Patents for a new PlayStation controller have been approved by Sony.
On December 26th, Sony approved of a patent on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) database (Thanks Polygon). The design of the controller is very similar to the DualShock 4, with the same button layout, directional pad, and analog sticks. The main difference between the DualShock 4 and the controller shown in the patent is the back of the controller. The patent shows two new buttons on the back. It appears that these buttons may be programmable to perform the actions of the other buttons. That means that players could map the back buttons to do the same thing as the circle or square button if they wanted. The placing of back triggers is nothing new, as Microsoft's Xbox Elite controllers feature customizable back triggers.
The timing of this patent fits with the upcoming release of the PlayStation 5 next year. Of course, there is no absolute say in whether or not this design will be used for the PlayStation 5. The design of the patent does feature a micro-USB port on the top of the controller, while the controller for the PlayStation 5 is supposedly utilizing a USB-C port instead.
This controller seen in the patents would technically not be the first time that a PlayStation controller featured back buttons. Sony has announced a back button attachment for the DualShock 4. The peripheral will cost gamers $29.99, and will release on January 23, 2020. The attachment has three buttons in total. Two are used to mimic the other buttons found on the DualShock 4. The third button is embedded in an OLED screen, and helps players program the buttons and cycle through three profile modes. The peripheral attaches at the small port on the bottom of the DualShock 4, and includes a pass through for the headphone jack.
There is no guarantee that the controller seen in the patents will ever be released. This could just be ideas that Sony is locking down at the moment.
