DualShock 4 is 'near final' design

Sony's PlayStation 4 hardware designs are still in different states of flux, as the console itself isn't finalized and the DualShock 4 controller may still get "small tweaks."

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The PlayStation 4 announcement didn't show any of the console itself, but did show the redesigned controller. The DualShock 4 bears a lot in common with its predecessors, with a few tweaks like the touch pad and dedicated Share button. And while Sony isn't quite ready to call it the final design, it's close.

Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida told Engadget that the controller is "near final" with some "small tweaks" yet to go. The console itself is "still in development in terms of final specs and design," which explains why we didn't see it.

Yoshida also pointed out that he favored giving those in attendance at the reveal event some hands-on time with the console, but says the hardware designers were uneasy with journalists finding "some detail" that isn't meant to be public just yet. He claimed that people will be able to start playing it "by E3, I think."

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  • reply
    February 22, 2013 10:30 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, DualShock 4 is 'near final' design.

    Sony's PlayStation 4 hardware designs are still in different states of flux, as the console itself isn't finalized and the DualShock 4 controller may still get "small tweaks."

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      February 22, 2013 10:48 AM

      I'm pretty sure that the share button won't make the final cut.

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        February 22, 2013 10:56 AM

        yeah, it will be embarrassing streaming japanese RPG's always online, but anyway.

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        February 22, 2013 11:02 AM

        My wife, who pays zero attention to gaming news saw something about the share button on CNN or something and told me it was ridiculous.

        Maybe the kiddies will like it, who knows.

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          February 22, 2013 11:50 AM

          Of fucking course they'll like it. Streaming yourself playing a game is fucking huge. Look up any game on youtube and you'll find tons of people just playing games and they get views. People love this shit.

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          February 22, 2013 4:30 PM

          [deleted]

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        February 22, 2013 11:09 AM

        I think it'll stay but the form of the button will end up adapting the gamepad figure a lot better.

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        February 22, 2013 11:42 AM

        I don't get the problem - you don't have to use it. Have you never done something amazing in a game and thought "man, I wish the last 3 minutes of gameplay had been recording and I could store it".

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          February 22, 2013 11:59 AM

          yeah it's an awesome feature. not for everyone, especially people with no friends but it will work for anyone who plays games and is the type who also shares photos and videos on facebook. if you're not, well then you don't use it and play games like you normally would.

          i don't see it getting cut. 0% chance.

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          February 22, 2013 1:43 PM

          I'm excited for it for this reason, I don't care about sharing it with friends but there are so many moments in gaming where something awesome/hilarious happens and I wish I could watch it again. Being able to rewind and save a video of that moment in any game I want sounds fucking awesome!

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          February 22, 2013 1:44 PM

          The problem is why do you need a physical button for that?

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            February 22, 2013 4:38 PM

            Convenience? Why do you need empty space in a place that you're not going to accidentally press?

            If not for that you'd have to press the PS button, scroll along in the menu to the sharing options and click that one, instead of a button press. I have a calculator button on my keyboard. It brings up windows calculator. I use it all the time.

            You could argue that noone should get a mouse with side buttons, keyboards with macro buttons or TV removes don't need all the options they have, like "favourites", "presets" etc, since you could just access them through a menu button.

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            February 22, 2013 8:31 PM

            If you give it a physical button, people are more likely to use it.

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        February 22, 2013 11:49 AM

        Yeah, they'll totally cut out a cornerstone of their design. I'm sure that'll happen.

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          February 22, 2013 12:24 PM

          They can keep the functionality without having a dedicated button for it

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            February 22, 2013 12:45 PM

            Having a dedicated button for it is kind of the cornerstone of their design. It's a huge part of the system, an important feature. That's why it gets its own button.

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            February 22, 2013 1:36 PM

            Sure, if they want people to forget about it.

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              February 22, 2013 8:55 PM

              Seriously, very few people are going to dig into some menus to share stuff. If you make it one button click stupid easy, it's far more likely to catch on and actually get used.

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        February 22, 2013 12:09 PM

        [deleted]

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        February 22, 2013 12:16 PM

        Someone should start an internet petition to bring back the Start and Select buttons.

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          February 22, 2013 12:19 PM

          cmon bro what game uses select. in the history of video games

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            February 22, 2013 12:29 PM

            KONAMI CODE YOU HEATHEN!

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            February 22, 2013 1:06 PM

            Goonies II

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            February 22, 2013 4:39 PM

            Every game with a scoreboard.

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            February 22, 2013 4:42 PM

            The 360 frequently uses the back button for leaderboards, and the Wii uses its minus buttons for things like menus.

            They're the modern day "select".

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            February 22, 2013 6:06 PM

            Even the PS4 has a select button! They are just calling it "options"

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          February 24, 2013 3:04 AM

          Select - nonsense
          Start - same as the new options button, so who cares?! x)

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        February 22, 2013 2:08 PM

        Ill just mis-hit the button on accident. All the time. Pissing me off

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      February 22, 2013 12:13 PM

      Hopefully that doesn't mean they'll cheap out the design.

      It's not the most beautiful looking controller, however it looks to be of high build quality especially compared to previous DualShocks.

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      February 22, 2013 12:38 PM

      E3 should be pretty exciting this year...

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      February 22, 2013 12:49 PM

      They need to change the shape of the share and options buttons. I hope the back is soft touch like the Nexus 7.

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      February 22, 2013 2:19 PM

      Wish they'd have put more space between the 2 analog sticks.

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      February 22, 2013 2:32 PM

      PS controllers are uncomfortable and akward. I'll bet that boomerang PS3 prototype was ergonomic as hell. People were idiots to bitch over it.

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        February 22, 2013 2:37 PM

        That's the opposite of what everyone said when it first came out. I remember articles talking about how it was so comfortably ergonomic that the author was walking around just holding it.

        I don't play a whole lot of console games these days but the PS and Xbox controllers seem about equivalent to me. The non-symmetrical nature of the Xbox controller seems weird to me though.

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        February 22, 2013 4:26 PM

        Looks like the DS4 fixes a lot of the comfort issues.

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        February 22, 2013 4:32 PM

        [deleted]

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        February 22, 2013 4:32 PM

        The boomerang controller was actually really similar to the PS1 era Alps pad which had issues (dpad and button related) but I recall people thinking it was very comfortable/ergonomic http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/8149/alpspad.jpg

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        February 22, 2013 4:37 PM

        [deleted]

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        February 22, 2013 5:00 PM

        Agreed. At least they stopped being idiots and made the sticks and (hopefully) the triggers concave.

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          February 25, 2013 1:18 PM

          I hate concave sticks. The rubberized sticks on the dualshock 3 are vastly superior to the 360 sticks.

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        February 22, 2013 7:34 PM

        agreed. I won't buy a ps3 for playing games just because of the controller

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          February 22, 2013 7:35 PM

          ps4, that is

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          February 22, 2013 8:36 PM

          ps4 controller looks much more comfortable than ps3. bigger grips for my large, american palms.

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        February 23, 2013 10:16 AM

        PS3 controller really hampered my enjoyment of the console, I hope they addressed this in the new iteration

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