Over 20 Prototypes
While this isn’t specifically about the PlayStation 4, it is about the PS4 controller. During the development cycle of the PlayStation 4, the controller also saw several revisions and prototypes. In an interview with VentureBeat, Toshimasa Aoki revealed just how much brainstorming went into the new DualShock design.
“So we made, I don’t know, more than 20 prototypes. Some had no buttons, just touch panels. Some were rounded. All this crazy stuff.”
While the new DualShock design didn’t stray too far from the iconic controller design, it’s amazing to hear just how much thought when into what it should look like. Toshimasa Aoki even said that Sony considered shifting the left thumb-stick up above the D-pad in a similar fashion to the Xbox controller after the shooter teams expressed that’s what they wanted.
That would have been a pretty bold move for Sony, but definitely not the boldest. Remember that weird boomerang controller that the PS3 almost received? Madness.