PlayStation 5 release date, innovative new controller revealed

Olivia Richman Published 08/10/2019

After months of rumors, Sony has officially announced that the Playstation 5 will be coming in 2020, just in time for the holidays.

The announcement came in the form of a letter from Sony Interactive Media President and CEO Jim Ryan on Playstation’s Japanese website. He noted that the reveal “may not be a big surprise,” but there may be some small details he could share that show the company’s innovation and the system’s improvements.

“More specifically, the new controller features that will be released with PS5,” he continued. “One of the goals of PS5 is to ‘lead the sense of immersion to a higher level.’ To realize this goal, we first had to rethink ‘controller.'”

PlayStation 5 coming in 2020 with new controller features

The first major change to the PS5 controller will be its reinvented vibration function. Sony will be adopting haptic technology, which will offer a wide variety of reactions. This means there will be a different vibration pattern and intensity for things like car crashes, touchdowns, and running.

This technology was tested by WIRED, who reported various important details on the PS5 in April. One of their journalists reported on the haptic technology while playing the VR title Astro Bot Rescue Mission: “In the most impressive, I ran a character through a platform level featuring a number of different surfaces, all of which gave distinct, and surprisingly immersive, tactile experiences. Sand felt slow and sloggy; mud felt slow and soggy. On ice, a high-frequency response made the thumbsticks really feel like my character was gliding. Jumping into a pool, I got a sense of the resistance of the water; on a wooden bridge, a bouncy sensation.”

The second controller innovation revoleves around the evolution of the L2 and R2 buttons. On the PlayStation 5, they will be called “adaptive triggers.”

“Game developers will be able to program the trigger resistance to match the actions the player takes, and in combination with haptic technology, more realistic actions can be reproduced than ever before,” Ryan explained.

Some examples cited were the difference between pulling the trigger on a gun and drawing back an arrow in a bow, or hitting the accelerator on different types of vehicles.

According to the press release, many game developers have already started to work the adaptive triggers into their titles.

“We hope you will try these new features to your heart’s content and expand your imagination,” Ryan concludes.

While awaiting the PS5, PlayStation 4 owners can anticipate the release of DEATH STRANDING and The Last of Us Part II, two titles that have had fans salivating for years. And naturally, Ryan noted there will be “many masterpieces in the future” for the PS5.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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