It’s true, the games are ultimately what we are most concerned with when we talk about a games console. But when they are first announced, it’s the systems themselves that are often the most fascinating topics. This is perhaps truer than ever before in the case of the PlayStation 4, what with the industry changing so dramatically and the current generation of systems having lasted for as long as it has. Going into today’s event, I was of the belief that Sony needed to present a convincing reason for why it chose to make the decisions it would unveil and, more importantly, why it is that gamers should care about investing hundreds of dollars in a new system. At least part of Sony’s answer to the latter question revolved around making the PS4 a much more social platform than other consoles, though whether that’s a satisfactory justification remains to be seen.
The picture of the system’s new controller that has been circulating around the web for the past week did prove to be real. The DualShock 4 uses Bluetooth and is largely the same as its predecessor, save for some tweaks (like merging the Start and Select buttons into one, and the introduction of new, concave analog sticks, which are unfortunately not offset, Xbox-style) and a few new features: a headphone jack, a Share button, a touchpad, and a light bar. The touchpad, which I figured would have received some attention during the event, was all but ignored; I had hoped to see some reason for its inclusion. Perhaps it’s better that the games we saw didn’t include it, as it’s the sort of input that should only be used when it makes sense to do so, not simply because it’s there.
