PS5 Finally Announces New Controller Colors
The PS5 DualSense controller has been limited to one color since its historical launch in November 2020. Indeed, thus far players have only been able to use a mostly-white iteration of the controller, matching the identical color scheme of the console itself.
Now, consumers' controller options will expand two-fold in terms of color schemes. According to a May 13 announcement on the official PlayStation Blog, the company will be launching Midnight Black and Cosmic Red variants in June. The controller variant names are fairly indicative in and of themselves. As Senior Director Isabelle Tomatis describes in the blog post, the Cosmic Red controller "offers a striking black and red design inspired by the unique vivid shades of red found throughout the cosmos." Meanwhile, the Midnight Black controller "features two subtly different shades of black with light grey detailing to reflect how we view space through the night sky," ultimately resulting in a near-pitch black color scheme.
The Midnight Black and Cosmic Red controllers are both available for pre-order on PlayStation's website and will launch on June 11. There is a minor cost difference between the two, with the Midnight Black controller running for $69.99 and the Cosmic Red controller running for $74.99. Like the Midnight Black controller, the standard DualSense wireless PS5 controller costs $69.99.
How will they function compared to the regular DualSense controller?
It doesn't seem as though the upcoming controller iterations will function any differently from the DualSense controller that launched alongside the PS5. Both feature haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, which can be toggled off at any time. Moreover, both feature a headset jack and built-in microphone.
The PlayStation Blog announcement includes statements from the PlayStation design team's Senior Designer Leo Cardoso and Satoshi Aoyagi, in which they detail their enthusiasm for the new controllers. Aoyagi writes that the "controller's button colors and detailing has been tailored to complement the new colors as well." Further, along with the rest of the design team, he hopes "these new additions will bring further joy and excitement to our fans' gaming experience."
Cardoso states, "Our goal is to always find designs that will surprise and entice our fans, and these new colors are the result of an extensive selection process." He adds, "we designed the colors around the theme of 'galaxy' as it felt like a natural progression from the original PS5 and accessories designs."
The standard PS5 controller already broken ground in some ways. In addition to providing new functions, such as the aforementioned haptic feedback, its white, black, and blue color scheme significantly deviated the traditional all-black aesthetic of previous launch PlayStation controllers. However, the new variations are likely to please fans who are either bored by or dissatisfied with the only official design thus far.