By the time Sony’s PlayStation hit the market, this became the go-to design. So, on the surface, their pads haven’t changed as much as Nintendo’s mix of Wiimotes, Gamepads, and Joycons. However, their launch-day controllers still show how they’ve changed things up over the years, with some turning out better than others.
5 PlayStation Controller
3D graphics were the biggest revolution in the 1990s, and the original PlayStation was at its head. Still, their original controller shows some changes had yet to come. It was essentially a mild upgrade to the SNES controller, with handles for better grip and an extra button per shoulder. The color-coded symbols helped it stand out compared to Nintendo and Sega’s letter-coded ones too.
While it was good enough for 1994-1996, the controller got left behind when the Nintendo 64’s triple-pronged trident-looking pad introduced an analogue stick for smoother 3D movement, a movable camera via the C buttons, and a slot for the vibration-inducing Rumble Pak. They made the PS1 controller look positively ancient, so by 1997 Sony replaced it with the Dual Analog and DualShock controllers.
4 SixAxis
While Sony’s attempt to keep up with Nintendo worked with the DualShock, it failed for the PS3’s SixAxis. First, its banana-shaped prototype design was as scorned as the console’s high price tag, leading to the final design resembling the original DualShock controller. Second, its Wii-like motion controls weren’t so good, being wonky even in games that used them mildly like the first Uncharted game. They all but disappeared from PS3 games by the time the 2010s began.
Most controversially, it got rid of the rumble function. The vibrations had become nearly as important as the analogue sticks. Yet Sony acted like it wasn’t important, giving the excuse that it interfered with the motion controls. In reality, Sony took it out because they were the subject of a patent dispute with the tech company Immersion Corporation. Once it was settled, Sony brought the rumble back with the DualShock 3, leaving the bog-standard SixAxis behind.
3 DualShock 2
Sony never had such trouble with the PS2’s launch controller. If only because it was essentially the same as the first DualShock controller. In fact, the PS1 controllers were compatible with the PS2 as well. If push came to shove, players could’ve gotten the machine on its own, then use their old DualShocks on it. That is until they played a game that needed the DualShock 2’s pressure sensitive buttons.
Players could perform different actions depending on how they pressed them. While it was innovative at the time, it could be fiddly in practice. For example, the original CQC attacks in Metal Gear Solid 3 were tricky to pull off because they all relied on how lightly or firmly players pressed the Circle button. But they did make racing games more satisfying to play by making acceleration more responsive.
2 DualShock 4
The PS4 was a leap back into the limelight for Sony, if only because Microsoft botched the Xbox One’s launch so badly. While they were trying to promote the Kinect and always-online DRM as key features, Sony was showing off their Dual Shock 4 controller. After nearly 20 years of largely identical-looking pads, the DualShock 4 stood out from the pack. It had new, fancy functions like a speaker (aping the Wiimote), and a light bar for added immersion or to show which player was controlling which character.
The device also had a headphone jack for online communication, and a new Share Button to capture fun moments in gameplay either as a screenshot or a video clip, and upload them straight to YouTube or social media. While it had motion controls, they were used more for novelty functions like mixing drinks in Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise. More impressively, it had a PS Vita-like touchpad that could register swipes or be pressed in like an extra button. While it wasn’t as durable as its later editions, the launch day PS4 controller is still a reliable pad for the machine.
1 DualSense
The PS5’s relatively new DualSense controller has all the same functions as the DualShock 4. Albeit with an improved battery life, a better speaker, built-in microphone for the new voice typing function, a USB-C port for charging, and a removable section for replacing the analogue sticks if they went funny. Which is nice enough, if no more exciting than its new color scheme and design.
That’s where the DualSense part of its name comes in. It expands upon the vibration function and the DualShock 4’s pressure-sensitive triggers by implementing force-feedback. Now players can feel how rough a sandstorm is, or how turbulent the rough seas can get through its handles. Then they can feel how tight a pulled bowstring can be when they press the triggers. These tactile functions make it a fun controller to hold, and the best of the PlayStation’s launch controllers.
More: Every PS5 DualSense Controller Feature, Ranked
