Sony today announced the imaginatively named DualShock 4 Back Button Attachment for the PlayStation 4 (PS4) controller. The company said the upcoming product will enhance "gameplay by delivering more versatility and performance" without making too many changes to the DualShock 4 controller people have "come to love."
The DualShock 4 Back Button Attachment offers two additional buttons that can be assigned up to 16 different actions total. Sony offered a few examples, such as having those buttons represent the PS4 controller's Triangle, Circle, X and Square buttons or L1, L2, R1 or R2. But that only covers half of the actions.
We suspect the DualShock 4's remaining buttons make up the other half--it has four D-pad buttons, a Share button, a Menu button and the L3-R3 button pair activated by pressing down on the analog sticks. Any other actions would require Sony to introduce functions that aren't already offered by the DualShock 4 controller.
The DualShock 4 Back Button Attachment also has an OLED display that shows the back buttons' assigned actions. It can store up to three profiles and has "a dedicated button allows you to remap back button inputs on the fly" too. Sony claimed it's already been "tested and approved" for top PS4 and PlayStation VR games.
The attachment connects to the DualShock 4 using the EXT connector found beneath the analog sticks. It covers the controller's built-in headset port, but Sony said it offers headset pass-through with support for 3.5mm wired headsets, so players won't have to choose between using the attachment and using their gaming headsets.
Price and Release Date
The DualShock 4 Back Button Attachment is set to debut in the U.S. and Canada with an MSRP of $30 ($40 CAD) on January 23, 2020. Sony didn't say if or when the attachment would be released in other markets.
