New PS5 Controller Pic Confirms Our Worst Fear

The reactions to the design of the PlayStation 5 have been mixed ever since its reveal during Sony's Future of Gaming event. But even before gamers got to see the huge size of the console or its comical resemblance to a router, everyone first got a glimpse of the DualSense controller. However, few had seen the entirety of the DualSense until this week, and that view unfortunately confirms something that many PlayStation devotees have been dreading.

The official page for the DualSense controller has recently been updated to include an impressive 360-degree look at the controller. While the front of the controller still retains the slick look fans are now familiar with, the back of the controller is another story entirely. This is the first time anyone's really gotten to see what is going on back there — and the answer is nothing.

This confirms once and for all that the rear of the DualSense controller features no buttons and no triggers. There's just a plain white back panel with a PlayStation logo printed on it and a small pinhole that is used to reset the controller.

This is disappointing, to say the least. An early patent for the DualSense seemed to indicate that the PlayStation 5 controller would have some kind of button array on the back. This particular patent featured buttons on the grips of the controller and would have allowed players to map certain functions to those buttons. In other words, it would have skipped the middleman and worked similarly to the DualShock 4's Back Button Attachment. It's a bit frustrating to find out that the final product doesn't feature these buttons that were part of the early plans. It sort of feels like Sony took a step backwards from that design.

Then again, an even earlier design patent for the DualSense didn't even seem to have the light bar on the front of the controller. In other words, the features on the DualSense may have changed multiple times during development, and the decision to leave off the back triggers more could have come down to a matter of cost. It's already been reported that the PlayStation 5 is super expensive for Sony to manufacture, so it would make sense for the company to try and find ways to save a buck or two in production.

However, there may be hope yet for gamers longing for those sweet, sweet extra buttons. Yet another patent for a DualSense accessory was filed by Sony as recently as May. This particular patent could potentially fix this pesky back button issue, but it also had some other neat features. This proposed accessory would not only add extra mappable buttons to the back of the DualSense, but would also include charging coils of some kind within the attachment itself. Coupling this attachment to a charging base would allow for gamers to wirelessly recharge their controllers. It could be a literal game changer for this thing to actually get made.

In the meantime, gamers may just have to work with what Sony gives them at launch. Although Sony recently announced that many pre-existing accessories will still be compatible with the PlayStation 5, things aren't looking good for the current generation's Back Button Attachment. For one thing, the DualShock 4 cannot be used to play PS5 games. For another, it looks highly unlikely that the DualShock 4's Back Button Attachment will even be fit onto the DualSense.

Video game journalist and Game Awards host Geoff Keighley recently had a chance to compare the DualSense and the DualShock 4 side by side. Not surprisingly, the DualSense follows the PS5's example by being noticeably heftier than its predecessor. While it doesn't look too much larger than the DualShock 4, the DualSense does appear to be just slightly too large for the PS4's Back Button Attachment. This would seem to suggest that Sony might release another attachment specifically for the DualSense.

While releasing an all-new attachment for the DualSense would give many players the extra functionality they're looking for, this concept is a point of contention for some fans. As one Redditor said a few months ago regarding the apparent lack of back buttons, "If the DualSense does not come with back-buttons, it will be a prime example of 'create a problem, sell the solution.'"

In other words, this latest reveal is probably not going to make many fans happy. Gamers will just have to wait until the PlayStation 5 releases this holiday season to see how the DualSense handles.