Beyond a major aesthetic shift, the recently revealed PlayStation 5 DualSense controller is changing the way players and developers will approach Sony's console line. The studio behind the PS4-exclusive Until Dawn, Supermassive Games, is already discussing how the controller will affect QTEs and more in its future games.
The PS5's proprietary DualSense controller is a major step up from previous iterations of the DualShock series, bringing several current- and next-gen features to the console's playerbase. Underneath its more obviously redesigned light bar, touchpad, and two-toned shell, the DualSense sports haptic feedback, longer battery life, and a built-in microphone. Its adaptive triggers can even emulate real-world tension and resistance, despite sharing an unfortunate shape and placement with the DualShock 4's. The new gamepad throws just about everything but the kitchen sink at players, whose few unfulfilled wishes include an all-black model to be available at launch.
Supermassive Games, the developer of cinematic horror experiences like Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan, has a long history of working with Sony and its first-party studios on PlayStation exclusives, so it makes sense that they'd be excited for the DualSense's potential. Speaking to Gamereactor, Supermassive's Pete Samuels said the controller is "really exciting", as his team enjoys "trying to design for new stuff." Samuels gushed about the DualSense's "whole tactile thing" (in reference to haptic feedback) and how it could help a "character's experience to be directed back to the player." Alluding to Supermassive's past use of voice-controlled quick time events, he remarked that they're "already having some discussions" about implementing that feature in the upcoming The Dark Pictures: Little Hope's PS5 release.
If the DualSense controller makes it easier for developers like Supermassive to make more games like slasher-inspired Until Dawn, which push the boundaries of what modern gaming can be, then its value may go way beyond looking like a pretty sci-fi prop in players' hands. Speaking of value, though, console gamepads are now in a growing arms race not unlike the one being waged between major smartphone manufacturers. The price of first-party PS5 and Xbox Series X controllers will surely bloat alongside their growing list of hardware innovations, and that's not even mentioning the current generation's ridiculous $80 price tag on most Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons.
As the industry sales leader, Sony can undoubtedly afford to eat the cost associated with providing the ambitious DualSense to a greater number of players at a reasonable sale price, but whether or not that will be the case remains to be seen. It's exciting to see developers like Supermassive clamoring at the PS5 controller's potential, even though the features of its yet-unrevealed console companion will offer (or what it'll even look like) is a complete toss-up for now.
Source: Gamereactor
https://ift.tt/3bq8t9o
April 20, 2020 at 06:48AM
