Ergonomic, sturdier and endorsed by developers are just some the claims encompassing the forthcoming joysticks for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and today Amazon has allowed gamers to pre-order each of the console’s primary controllers ahead of their release later this year. The Xbox One Wireless Controller and Sony’s Dualshock 4 are pricemarked at $59.96, respectively – which, in hindsight, is within the same ballpark that the Dualshock 3 and Xbox 360 joypad were upon launch, too.
Much like their parental home consoles, these joypads are tethered with a transient release date on the retailer’s website – November 27, 2013 for the Xbox pad and December 31, 2013 for the Dualshock 4 – but you can readily expect these dates to change as that fabled holiday season creeps ever closer. Likewise, Microsoft’s controller is available to buy ahead of time on the company’s online store, which also provides consumers with additional accessories for the next-gen console, namely a Play & Charge kit and the branded wired headset, each of which are priced at $24.99.
As expected, each of these controllers has markedly evolved since their somewhat dated predecessors. With rumbling triggers, a wireless radio for faster data transfer and a refurbished D-pad, the Xbox One Wireless Controller has been touted as the perfected mark II of the popular Xbox 360 pad. Similarly, the Dualshock 4 is crammed with gamer-orientated bells and whistles, including a front-facing touch pad, light bar and a headset jack.
In the case of both joysticks, the iconic ‘start’ and ‘select’ buttons have been retired for a ‘view’ and ‘share’ pairing on the Xbox One Pad, while ‘share’ and ‘options’ now occupy the tip of the PlayStation 4’s joystick. Although it isn’t confirmed as of yet, there is still the possibility that Sony will release a variety of colour schemes for the Dualshock 4 further along the console’s lifecycle. Either way, both of these next-gen machines will come packaged with a single controller at launch.
Tell us, which joypad will you get your digital mittens on first? Or are you content with one controller for either your PlayStation 4 or Xbox One (or indeed both) later this year? Let us know in the comments below.
