Sony Controllers for the PC Better Than for the PlayStation

We often say that DualSense is the controller for the PlayStation 5. This is not wrong because it is a gamepad that comes with the console itself. However, DualSense is also a controller for PCs, smartphones, and the like. And it's a bit strange how much more functional it is as a controller on a PC than on a home console.

DualSense on the PlayStation 5 has a rather poor set of settings by which this controller can be adjusted to the user's liking. You have vibration intensity settings, you can change the standard key layout and speaker volume, and that's about it.

If you connect the controller to a PC platform, you will get a bunch of configurable options that are not on the console. Through Steam you can record controller profiles for individual games, fine-tune the response of triggers and other keys, manually change the color and light intensity on the controller, enable gyroscopic control in each game, etc.

Before you react violently - I am aware that most players do not need such things. Consoles are devices that are expected to be simple, not the ability to scroll through options as on a PC.

I understand that, but that doesn't change the fact that DualSense and DualShock controllers are software-locked on consoles, so for the same price you get a more capable controller for a PC than for a console.

It is reasonable to expect that the controller on the console behaves differently and has different limitations than on other devices. Some controller buttons on the console are not used for gaming at all but control the microphone, video or image recording, shortcut menu recall, etc.

From that side, it’s clear to me why the controller on the PlayStation 5 only has 14 configurable commands. It is not clear to me why the Sony controller on the Sony console does not use all the features of the touchpad or large central areas on the controller.

There are at least eight controls in the center of the controller. There are four swipe controls, two buttons (left and right side of the touchpad), a command with two fingers on the surface (multitouch), and a command to touch the upper, rounded part of the touchpad.

Very few games on the PlayStation have used some of these features (e.g. Days Gone and Ghost of Tsushima), and for 99% of other games on the PlayStation, the touchpad is just one button and a bunch of untapped potentials.

The multi-function touchpad is ideal for different menus, e.g. separate opening of a folder, inventory, diary, etc. And it always bothers me when I open the menu with one key to scroll through other menus, and I know the controller has room for shortcuts.

In the same games on the same controller, I have more options when I use the PlayStation controller on a PC rather than on a PlayStation.

Too much functionality on the controller could confuse users, but it seems that Sony is going to add new functionalities to the controller. Not just software like on a PC, but through the alleged PRO release of the DualSense gamepad.

This is exactly why I am sad that their options for their controller are so limited on their platform. Because the additional functionality of the controller will be charged instead of being extended for free via software.

I'm looking forward to the supposedly more advanced version of DualSens because I always ask the controller for more control. But regardless, I can’t shake the impression that the Steam and DS4Windows apps have better support for DualShock and DualSense controllers than the PlayStation console itself.