I should start by saying this: I was mostly a 360 gamer, and i always disliked the ds3, the 360 was by far the best controller I have used.. WAS. I actually wanted the xbox until Microsoft revealed it ironically.. long story short, their antics will not be tolerated. Most of this review is a comparison between the DS4, the DS3 and the xbox 360 controllers.
The PS4 is amazing so far, much better than the ps3 and that goes for the controller too.. I used to really dislike the Sony controllers as they felt light, cheap, slick and uncomfortable when compared to the 360's.. not so with the ds4, it just might be my new favorite controller; narrowly beating the 360's (though i do wish it had settings to tone down and customize the lightbar color). The speaker in it reminds me of the wii's except that it's not of terrible static-y sound quality like the wiimote. I think the speaker will probably be wasted in most games anyway however.
DualShock 4 Wireless Controller for PlayStation 4 - Jet Black
The touchpad isn't as bad as I thought it would be.. but it is basically useless for now. The internet browser is where I assumed it would be most naturally used, and yet, it doesn't even function in the browser. I dislike the "share" button, don't get me wrong, its a cool feature, but it wont be used nearly enough to warrant a physical devoted key.. I would have preferred it just be an option after hitting the PS button.. and made that a "menu" key, while leaving "options" as the classic "start" button.
Otherwise I really can't complain. The triggers are infinitely better than the honestly terrible ones the ds3 had.. which were curved in the wrong direction, making it harder to press and easier to have your finger slip off. They are now curved in the correct direction and the pressure needed to activate them is perfect. The joysticks are much better, with a little lip on the edges and made of a better quality rubber. This makes them more comfortable, and helps to keep your fingers from sliding off accidentally. The thing comes with built in rechargeable batteries, which is debatable when vs the xbox battery pack.. I think its ridiculous these days to not include rechargeable batteries, BUT the removable pack approach is better in many ways.
First it allows 3rd parties like nyko to make better charge stations and higher capacity batteries.. it allows you to replace them if they burn out, and if the controller is dying, you can swap in a spare rather than be forced to get up close to plug in.. I wish sony had went for the best of both and made it come standard with a rechargeable pack.. or at the very least designed for some pin connectors on the back for simpler drop-in 3rd party charge stations.
The controller is much rounder than its predecessor, in all the areas that help. People with large or small hands should be equally pleased here. The back also has a textured feel now, which gives an impression of quality as well as the obvious grip benefit. I'm also glad it accepts micro-usb. As an android user I have plenty of those cables around and they are obtainable cheaply for everyone else. It also takes standard 9mm headphones, and can be charged through the bottom port (the slot for headsets or presumably a text pad) as well. The text pad on the DS3 was just stupid, being at the top made it difficult to use and navigate at the same time, and made it look ridiculous.
It was in my mind obviously an afterthought for sony back then, but now with the ds4 hopefully something comparable to the Microsoft keypads will come out in the future, comfortable enough to leave attached sometimes and not be of much bother. Also BLUETOOTH, which means you can use it easily with your PC or your android device for delightful emulator goodness.
