Sign up or login to join the discussions!

Samuel Axon - Aug 23, 2022 7:47 pm UTC

As long rumored, Sony announced details about its plans to enter the high-end controller game with the DualSense Edge, an advanced cousin to the PlayStation 5's DualSense controller with added customization options and features.

If you've seen or used Microsoft's Xbox Elite Series 2 or controllers from SCUF or others in that market, you'll see a lot that's familiar here.

The DualSense Edge includes all the same features seen in the DualSense, like haptic feedback, but it adds the ability to customize button mapping, stick sensitivity, trigger travel distance, and dead zones in multiple swappable control profiles.

The controller ships with multiple options for the stick caps and back buttons. That includes either half-dome or lever shapes for the back buttons and either standard, high dome, or low dome stick caps.

The stick modules can also be replaced to extend the life of the controller, Sony says, but those replacement stick modules will be sold separately—not included in the box like the caps or back buttons.

A "dedicated Fn button" will allow players to swap between pre-set control configurations, adjust game and mic relative volume, and head to the PS5's controller profile settings menu directly from the controller itself.

The DualSense Edge will come with a case to store all those extras in, as well as a USB-C cable that locks onto the controller to prevent accidental unplugging.

Sony hasn't named a release date or price for this controller, but judging from other competing high-end controllers like Microsoft's Xbox Elite Series 2 or SCUF's Reflex for PS5, it's not likely to be cheap. Those controllers typically range anywhere from around $180 to more than $200. Sony's base controller for the PS5, the DualSense, is already quite pricey, with an MSRP of $70.

For the most part, the DualSense Edge seems almost a feature-to-feature counter to Microsoft's Xbox Elite Series 2. That said, Microsoft's controller also emphasizes nicer materials and in-hand feel, and Sony's announcement hasn't said anything about how the DualSense Edge will (or won't) differ from the DualSense in that regard.

Sony also finally named a release window for the PlayStation VR2, the PlayStation 5-exclusive follow-up to the highly successful 2016 PlayStation VR headset for the PlayStation 4.

In a tweet and an Instagram post, Sony announced that the headset is "coming early 2023" and accompanied the social posts with an image depicting the headset and its two controllers—though we've seen both before.

Perhaps most importantly, it will support eye-tracking that enables foveated rendering, a technique that allows VR headsets to focus their horsepower on the pixels that are clearest at the center of your view while allowing for natural blurriness in your peripheral vision.

And it will connect to the PS5 with a single USB-C cable with no external camera required—a far cry from the wire-laden unwieldy connections seen in the original PSVR.

Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

You must login or create an account to comment.

Join the Ars Orbital Transmission mailing list to get weekly updates delivered to your inbox.

CNMN Collection WIRED Media Group © 2022 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1/20) and Ars Technica Addendum (effective 8/21/2018). Ars may earn compensation on sales from links on this site. Read our affiliate link policy. Your California Privacy Rights | Do Not Sell My Personal Information The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Ad Choices