Hey guys,

I was curious about what you guys think of the Dualshock 4 =)

In case you haven't seen it, Sony put a bunch of information about it up on their site - including confirmation that the LED will be tracked like a Move controller.

Link

I liked it a lot. The move LED and touchpad look well integrated. The new sticks look interesting and I think they will turn out for the better. From an IGN article it sounds like they have tweaked the L2/R2. So just from pictures and raw information, I like it!

Looks like the handles have some bulbousness to them underneath like the 360 which I like, also the thumbsticks have some ridged contour to them, also good. Heard the triggers felt alright. Seems ok. Knew some touchpad and move stuff would be in there, I dunno about that stuff but the thing seems pretty alright.

@sackmanjones: Very agreed haha, the L2/R2 look really nice to use now. I'm really hoping that the thing will fit in my hands better now (I have large hands, previous DualShocks felt too small)

I really like it. I kind of wish the handles were angled out a little more, but that's more from an aesthetic standpoint. I can't wait to actually hold one to see how it feels.

I really like it. And the extra space between the analog sticks is good news for those that complain about thumbs hitting eachother while playing.

Google Fiber for all?????

Love the changes to the "wings".

The DS1/2/3 don't contact your hands/palms as much as they should when you hold it normally. This means the small spots that do touch end up with more concentrated pressure on them. This looks like an improvement borrowed from the 360.

The other big problem with the DS1/2/3 is that for most people is that the normal grip puts the wrists up high and makes it hard to reach the lower triggers. Basically, you have two grips on it, the more comfortable one and the one you use when you have to get to all 4 top buttons well.

Hopefully the DS4 fixes this too.

I like it, it's not that drastic of a change from the previous dualshocks but it changes it up enough to make it interesting.

Not a fan of their half convex, half concave thumb sticks. Do like that they're farther apart now though, I use the middle of my thumbs so if I wanted to move the left stick right while I move the right stick left, and I don't lift my left thumb a bit they'll bump into each other. If I ever end up with one, I'll probably swap in some fully convex thumbsticks.

FINALLY. A new controller design. I am very proud of Sony for finally changing this - it looks to be a bit bigger, which is great because that's what I hate about every other PS controller - way too small in my hands and my thumb/palm area eventually starts to hurt because of it after play periods.

I'm not entirely sure about the new controller, to be honest. It seems nice, but I like the DS3 as it is, I have no complaints about it whatsoever. Although I'm interested to see how the touchpad will work out and how it will be used in games (IF it will be used in games). I think it will be mostly used for mini-games.

it looks sharp. looking forward to hands-on impressions at e3.

So, flat?

@aquamarin: Yeah this is the thing that I was surprised people didn't mention during the livestream! It's a slightly different design, but it looks good I think.

Can't tell until I start using it. I like the first two Dualshock and don't like the 3rd because of the R2/L2 trigger style buttons.

The sticks look strange, but I assume they'll still be better than the previous DS's (which isn't hard). I just hope the triggers are actually triggers this time. Surely they know, right? Didn't dude mention them specifically in the press conference? I'll be totally baffled if the triggers still suck. I guess there's nothing stopping them from putting out a revised controller after the system launches, though, if the PS3 is any indication.

I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on it, looks like a great controller... Let's hope it feels that way too. The LED at the back looks awesome.

I'll bump this up from nine months ago. How do you guys like the thumbsticks? I'm not quite sure yet....tried a couple of games and I have to say my immediate impression is I want to swap out the thumbsticks.

@basketsnake: I bought one solely for PS3 and PC use yesterday and I dig it. Yet to try a third- or first person shooter but I liked the sticks for Dark Souls, DmC and Dragon's Crown, the Dualshock 3 ones feel ridiculously loose now.

@ervonymous: PS3 use? I hadn't heard it was compatible, but if it is that is awesome.

It's the best. It's big boss mother fuckas!

It's really a great controller. I thought it would be weird after playing so much 360 for so many years, and loving that controller, but now after trying to go back to the 360 controller it feels so foreign and weird.

I love the thumbsticks' formfactor. My thumbs never slip off them, unlike with the PS3 and 360 gamepad - thanks to being shorter and concave with that extra groove at the edge. On the topic of the tightness. Yes - they are really tight. In many ways tight sticks are preferable. I however have found the loose sticks of gen 1 Dualshock 3 to offer the most responsive input, just because there's no tightness in the sticks working against my input.

Overall though, Dualshock 4 is amazing. Was a bit pissed about reading about the 6 hours battery life. I played for 8 hours today, without running out of juice. Guess all those people must have had headsets or earphones plugged into it. That said, for convenience sake, and because the damn micro USB cable is so short, I ordered me a second DS4 for the convenience of never ever having to play with a tethered controller.

I think it's probably the best dual analog controller ever made. The thumbsticks are not only comfortable, but responsive and precise. The DS3 and even the 360 controller have a noticeable deadzone where you can move the sticks without getting a response from the game, but even the slightest movement on the Dualshock 4 is detected, which makes precision aiming in shooters much more feasible.

Additionally, every other aspect of the controller is an improvement over last gen (both the 360 pad and DS3). The d-pad is excellent, the triggers immensely improved, the form factor simply perfect, and I'm very interested to see how the touchpad is used down the line.

It's incredible. I want to use it for everything.

I really like it so far. It's very comfortable to hold for long periods of time and the sticks are just tight enough. I am however a little paranoid about the sticks grips tearing off like some people have shown already happening.

Enjoying it so far but I have kinda big hands and find the XB1 controller slightly more comfortable. Both Sony and MS did a great job with these controllers.

Through micro USB, yeah, but it's not fully compatible - some games don't recognize it at all whereas supposedly all PS1 games do. It also won't rumble and the PS-button doesn't work, so you'll need a connected DS3 for that. It's more of a bonus but I'm definitely using it for supported games.

I've hooked it up to my PC with bluetooth and DS4Tool and it works great. It probably won't be long until someone hack rumble and touch pad support.

I think everyone raving about this controller got my hopes up, I find it to be underwhelming mainly for two reasons:

The battery life is straight up terrible, I got it Friday and I've had to charge it twice. I'd say it gets around 6 hours worth of charge, I think that's unacceptable and they better patch it somehow (maybe allow me to turn the stupid light off).

The triggers, while significantly better than the DS3, are too small and lack tension.

Ya it's an improvement, but it's still not as good as the 360s controller (and the One is better still).

I think people just lost their minds because it was such a radical change. I used the DS4 for a week and I liked it. I used the xbox one controller for a day and I knew it was better.

It's still inferior to the 360 and the xbox one controller in several ways.

Analogs are still worse than the 360/one

Triggers are still worse

Battery life is a joke. I got more than 20 hours from the AA duracels they included. My Eneloops offer ridiculous life.

Build quality and finish are a joke on the DS4.

Maybe it's also my large hands, but the shape of the dual shock 4 is not as comfortable.

People wanted a better controller and it's a definite improvement over the DS3, but it's not incredible like everyone seems to think.

Or people simply like it better because they actually do think it's better. I've tried both the DS4 and Xbox One, and I think the DS4 is a better controller. If I had to rank my preference of the past two generations' controllers, it would go:

1. DualShock 4
2. Wii U Pro Controller
3. Xbox 360
4. Wii Classic Pro
5. Xbox One
6. DualShock 3

That's right, I actually don't like the changes they've made for the Xbox One, and I feel it's a step backwards. It's all subjective, and people will have different opinions.

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@sergio:

I agree with you on the Xbox 1 controller primarily due to the smaller sticks.

My favourite controller, as it stands is probably the 360, but I don't know how you can think the DS4 is the best controller, even if I give you the subjectivity of the ergonomics (but I do honestly hate the tiny "triggers") the battery kills it.

I've been engrossed in AC4 and i've had to stop playing, due to a dead battery in 5-6 hours after a full charge the night before. Sure that seems like it could be reasonable amount of play time but usually I do all my gaming on my RDO, the one day a fortnight in which I have the house to myself. Which means I get up early and play until my girlfriend gets home, so around 10-12 hours of solid gaming. As it stands the DS4 is useless for that kind of gaming. I'd play until it dies then need to wait for it to charge.

The 360 was great, I had a charging station and two additional battery packs. As my controller started to die (which took significantly longer than the DS4 does) I always had another battery ready to go.

With the Xbox 1 im going to jump on the Eneloop train.

But with the DS4 the only way to get the same sort of functionality would be to outlay $98 AU for another controller and keep it charged (which is kinda crappy for the battery) just to switch out.

The battery life is a massive WTF (and the battery isn't tiny), the Share and Option buttons need to be reworked because despite my hours playing since Friday I keep hitting the touchpad, luckily everything else is perfection.

The touchpad is equal to a mouse when it comes to fine precision controls. They need to get official drivers up and running that use the touch pad, this is the best there is, and I want to try the Steam controller to see if it is at all comparable to this. Pick up War Thunder (PAL region PSN), plug in a mouse and play with one hand on mouse, one hand on DS4, then go all DS4 with its pad and see. It's all too sensitive at the moment but once it's trimmed down a bit, PS4 players will be able to compete with PC players no problem.

e: Disclaimer - my hands are gigantic, but I'm capable of using dualshock3 sticks without thumb touch. I carry basketballs, watermelons in individual hands, it's like my hands are the jaws of a cat mother carrying kittens really. So those tiny buttons of the same height I need to get used to slipping a thumb over to activate, and not lift - move - press.

@bassman2112: Feels fine in the hand, seems to weigh about as much as a DS3. I can't say I've stressed it yet but it appears to be a solid build.

Oh and I haven't once hit the pad instead of either Options or Share button yet so far.

Tried it the other day for the first time. As someone who really likes the 360 controller and is indifferent at best for the DS3, this was a great change for Sony. I think they improved the controller in all the important ways, at least for how I use a controller. The analogs are better, the triggers are better, and the overall feel is much nicer. And I am starting to contemplate if my liking of the offset analogs on the 360 has more to do with distance than them being in different places horizontally.

@syed117 said:

But that's really the only thing that counts. What people think. There is no objective right or wrong here.

@ninnanuam: As I said, it's purely subjective. I base my evaluations on three criteria: ergonomics, functionality, and value.

Their functionality is pretty much identical. You could give a slight edge to the DS4 over the Xbox One controller for its touchpad, but I haven't seen anything using it yet that pushes me over the edge for saying it's a must have.

I will agree that the value favors the Xbox One controller over the DS4 - and only the controllers, not the consoles themselves. That's based on the fact that I have plenty of eneloops to use with it already. However, I'm also someone who bought a second DS3 for the reason you give, so value doesn't rate as high for me as ergonomics.

As someone who has had carpal and cubital tunnel syndromes in the past, ergonomics is the main factor for me, and bad ergonomics "kills it" for me. I played most multiplatform games on the Xbox 360 not because I thought they were better on that platform, or that's where my friends played, or because of my gamer score. It was because the Xbox 360 controller had better ergonomics than the DS3 for me. I still played DS3 exclusives, and enjoyed them more than any Xbox 360 exclusives, I just had to take breaks from its controller design. The Xbox One controller has bad ergonomics for me, while the DS4 has the best ergonomics for me of any controller I've used in the past 10 years.

OP here, 9 months later and with a PS4.

I've experimented with both the Xbox One controller and the DS4, and I believe I have to give the edge to the DS4. I really do enjoy the independent rumbles on the triggers with the Xbox One controller; but, ergonomically, it doesn't feel fantastic to me. The bumpers feel bizarre, and it doesn't fit well in my hands. I wouldn't say it is flimsy, but it feels as though I could bend it with enough effort.

The DS4 is actually a perfect fit. It is stable and comfortable within my hands, and feels sturdy as a rock. My only complaint is actually the light & the battery life (I believe they're correlated). I'd be happier if I could turn the light off, as I find its reflection in my TV a little annoying; but it's no big deal. Its short battery life can be a bit of a bummer, though. Otherwise, everything about it is spectacular. Feel, usability, et cetera.

Yeah, I forgot about the battery life. It's pretty bad. I love everything about how the controller feels but I think I've seen the "battery low" message too many times already.

I question whether you've really used one at all.

The only thing objectively bad about it is the battery life, the PS4 should have came with a convenient little charge depot given how often I have to charge it.

He's spent at least the last couple of days shitting on the PS4 and praising the ground the Xbox One sits on, so I'd say maybe just ignore him. My time with the Xbox One controller made me think it's a step down from the 360 controller in a lot of ways. The d-pad is better but it's recessed for some weird reason, the bumpers are sticky and feel cheaper than the 360s and that flat edge on the bottom of the controller makes me put my fingers in an uncomfortable position. It looks nice but it feels really off to me. And, even weirder, it's not as good as the DS4 with shooters, which is something I never expected.

Truly the full-proof way to deal with differing opinions, you Sonyshill

I have had quite an extensive amount of time with both controllers (over the Thanksgiving Holiday on my brother's Xbox One and at home with my DS4), and ergonomically the DS4 is hands down the better option for me. Most of it has to do with the analog layout, the grips (which are utterly fantastic), and the button placement. I also love the heft of the DS4 and the 3.5 mm headphone jack is the icing on the cake. Don't get me wrong the Xbox One controller is also top notch, and I like it's trigger feel a little bit more than the DS4, but those shoulder buttons and the grip are far inferior to the DS4. I really don't understand the post saying build quality and finish are a joke on the DS4? Please elaborate. I think, from a finish standpoint it is far less "plasticy" than the Xbox One, but really that is just my opinion.

When the dude spends an entire blog post talking about how much better Xbox is than Microsoft within hours of this post, I think it's fair he be labeled a fanboy. I think both controllers are great. But the Xbox One controller, while still great, feels like a step down from the 360 controller, which is among my absolute favorite controllers.

If you're willing to run open source code that would like to get past your firewall from a PS2 emulation forum you can get full PC compatibility for the DS4 now. It uses the same shell and principle as the DS3 XInput wrapper, basically disguising it as a 360 pad.

Here.

I tried it, rumble works in the latest beta build and you can change the color of the light bar. He's looking to include touchpad support in the future which is really exciting.