different than tackling someone on a football field.
Along with swapping the old school rumble hardware with new haptics technology, the PlayStation 5 controller has so-called “adaptive triggers.” These are situated on the L2 and R2 buttons and they give developers the option to program custom amounts of resistance on the triggers. For example use cases, Sony suggests that the adaptive triggers could improve player immersion by providing unique tactile feedback, such as when drawing a bow and arrow, or accelerating over rocky terrain in a vehicle.
Wired Magazine just published some hands-on impressions of the PlayStation 5 and its revamped controller, and according to that author, the controller was successful at delivering “distinct—and surprisingly immersive—tactile experiences…Sand felt slow and sloggy; mud felt slow and soggy. On ice, a high-frequency response made the thumbsticks really feel like my character was gliding. Jumping into a pool, I got a sense of the resistance of the water; on a wooden bridge, a bouncy sensation.”
Other nuggets gleaned from Wired’s coverage includes the use of USB-C for connecting and charging the PS5 controller, and that the PS5 controller is a bit heavier than the DualShock 4 but a bit lighter than the current Xbox controller with batteries in it. Much of the focus on Wired’s article went toward the PS5’s SSD and GPU-accelerated ray-tracing, which are among a variety of other improvements being made from today’s PS4 and PS4 Pro. Along with dropping these details, Sony has confirmed that the PS5 will ship over the holidays of 2020.