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DualSense: The pros and cons of the new PS5 controller

By Eric Halliday

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 30: The Sony PlayStation logo is displayed during the 'Paris Games Week' on October 30, 2019 in Paris, France. 'Paris Games Week' is an international trade fair for video games that runs from October 29 to November 03, 2019. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 30: The Sony PlayStation logo is displayed during the 'Paris Games Week' on October 30, 2019 in Paris, France. 'Paris Games Week' is an international trade fair for video games that runs from October 29 to November 03, 2019. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images) /
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The light bar has been moved

This one baffles me. The light bar on the Dualshock 4 has always been a point on contention. People without VR that had no interest in a colored indicator shining off their controller and using up more battery were always curious about why they could dim it but never shut it off. The constant response was that it was necessary for Project Morpheus and the Playstation VR.

This makes me curious about the DualSense because the light bar is still there except now there are two of them and they’re on the face of the controller, on both sides of the touchpad. Now they are facing the player and not the TV.

On one hand, this makes little to no sense as far as VR is concerned and makes me think that the PS4’s VR headset may not be compatible with the PS5. They say it will but, unless you can use a PS4 controller on the PS5 I don’t see how this will work as the front facing light bar is an important part of VR games. And as someone slightly obsessed with the Astro Bot game, it’s something I’ve used a ton and am very familiar with.

The only thing I can think of is that the PS5 might have a new VR headset in the works. I’ve said for years that one of the best ways to make VR compatible with more home set ups would be to have sensor bars, similar to that of the Wii, where you could have four points of light that you can place in your room and have cameras in the headset itself. This would allow for adjustment room for people who don’t have a 10-foot radius of open space in their play area. Having the lights on the front of the controller might be a sign that a new headset, with built-in cameras, is in the works. It’s speculation but that’s all the sense I can make out of this.

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