The next PlayStation controller is called DualSense, looks like a cool robot
While we still don't know what the PlayStation 5 console will look like (or whether it will really still hit its "holiday 2020" release window), we at least know about its controller. The PS5's gamepad, dubbed the DualSense, largely resembles previous DualShock models, but it appears to have just enough changes under the hood to merit a mostly new name.
Tuesday's surprise announcement comes courtesy of the official PlayStation Blog. The biggest technical difference comes in the form of a wholly updated "haptic feedback" suite, which we understand compares favorably to Nintendo's "HD rumble" feature in its Switch Joy-Con controllers. Sony senior VP Hideaki Nishino doesn't go into fine detail about how the DualSense's rumbling will differ from the DualShock 4 line, but finer-tuned haptic feedback can offer a greater range of rumble sensitivity and placement than most gamepads offer, at least when done right. "Stereo" rumbling feedback that carefully rumbles from one side to the other could be possible with such a system, but Sony didn't clarify.
Nishino only mentions one specific DualSense rumbling bonus compared to other gamepads: "Adaptive" rumbling feedback. Nishino offers a vague description of how pressing the PS5's "L2" and "R2" triggers will let players "truly feel the tension of your actions, like when drawing a bow to shoot an arrow."