We have one more year remaining in Sony's PlayStation 4 before we receive the next generation of consoles in the gaming industry. A while ago, a PlayStation 5 design patent was floating around, and people criticized it heavily for its weird edges and relatively old look. It popped up in a developer's studio a short time after, and it turns out it was just a developer kit for studios and companies to create their products on for the next generation. Well, now we have a new patent popping up, and this time it is for the DualShock controller design.
The patent design doesn't stray far from the current PlayStation DualShock 4. Its front-facing buttons are all intact with the same symbolic logos, analog sticks, arrows, and the touchpad. However, the PlayStation button in the middle of the current controller isn't there anymore. On the other side, the backside is the exact same but includes two new configurable buttons, which means you can program them to perform the same function of another button. Not only that, the patent details Sony's freedom to customize or change their position, as they are currently located directly behind the analog sticks. This allows the studio to come up with several design iterations until they find the approved design, which will probably be the most ergonomic-friendly out of them.
Sony Controller Patent WIPO by Polygondotcom on Scribd
The controller details present in this patent brings back memories of what Sony revealed earlier this month, the Back Button Attachment. The latter was revealed as a new DualShock 4 add-on peripheral, available in January 2020 for $29.99, and features two programmable paddles. The attachment's purpose is extremely similar in theory to the new buttons proposed in the patent, which indicates Sony might want to make DualShock 4 controllers compatible with the new console once it is out. The following is the patent uploaded by Polygon.
