Your DualShock controller could have been VERY different in the next-gen!
The next version of the famous PlayStation controller, DualShock 4, will now sport a sleek touchpad right in the center, which has already led developers to integrate the technology into their control schemes (like literally flinging a grenade with a flick of your wrist in some upcoming FPS titles). However, the touchpad wasn’t their first idea.
Toshimasa Aoki (who joined in 2010 as product planning manager) told GamesBeat how an actual screen almost made its way onto the DualShock. “A touchscreen was another idea that we had. We actually tested it, but [besides cost factors], our game teams felt like having to look down at the controller is not what they want to do. They want to have the consumers concentrated on the big picture that they show on the TV.” Aoki said.
He also touched (no pun intended) on just HOW different the overall design could have been. At one point, a design concept called for no buttons at all!
Regarding one of the possible new layouts, Aoki said: “At the very start, we were thinking of drastically changing the controller. We tried out new devices, changing the form factor. We’d start from there and then try to talk to the game teams and tweak toward what the best form would be to have for those new devices. So we made, I don’t know, more than 20 prototypes. Some had no buttons, just touch panels. Some were rounded. All this crazy stuff.”
The final version of the DualShock 4 (featuring the touchpad) will launch with the PlayStation 4 on November 15th for $399 .
Source: GamesBeat