Behind the scenes though, the war over rumble copyright infringement was taking shape. The company also cited rumble as being one cause of controller issues, hence the exclusion. At the time, it was thought that Sony was keeping manufacturing prices down. The second was Analog which enabled the sticks while the third, Analog Flightstick, was based off of Sony’s short-lived PlayStation Analog Joystick.Ĭomplaints began to mount over the long grips and lack of Rumble for Dual Analog Controllers in the West. The first, Digital Mode, allowed for using the controller’s directional buttons and disabling the sticks. Similar to the PlayStation Controller in almost every way, it carried two analog sticks and three operating modes. At the PlayStation Expo 96-97, Sony showcased the predecessor to the future – the Dual Analog Controller. Overall, the PlayStation Controller was a good effort and launched with the PlayStation One in 1994. In retrospect, it’s funny how the Circle is used to cancel choices while Triangle is used to access menus in many games today. Along with becoming a key part of the PlayStation’s marketing, they denoted different actions like Triangle for PoV, Circle for confirming options and Cross or X for canceling, and Square for menus. Sony’s use of shapes wasn’t a haphazard decision. While taking inspiration from the SNES controller, Sony’s creation would have several key differences – the use of shapes to denote its action buttons, two sets of shoulder buttons and grips to make it easier to handle the expanded button setup. This would spiral into a standalone console known as the PlayStation and the creation of the PlayStation Controller. Much has been said about Sony’s deal to work with Nintendo and develop a CD-ROM add-on for the SNES. It all started in the beginning with what was succinctly named the PlayStation Controller. Funnily enough, the company’s illustrious DualShock line-up didn’t actually launch with the PlayStation One. With the unveiling of the DualSense, the controller for the next-generation PlayStation 5 console, we thought it would be nice to look back on the evolution of PlayStation controllers throughout history. Sony’s history with controllers is as illustrious as it is infamous, encompassing some of the bigger innovations and embarrassments in the industry.