PS5 DualShock Revealed (DualSense)

Looking at this, it's interesting that both Nintendo and Sony have ended up on a design that is visually similar to the modern Xbox controllers. And going back further the shape of the OG Xbox Duke controller looking similar to the Dreamcast controller.

Regards,
SB

 

The DC controller was so flawed in so many ways. After the Dual Shock 1 they should have known that the DC should have used twin analog. They decided to use the Nights controller as a basis for some peculiar reason. The placement of the D-pad and Analog didnt feel right. The D-pad wasnt well designed wither. Another peculiar choice since the Saturn was ideal for fighting games, and fighting games were a highlight for the DC.
The Duke controller was even worse. The oval buttons with a diagonal direction and the white and black buttons at the top made it easy to press the wrong button. The shape of the controller was not ergonomic at all. The overly concave surface was a bad choice.
Thank God they made changes on the 360 controller. The shape was well designed for a good grip. I wasnt totally satisfied with it either. But it was much more comfortable. The One controller improved even more. But one thing I never ever liked was the god awful d-pad. It is inaccurate, a headache for fighting games. The mechanism doesnt work well. It makes it worse that it is placed assymetrically.
The DS3 was showing it's age in terms of design but it was perfect for fighting games. The shoulder button placement and design was certainly a problem and its rigid shape was not sitting as comfortable in the grip. The DS4 just feels right for every game for me. The DS5 by the looks of it, gives the impression that it brings the best from XBOX and Playstation.

 

On my hypothetical design, the white pointy part would be at the same height as the LED strip, and the touchpad would be less than a milimiter raised above that, amd then the pad has round edges.
As I said, in my redesign I did away with the concept of an inner dark core with three white shells around it, and changed it into a white and dark whole core, with only the touchpad acting as an outer shell over that.

 

It's all part of the grand console homogenisation. all good ideas will be consolidated into every console, making them all the same collection of the same ideas.

 

Yes, I did change the concept of a dark core with a white plating around, but the thing is I feel like not even sony embraced that concept fully. As in, if the core is supposed to be dark, then why is the top area behind the plating not dark as well?



If the idea is that of a dark core with white plating, this would make much more sence:



But even then, the design feels a little unsure of itself. The black core kind of morphs into a glowing blue, but that glowing blue itself subdivides into a non-glowing transparent dark over the matte dark part. What is the hierarchy of forms and substances in here? It has not fully decided.
Here would be an example (a very rough and admitedly not very pretty one) of what a design that is more commited to the concept of a dark core with white plating:


This fully embraces the curvy design language, the 2000's japanese bot-like forms, and everything. I don't really particularly like this solution. The proportions and form definetly could do with a lot of further adjusting, but I use this to exemplify intent. This at least has more well-decided intent.

Maybe all the curvyness is not so good, maybe you want some sharp angles, and a thinner slit between where the white shells meet. Well then, fully embrace THAT design language and go all-in on it:


Now here things are well defined. The dark core has a coherent form, the white plating fits together like puzzle-pieces, and the LED strip doesn't seem lost in the middle of an undefined confusion.

Again, my mockups are quick rough-drafts I threw together to exemplify my points. I'm doing this for free on spare time (thanks corona enduced unemployment) but they try to adhere to a coherent and consistent design language. My problem with sony's design, is that it kind of feels like a mish-mash of some of the ideas of each mock-up I did. Almost like they prototyped stuff similar to mine, and couldn't decide on one direction to go with it, so they put everything in the blender and came out with something that is incosistent.

 

It's kinda one of those unwinnable designs. I've adjusted further to restore some of that iconic Sony silhouette working off of milk's [initial] changes. Adjusting the bottom of the handles, trimming some more fat below the sticks and pushing the jack down under while adding in my prior changes to the PS button and the tone of the center section, the sticks and the L1/R1. Also trying out the circular base on the face/d-pad.



However, I feel everything I do takes away from the stark, bold "newness" of Sony's design and just serves to muddy the waters. Though I still can't help but think that core Sony design just seems a bit wonky and off-kilter.

I tend to find lines work best when they're either in direct contention with each other or totally in sync; and you don't want to veer too far from either. Here, all the lines tend to be meandering somewhere in the middleground. The inner line of the white handle panels doesn't play nice with the circles around the analogue sticks, the lines do not fit and the gap is small which gives the illusion of crowding if it's not dealt with. Milk' adjusted this a little, but unfortunately there's so little room to play with around the face/d-pad buttons that it's impossible to make it work without a more radical approach.


EDIT: Speaking of radical, just saw the above post. Love the work!

 

Exactly, that is one of the basic rules one always has to watch out in design, illustration, composition, even photography. If you want things to to align, align them perfectly. If you don't, have them boldly disaligned.
If lines must connect, have them do so as closely to perpendicularly as your design allows. If they don't connect, then separate them well. Don't have things kind of graze each other tangentially. It seems accidental.
And so forth for everything. Enhance contrast, or equalize, don't stand in a middleground undecided.

 

Now that I’ve looked at your last one, all the other ones seem wrong.

 

Microsoft launched the Controller S quite early in the original Xbox gen and that had many things improved and it replaced the Duke in the box as well.

Spoiler

The Dualsence looks very good to me. I like the dual colour thing and the white/black especially looks appealing to me. I do prefer the Xbox thumbstick layout, but DS4 already was a good controller and the changes it had from DS3 suited me well. Thumbsticks were wider apart and higher from the bottom of handles.

 

That was a nice discussion to read over my morning coffee. Well done, chaps.

 

I don't disagree with that, following your analysis, but I also feel it lands on the best solution. Maybe a bunch of designers designed the heck out of the concepts and showed them to clueless laymen who suggested, "don't make that bit dark", and "blend those bits," and who produced in the end a monster that designers don't like because it has no consistent language but the public likes because it's cool?

Kudos on the quality of your art though. They look like master images and not photoshopped modifcations.

 

It's hard to tell but it looks like the light goes all the way around the touch pad and only the sides are lit for some reason.

 

Nice to see those polished rims around the stick dome, should help avoid stick wear.

 

How much are additional or replacement ones going to be, $80?

 

DS4 was estimated at costing $18 at PS4 launch. I can see Dualsense costing maybe $25. Two VCAs instead of two rumble motors, two force feedback motors and their accompanying parts for triggers, and a mic array.

 

I previously didn't see any really expensive parts beyond maybe 3$ in total, I now think the VCAs might be a couple bucks more. There's not enough information about it but I realise it's a different tech than the ALPS devices in the switch controllers. It would have to be a big enough magnet to matter in the BOM. It would be essentially a direct drive linear actuator, moving the magnet in a tube or something like that.

 

It doesnt ooze ’expensive’ in any way, maybe their elite will but ds5 probably retails for 50 like the ds4.

 

Maybe $70, like switch pro controller.

 

Maybe the separate left right led strip are for better tracking for VR?

Maybe the top are fully white to reduce cost by 0.000001 cent. So the molding are only in 2 parts, each part with their own color (white, black). With no thin parts, so better durability.

Btw the features seems makes PS5 games compatible with ds4. Sure you will not get better tumbler etc, but all the functionality for gameplay are also in ds4. Unlike ds3 that's missing TouchPad if you use it in PS4.

 

https://www.techradar.com/news/the-...FWZ2NmOENJdkdySWJLMk8xZzdmOXNNYTBfZXBMRTQ0R1M.

Opinion: Devs likely won’t make the most of the DualSense’s features