While it’s still very early to start talking about what the PS6 controller will look like, a newly discovered patent hints at the possibility of it coming with a series of capacitive buttons instead of physical ones. For many gamers, this might seem like a huge step backward, but it’s important to remember that a patent is not a confirmation of anything other than the fact that Sony is exploring certain ideas. These are ideas that the company may never use. They could be put into practice during research and development, but ultimately, Sony could decide it doesn’t work.
That being said, if Sony is filing a patent for a controller that has capacitive buttons, it can’t be ruled out that it’s looking into this possible hardware for the upcoming PS6. The PS6 is rumored to be delayed until as late as 2030 due to high RAM prices and other factors, so there are still a few years left of using the DualSense if Sony actually decides to change things up.
A PS6 controller with capacitive buttons would need some excellent feedback
The main issue for many gamers with touch controls is that there’s no proper feedback. The kind of feedback you get from feeling a physical button as your fingers run over it. This is a big reason why controllers today are preferred for many games on mobile. Because there’s physical, tactile feedback you can feel. With touch controls, there isn’t.
The big problem with this is that it can lead to improper inputs. Imagine pressing the wrong button on a mobile game where the on-screen buttons are literally what you’re staring at as you play. This happens a lot more often than you might think. Now imagine having the same sort of capacitive touch controls, but on a controller you aren’t looking at. Because you’re looking at the screen your PS6 is hooked up to.
To get around this, the PS6 controller, if it actually comes with capacitive buttons, would need to also provide some excellent feedback. Some kind of tactile feedback that feels like a physical button to make missed inputs a rare occurrence. According to the patent, this new controller would support a few things that could help with this. One, it has “anchors” that would help the controller understand where you’ve touched the input surface. This would also allow the controller to track your touches and move the inputs accordingly.
Additionally, the patent, which was discovered by xLeaks7 and Sudoku Online Pro, mentions that the controller would support gestures such as tap, swipe, pinch, and joystick-style inputs. Basically, imagine the way touch controls work on mobile phones these days, and that’s how these gestures would probably function.
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