PlayStation 5 Controller Patents Show Off Next Gen Design Changes

The PlayStation 5 is coming, with the next-generation Sony console currently being planned for a Holiday 2020 release. This means that the system is still at least a year away, but we’re starting to get some idea of what the console will be like. Now a new patent for the PlayStation 5 controller has appeared on the website for the Japanese patent office, and it’s giving us a glimpse of the rough shape of the PlayStation 5 controller. At first glance it looks very much like the Dual Shock 4, but there are some big changes that have been made.

AS VGC notes, the images in the patent point towards a few changes, such as smaller sticks, larger triggers, a USB-C charging port, and no light bar. While this is by no means the definitive final version of the PlayStation 5 controller (the infamous PlayStation 3 “boomerang” controller was abandoned before the system’s launch), odds are that many of these changes will appear on the final design. The touchpad remains in place, and the general shape appears very similar to the Dual Shock 4.

Sony has previously discussed their new controller, revealing that haptics will replace the standard rumble, allowing for a “broader range of feedback” that will allow for a more nuanced approach to how the controller vibrates (much like the Switch’s “HD Rumble”). The L2/R2 triggers on the PS4 controller will be replaced with adaptive triggers, so developers can program for added resistance–the R2 button might be harder to press if a character is pushing something heavy, for instance, or you might feel resistance when pulling back the string on a bow. The controller is reportedly being developed to give players a stronger sense of place within their environments, and to give developers new options in the experiences they can replicate.

We also know that the PlayStation 5 will still require games to be installed from discs, and that Sony is hoping that the system will be adopted by players quickly. We’re also starting to see games announced for it, including numerous Ubisoft titles and Path of Exile 2.