Sony Patent Details PlayStation Controller Buttons That Change Hardness While Gaming
In a way, this is an evolution of the existing haptic feedback on the DualShock 5, which can adjust tension dynamically depending on in-game events. The functionality isn't always used to its fullest, but it does add to the immersion of mechanics like balancing in the Death Stranding series, where adjusting pressure on either trigger helps your character balance while carrying lots of packages.
Another feature it harkens back to is actually one that disappeared since the PlayStation 4: pressure-sensitive face buttons.
With the PlayStation 2 to 3 and on the DualShock 2 and 3, the face buttons were all pressure-sensitive analog inputs. Few games made use of that pressure sensitivity, but the ones that did used it quite well. This made it possible to have precise, button-based acceleration control in racing games, or switch between lethal and nonlethal force on one button in Metal Gear Solid 3. These PS2/PS3-specific features have requried shifting control schemes in newer releases of games from that era.
In the patent, examples given include softening the buttons in swampy areas or when holding a soft object, or softening then hardening them when the player is grabbed. The latter is particularly interesting, since it's intended to result in the player's finger being softly gripped by the sunken button as they pull away.
The text of the original patent goes quite in depth on dozens of potential applications for adjustable hardness on PlayStation controllers, but like many other patents we can't be sure this feature will actually make its way to the next PlayStation console. Ahead of the PlayStation 5, for example, we saw a funky wristband-like design with adjustable button height, and we've already seen the possibility of a button-less PlayStation 6 controller. Patents don't always manifest as finished products.
Variable button hardness does seem like it might be interesting for PlayStation players, though, especially if paired with legacy pressure-sensitivity. Along with haptic triggers, it could be a great way for PlayStation games to set themselves apart from their contemporaries. This particular patent does seem to be be fairly ambitious, though. Gyro aim support is so rare on the PlayStation 5, for example, that you may not even know the DualShock 5 (and 4, and 3) support it.
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