Sony might have made huge mistakes within the first two or so years of the Playstation 3’s shelf life, but I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Everyone can learn from past mistakes, and if any of the console makers has reason to do so, it is Sony. So I highly doubt it that the Playstation 4 will not be backwards compatible, at least not when it comes to Playstation Network purchases. It would be a crying shame if all the games people bought online could not be transferred to the next console generation. Knowing Sony, the process of account migration will be awkward, but in all likelihood, if they make it possible at all, it cannot be worse than what Nintendo did.
So chances are that the Playstation 4 will retain some kind of classic controller. If that device will still be shaped like the beloved Dualshock is actually irrelevant as long as the option to use such a device still exists. What we will in all likelihood also see, is a Playstation Move controller set. Knowing Sony, I would be surprised if they did the sensible thing and just made the Playstation 4 compatible with the current Move controllers. Also, and this one really is a no brainer, there will be a new version of the Playstation Eye camera.
But there will be another kind of signature Playstation 4 controller. And from what can be heard through the grapevine, it sounds like this device will be somewhere between Nintendo’s WiiU touchpad controller, and Sony’s own Playstation Vita. And why not? For one, since entering the gaming console market, Sony has taken inspiration from Nintendo’s controller designs. Mind you, I am not saying ‘ripped off’. Though I guess some people might argue that.
The Dualshock shape and layout is a Super Nintendo pad. The analog stick was also added in after Nintendo had the idea first. And then the Playstation Move, which is really suspiciously close in appearance to the Wii controller. So it wouldn’t be surprising if we saw Sony now taking on the WiiU touchpad. Now let me don my heavy speculation cap here. How close this controller will come to the Wii’s streaming video capabilities and functionalities is impossible to foretell at this point without further information. But what might just happen if Sony actually goes and takes inspiration for this controller from the PSVita is that we might see some kind of interconnectivity between the Vita and the Playstation 4, the Vita acting as a control pad.
Which again would be an idea Nintendo had first when they added interconnectivity for the GameBoy Advance to the GameCube. But whatever you can say about Sony’s “inspired by Nintendo” design, their designs tend to work a little better. The WiiU’s touch pad controller has a pretty low res screen and, while functional, the touch reception can be a bit finicky. Whereas Sony has the PSVita, which has a gorgeous screen (yes, not a Retina display, go back to your corner, Apple fan…) with tight, responsive touch functionality. And I would guess Sony’s proven expertise in this field will make it to the Playstation 4.
Let’s just hope they last long enough to bring this thing to the market to begin with, and that it will have worthwhile games.
