Sony surprised the Gamescom audience this week during their Opening Night Live stream. Called the DualSense Edge, the new PlayStation 5 controller is comparable to Xbox’s Elite Series 2 controller. The DualSense Edge would be the first “…high-performance, ultra-customizable wireless PlayStation 5 controller, designed by PlayStation,” said Geoff Keighley, the host of Gamescom.
The Edge will come out of the box with every feature included in the standard PlayStation DualSense controller. In addition, buttons on the DualSense Edge can be remapped manually. Stick sensitivity and dead zones can also be adjusted. Trigger travel – the amount of time it takes between a player pulling a trigger button and the game receiving the input command – can also be reduced for faster inputs during high-intensity shooters. Many of these features are similar to the aforementioned Elite Series 2 for Xbox.
In standard controllers, if any of the stick modules are worn down the only remedy available to players is to replace the entire controller. For the Edge, these sticks are swappable. Included in the purchase are three swappable stick caps – low, standard, and high domes – to increase thumb comfort and account for varying hand sizes. Like Xbox, PlayStation will also sell replacement stick modules separately.
Edge controllers will also be able to save more than one control profile for rapid swapping on the fly utilizing the on-controller interface. This feature can also change the game volume.
Art Director Daisuke Kurihara told the official PlayStation Blog:
The opportunity to create the DualSense Edge wireless controller was a dream come true for our team. We wanted to build on the legacy of iconic PlayStation controllers by creating a controller that empowers players to experiment and personalize elements based on their own unique playstyle – whether they are a competitive gamer or someone who just enjoys having more options to customize their play. The DualSense Edge wireless controller also features a number of thoughtful design touches that we hope players will enjoy, including a distinct DualSense controller-inspired black-and-white color scheme and a unique PlayStation Shapes pattern on the touch pad and trigger surfaces.
As of this writing, there is no anticipated release date or price.
Skeptic is a former Crisis PR Director who now teaches media/literary criticism. With a love of objective criticism of games in general, and what games say about culture in nonjudgmental manners, he’ll tell anyone who listens about Metal Gear and the military industrial complex. He’s the only person he knows who actually liked El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron.
