This is the big one for me. For me it is such an improvement in both "feel" and in my real performance that I cannot go back to a system without one. When MW2 released without gyro support, I played briefly but wound up putting it down until that was added in an update.
The PS4 controller had a gyro too that was essentially never utilized. I was really hoping this would be the gen when all the major vendors included it, but Microsoft, alone, opted not to.
The speakerphone built into the controller is great too. I can run all the game audio through my hifi, and still talk to my friends on in-game voice chat without using a headset.
Even the earliest analog sticks like the N64 (Which used LEDs) didn't suffer from drift — although it did wear out considerably mechanically!
I just bit the bullet and replaced my Joycon's sticks with 3rd party hall-sensing ones, which have worked great so far.
If you find your controller is drifting, then the console just needs some menu where you put the stick to a bunch of reference locations, and then the stick maps outs its own response and renormalizes. "This is neutral." "This is upper-left as far as it goes." "This is..." ect... Maybe even with fine grain mapping adjust if the player really wants control over drifting behavior.
You set high sensitivity and the cursor moves with hand off the controller in a certain direction. You adjust the counter-drift until the cursor doesn't move at all.
You see users of all the consoles anecdotally reporting drift problems. I haven't experienced personally any drift on my PS4 or PS5 controllers, nor an Xbox controller used for a PC. I did have it happen pretty significantly on a Switch Lite.
I also think there's probably an aspect of personal usage patterns: maybe if you're just going through sticks constantly, you apply more pressure, or just use them more, or have something like a dusty environment wearing them out faster.
Maybe I am too old, but I hardly feel any differene.
I am not saying it is not there, I am saying I cannot feel it.
The only difference is in the triggers, where you have to press more or less on the PS5.
As far as the haptics go, the degree to which cross-platform games use them really varies. Cold War had cool haptic triggers so you felt the recoil kick, but I don't think that was included in MW2. Some exclusives like Returnal leverage the advanced haptics in a really impressive way, too, but I don't think we'll see that in many cross platform titles.
It takes a little getting used to, and there’s a good number of settings parameters you can dial in to your preference (I generally like higher sensitivity and on all the time), but now I’m able to snipe across the map with a controller in fortnite nearly as well as I used to with a mouse and keyboard in battlefield 4. Playing it on an Xbox feels like using stone tools in comparison.
Compare that to a Xbox Elite controller (different price tier, I know) and it feels like a cheap piece of junk.
I assume with all of this new tech the PS5 controller is a bit heftier but I was surprised how much just the weight made a different for me.
now as to if these are something you want or need is another question.
That sort of thing really puts me off the changes, although I accept that it pushes innovation forward.
I enjoy being able to play OG Xbox, 360, and current-gen titles with the same controller.
There is one exception, you can't play a PSVR (1) game that requires the camera to track the light bar on the controller with a DS5, but that's very few games and for technical reasons (the DS5 does not have the light bar)
my thumb joints still ache from beating ape escape
As much as I agree the PS5 controller is better technically, the xbox pad works better with a PC. Compatibility wise, not many games take advantage of the haptic feedback triggers.
Playing wired is so 2002.
The PS3 controller was indeed uncomfortable, but for the past two generations the two competing consoles are on par. Some find one more comfortable, others the other.
Ultimately they’re both very good, which is a big improvement over previous generations.
If you have big hands it can be a lot more comfortable to instead kind of wrap your fingers around the grips but not make contact with your palms (kind of like it's a SNES controller with some extra finger grips). I don't know if this is the intended way to do it, but it feels good to me.
It's how I've pretty much always held them...
It feels like only a monkey would full palm them...
My ideal controller would be the PS4 shape and layout, but with the dpad and triggers from the Xbox one/series controller (the PS5 haptic feedback is nice, but hardly any games I play actually use it effectively, and I like the shape of the Xbox triggers more).
Do you use both sticks at the same time? I think most games are left stick + buttons, meaning the Xbox would not only be symmetrical but also allow for a more relaxed extended thumb instead of the lower down ps position
(I'm not sure if that's just how all "linear resonant actuators" work, just found it neat)
After you've played some games that make full use of its advanced haptics (like Demon's Souls, Ghost of Tsushima, Gran Turismo 7, Doom Eternal), going back to other platforms (or even other PS5 games that don't use all the features) feels like something's missing from your hands.. just dead.
Graphics have been Good Enough for several years now. It's time to focus on other areas of the gaming, and the control method is the second most important part of that experience.
Truly an outdated design that would force me to manage a fleet of rechargeable batteries, something I have zero desire for.
The PS5 controller has "linear resonant actuators" (previously introduced in the Switch, and in the iPhone before that) which provide a much more fine-grained rumble feature than the older method which is still used in the XBox. The newer feature lets you feel e.g. that the character walks over sand, rubble or grass. The PS5 controller also has actual force-feedback triggers (which simulate e.g. a bow or a gun), while on the XBox there are only simple rumble motors. The XBox controller also still lacks a gyroscope (e.g. used for more precise aiming), which other controllers have for many years now. A really outdated piece of hardware, in contrast to the base console.