When you look at your DualShock controllers from the PS2 and PS3, you probably didn’t realize that there was an extra feature in those face buttons. You see, those buttons were actually analog, meaning that the systems could actually tell just how hard you pressed, and depending on the game it would react accordingly. Unfortunately, if you were hoping that this feature would be carried over into the PS4’s controller you are wrong, as Sony has revealed that the face buttons are instead going to be digital.
Sony Computer Entertainment’s manager of product planning Toshimasa Aoki had this to say in an interview with Venture Beat:
“With the DualShock 3, we were able to get analog data, which games didn’t really use. For DualShock 4, we deleted that, and now it’s all digital. The mechanism inside is a little different, and the data that games get is different.”
Let’s be honest, the average gamer isn’t going to notice at all. By changing to use digital buttons, however, I’d say that Sony has simplified the controller a bit, which would likely give them a slightly bigger profit margin for each controller sold now. Now if only the controllers were a little bit cheaper…