A new shot of the prototype PlayStation 4 controller has emerged this afternoon, and it’s from a much better angle. That little nub on the bottom which wasn’t clear before is now obviously a 3.5mm headphone jack, and it’s now clearer that there are two buttons next to the touch pad.
It also looks a little more svelte from this angle, and that touch pad looks a bit wider. About the same ratio as a 16:9 TV, perhaps? It’s all rather exciting, although by this time next week all this speculation will hopefully be lost in the ether – Sony will reveal the PS4 in full on Wednesday.
Sources: GameTrailers, GAF, Gaming Age, Twitter.
Peter Chapman
Makes the whole thing look a bit nicer too, although I’m not sure I’m a huge fan of the new curves instead of the nice corners on the DS3.
Jakster123x
Immediately it looks a lot better than it did in yesterdays picture. Someone get a shot of the back now please. Thanks.
colmshan1990
The same ratio as a 16:9 TV rather than same dimensions?
I don’t like this controller. It looks cheap. But it could well just be a prototype anyhow. And whatever they reveal next week isn’t guaranteed to be final anyway- NGP changed only a little before the Vita released, but the boomerang? Haha.
ultimatepunchrod
Don’t forget the NGP’s first first model. http://nexus404.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads2/2010/11/PSP2-Leaked-Prototype-Photo1.jpg
http://nexus404.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads2/2010/11/PSP2-Leaked-Prototype-Photo2.jpg
colmshan1990
Was that real though?
Either way, it wasn’t revealed at the Playstation Meeting anyway- that NGP was pretty much the Vita.
KeRaSh
Are you sure that’s a Vita prototype and not a PSPgo prototype?
Alex C
Yep – early Vitas looked very much like the Go. I tried one ages before it looked anything like a Vita.
CR8ZYH0RSE
When they mentioned they had a few prototypes before settling for the vita one it really pissed me off.As all bar one had no joysticks on them even though it’s what the public wanted.How close did the vita come to not having joysticks.Shows how much they listen.
hol
As a long term Playstation gamer, I really like the look of that. It looks a touch bigger too than the current DS3.
seravok
And a tad bigger controller might be welcome in Europe. Even if I dont have massive hands, I believe them to be bigger than the regular pair of asian hands. The controller does feel a bitt small at times.
TSBonyman
My hands stopped growing a long time ago so i think for me it’s more to do with the sloping triggers on the DS3 which have made it uncomfortable to hold at times. I do agree though a slightly wider controller would be a good thing.
wick15
This is much better image than the first. Certainly looks a lot better than the first image led me to believe.
BrendanCalls
That’s one Chunky monkey
I gotta say I like the overall aesthetic of it apart from how deep it appears to be
Kennykazey
Those thumbsticks still look pretty bad.
bunimomike
I think the thumbsticks look lovely. They’ve kept their convex style but routed the edge so our thumbs have far more to press against.
Kennykazey
I have some caps for my DS3 that looks like that, and they are painful.
ultimatepunchrod
That looks much better. Still not sure how useful the touch pad will be since it’s so small, but we will see. Much more excited about this now if it’s the real deal.
kjkg
They surely won’t have a headphone jack in the real version?
Excuse my ignorance on this next part, but to wirelessly (because I’m guessing the “real” version will be wireless) transfer sound from TV to controller is a) slightly pointless b) an extra cost that isn’t needed in developing it and most importantly c) will kill the battery of the controller.
Factor in the battery drain on the the speakers, move light and sensors and you have your self a battery draining controller.
All prototype I know, but I haven’t seen that being discussed yet.
Forrest_01
I also wouldn’t want to be connected to my gamepad by my head – How many times are you gonna forget & put the pad down, only to be dragging it behind you by your head!
Peter Chapman
lol!
This is how the 360 wired headset works, so there’s a huge proportion of the console market that’s already used to it.
Also, kjkg, battery tech has come a long, long way since the design of the DS3. With less space and less weight, for a similar cost, the new controller could probably have a longer battery life with all the new drains on it intact. Not that you’d know that from the Vita/3DS…
wonkey-willy
At my last count about 8 times forest..
I have murdered no less than 7 ms headsets.some have drowned on my bear some i have fell asleep on.
Currently my turtle beach is being held together by resin and luck …
kjkg
I’ll take your word for it Peter ;) Just would be very disappointed if the battery was poor, the DS3 has a fantastic battery length.
Sheepdip
A headphone jack on each controller is a nice touch, as it means different audio can be sent to each gamer, opening up loads of new gameplay possibilities….
jimmy-google
I’ll wait to until I get one in my hands before I judge it. I’d rather a comfortable controller than a pretty one.
Maybe that pad will be used as a mouse pointer for some apps. With its clickable function maybe it could be used as a buzzer in buzz as well.
I think the idea of a headphone jack in the controller, then you can leave more wireless ports free for controllers. At least there are no Move balls on it, that really would look silly.
I imagine that the controller will be refined to as small as size as possible so that it can fit little Japanese hands. Even the xbox needed to release a smaller controller in Japan.
anthro
Hmmm… Speaker on controller + headphone port = Built-in headset? Could be a killer feature, that.