Sony patents PlayStation DualShock controller design with back triggers

Sony and PlayStation have been making a number of moves lately when it comes to their peripheral hardware. Patents have been filed, a new accessory appeared, and now Sony has filed yet another new patent for a new DualShock controller. This time, the patent seems to indicate a new PlayStation controller with built-in triggers on the underside of the device.

The patent for the new PlayStation DualShock controller was accepted by the World Intellectual Property Organization database on December 26, as originally reported by Polygon. The device follows another patent filed by PlayStation for what was thought to be a PlayStation 5 controller, although this one is substantially different from the previous patent. The largest difference is the addition of two extra trigger buttons built into the underside of the controller, as can be seen in the diagram below. Further notable is that this design does not feature the usual PlayStation home button which is a fixture of the DualShock 4 and the previous patent design.

The new PlayStation controller patent isn't substantially different from a regular PS4 controller, barring addition of the back triggers and the apparent removal of the Home button.

It remains to be seen what PlayStation intends to do with their latest patent. That said, this design also comes on the back of a previously another previously announced peripheral device for Sony - the recently announced Back Button Attachment accessory, which attaches to the DualShock 4 and features two fully programmable buttons via an OLED screen. Set to launch in late January, the announcement of the Back Button Attachment accessory and the patent for a new controller which has these buttons built-in times up interestingly.

It may very well be that a couple extra triggers may be a standard fixture of the new generation of PlayStation controllers and the Back Button Attachment is how older controllers can be adapted. Or it could simply be that PlayStation wants to open the versatility of their controllers for the foreseeable future. Either way, PlayStation is definitely making a number of moves with their DualShock controllers that point towards some interesting new designs coming in the new future as we await the PlayStation 5.