Last week Sony released a lot of their peripherals for the PlayStation 4, including the new Dual Shock 4 Controller.
I gotta admit, I was kinda surprised to get a phone call saying that my preordered controller was in, even though the official release date for the PlayStation 4 isn’t until November 15th.
Never one to turn away new electronics (yup, just like a kid at a candy store), I ventured my way down to my local GameStop to pick up said controller.
After returning home, I popped open the very sparse packaging, only to discover the controller inside, and a user guide (and no USB charging cable included..). Turns out the charging cable is being released with the actual PlayStation 4 (Sony, I forgive you this once..), so for the moment, I was kinda stumped on how to charge the darned thing.
After pondering the issue, I immediately decided to grab one of my phone Micro USB cords, and plugged in the controller to my PlayStation 3. Much to my delight, the system did indeed recognize the controller, although not wirelessly, as I had hoped. Nor did some of the functions from the new controller work, like the touchpad, or the PlayStation HOME button.
Rather than grumbling about the whole situation, I gave the controller a spin online with Battlefield 3. Even though I had to sit like 3 feet away from the TV (those phone cords are real short!), I discovered that the new controller was a total upgrade from the previous Dual Shocks that Sony had put out. The triggers have been redesigned and slimmed down, and feel more responsive; the analog sticks are now concave (so my damn monkey thumbs wont slip off when playing something as intense like Assassin’s Creed); and the touch pad (even though it doesn’t work yet) didn’t seem as obtrusive as I thought it might be. Sony also built in a small speaker, and a port for a wired headset for chatting online. Even the weight of the controller didn’t feel like it was too much or too light..
Bonus points for Sony, just by making the charge port a Micro USB connection (unlike SOME other folks). This also gave me the ability to plug it in and use it as a generic controller on a PC.
Overall though, the Dual Shock 4 just feels like a solid piece of electronic gold. Sony has totally responded to the user feedback, and from what I can say, they have delivered with a excellent piece of hardware.
And yes, my wife says I am crazy. 🙂