• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Sony needs to release a new ps4 controller

really shitty battery life, but I've got two so it hasn't been a problem yet. It will be once I have a game that any of my friends want to play with me.
 
Put your PS4's light bar to dim, should help a little. There are also stronger batteries available on eBay for dirt cheap.

Still requires a recharge after long gaming marathons.
 
It's not great, but if you charge it between sessions, you should get at least 5-6 hours. If you're playing more than 5-6 hours at a time, you probably could use a short break anyway.
 

RedFury

Member
In my lifetime of electronics i have never owned something with such a pathetic battery life. I don't even understand how the controller even uses that much energy. It is seriously ruining my enjoyment with he console. Can't even play GTA for longer than 3 hours without it dying.
It's not 3 hours, that's a bit of exaggeration. Maybe if your in gun fight with intense vibrations for 3 straight hours. Anyway I know this isn't ideal but buy a double capacity battery. I switched one of mine out when I changed to X1 sticks. It's a pretty simple process, many YouTube videos out there.
 

JJD

Member
Battery life isn't really bad but the quality of the battery is.
Every charge seems like it gets less and less, my original DS4 can charge for hours but only has a 15minute charge.

Keep your fingers crossed, when I first got mine a full charge was like 10 hours.
My first controller is down to 15minutes and my 2nd is maybe 3 hours now.

This is absolutely not normal. My launch DS4 holds up for hours of use and I play almost daily. You should try to return at least the second one.
 

cakely

Member
I'm sorry, but three hours is ridiculous hyperbole. I know I've done more than eight hours of Destiny in one sitting with the DS4.
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
how is this a poor solution, of course you need two if you do long gaming sessions, its been that way ever since wireless controllers were invented.

It takes me 10 seconds to swap my Eneloop batteries on my Xbox One controller, which requires a swap at least every 20-30 hours.

So yeah, I'd say buying another $60 MSRP controller is a bad solution
 
how is this a poor solution, of course you need two if you do long gaming sessions, its been that way ever since wireless controllers were invented.

the DS4 has a shorter battery life for sure and it can be annoying, but so do cell phones. mine doesn't even last a day if I use it for videos and such...

What was the last wireless controller you used, the Wavebird? Hell, I think even that had a better battery life than the DS4. The only reason you would need multiple controllers for one gaming session is if you were going for a world record.
 
Make sure you dim the led to the dimmest setting. Also make sure the speaker volume is moderate or low. If you use headphones, don't blast them.

Some combination of those things should help extend battery life per charge greatly.
 

SerTapTap

Member
Dimming the light seems to do next to nothing for battery life. Nor does turning it OFF when using it on PC (this is super confusing BTW, I can see why it's not an option) It's either just the higher polling rate, the fancy touchpad/audio features or just a smaller battery or a combo of all of them.

The only problem with the controller is the battery life.

Other than that, it is a far better controller than the hot garbage they've been releasing for 20 years.

This gen is the best of all-time when it comes to controllers. The DS4, X1 controller, Wii U Pro, Wii U Gamepad, are all fucking amazing.

It really is an amazing gen for controllers, only minor gripes from me about any of them (battery life on PS4, triggers/bumpers on Wii U pro (AMAZING battery life though), battery and trigger positions on Wii U gamepad, haven't got an Xbox One pad but it seems fine if they've truly fixed that awful awful d pad)
 

Hazelhurst

Member
The battery is easily replaceable. They just need to release a longer lasting battery.

I agree though. It lasts no where near as long as my DS3 controller.

The WiiU's Pro controller has insanely good battery life. Wish the DS4's battery lasted that long.
 
In my lifetime of electronics i have never owned something with such a pathetic battery life. I don't even understand how the controller even uses that much energy. It is seriously ruining my enjoyment with he console. Can't even play GTA for longer than 3 hours without it dying.

There's your problem. In the game options turn off controller speakers, lights and so on.
GTA 5 is just too much for poor battery controller to handle.
 
I'm sorry, but three hours is ridiculous hyperbole. I know I've done more than eight hours of Destiny in one sitting with the DS4.

maybe the battery gets weaker with time. I've had the same controller since launch and with a full charge i get maybe 4 hours tops playing GTA. I just tested it last night. Got home around 9 and played until around 1 before it died on me. Controller was charging on my pc all day before i got home too.
 

Hugstable

Banned
Dimming the light seems to do next to nothing for battery life. Nor does turning it OFF when using it on PC (this is super confusing BTW, I can see why it's not an option) It's either just the higher polling rate, the fancy touchpad/audio features or just a smaller battery or a combo of all of them.



It really is an amazing gen for controllers, only minor gripes from me about any of them (battery life on PS4, triggers/bumpers on Wii U pro (AMAZING battery life though), battery and trigger positions on Wii U gamepad, haven't got an Xbox One pad but it seems fine if they've truly fixed that awful awful d pad)

Yeah the dim seems to do nothing at all for my controller, the battery life still is at around 3 or 4 hours if I'm lucky. Wish they would build a better quality controller, battery life, squeaky parts, Thumbstick issues and R2 that gets stuck, having been through 3 controllers I've had it all and I just wish Sony would be more on top of this controller issue.
 
Like many have already said, it's bad but it's not 3 hours bad.
Thank god for charging in rest mode. If that wasn't available, I would be annoyed.
 
It's a really comfortable controller, but it is by far the shittiest quality.

Beyond the battery and sticks, the triggers keep malfunctioning. I've had to pull off the R1 and L1 on both of my controllers in order to stop them from sticking. Then my R2 started misfiring constantly, due to the faulty spring that pushes the trigger back into place after letting go. I watched a video on how to remove those springs and now it works well (it might be a little too sensitive, but it never fails anymore).

I like the layout and the feel, but they really need to up the quality all around.
 
It wouldn't need to be a huge change, just use better parts and turn the light off, it could look exactly the same

I might be wrong but didn't the PS3 launch with the Sixaxis and then drop that for the DS3?

I agree, just fix the damn rubbing off of the sticks, the back buttons I haven't seen as many issues with.

Also, yes, Dualshock 3's quickly replaced the Sixaxis controllers. Almost impossible to find those new now
 

Smo21

Member
Do people not just charge these things when not in use? I've had no issues since i rarely game for more than 2-3 hours at a time.
 

JCX

Member
After using the wii u gamepad, I expected better battery life from DS4, but they feel about the same. Wii U pro gets it right. I charge it every few months.

Ergonomically, DS4 is my favorite sony controller by far though.
 

DarkBearKnight

Neo Member
Today is good example as I have been off sick from work with back problems.

Got on sofa.. Controller fully charged.

Played Fifa for 2 hours. Then watched 2 episodes of TNG on Netflix (left controller on).. Then I played about 1 and a 1/2 hours of Far Cry 4.. Then watched 'Wolf of Wall street' which is about 2-3 hrs long. Then played Dragon Age 3 for about an hour.

Controller is now dead.

So thats about 4.5 hrs gameplay and about 4 hrs of controller being left on while PS4 streams..
 
it sounds like you have a defective battery, trust me when i tell you that i had longer gaming sessions and on top a couple hours of watching netflix with one controller than that

i always do a good first charge with a new product that requires it though, i dont know if you guys remember when you were supposed to give a first 12-16 hour charge to past products. even if batteries dont require doing that today i still do it, so far i dont have problems with my phones, tablets, controllers, back ups, etc. also i deplete completely each time i use a device before charging it .

life is good now because i bought two white controllers (busted the left stick in my launch one) and a charging craddle/thingy
 

parabolee

Member
Turning off the LED light seems to help significantly (PC).



Sony's genius business strategy at work.

Well to be fair I bought two so I could play couch co-op. I actually own 4 now because they are the best controller ever created (battery life aside). 2 for PS4, 1 for PC and 1 for remote play with my Xperia Z3v :)
 

ito007

Member
Yeah that's honestly my biggest complaint with the system thus far. It wouldn't even be that big of an issue for me if they didn't pack in such a pathetically short charging cable.
This killed me when I opened the box.

*tears box open to see goodies*

*holds up cable*

"Well, looks like I won't be playing while charging."
 

The End

Member
If you've got headphone plugged in and are streaming game audio, 3 hours is about right.

If not, you should be getting 5 hours, easy.
 
I have two DS4s and a charging dock, so battery is not an issue for me. I also use thumbstick covers so that's not an issue for me either.

My big issue with the controller is the small, fickle triggers.

The fact that you even feel the need to own thumbstick covers is telling enough.

Both of my DS4s have barely any rubber on the left thumbstick.

They are awful build quality, but I guess Sony had to save the pennies somewhere in order to keep the price down
 

onQ123

Member
Poor build quality, problems with the sticks rubbing off, and the terrible battery life, I agree.

Just you never seem to see any major changes to a controller after the console's launch to my recollection at least. Hopefully this changes

PS2 controller is the only controller that I can remember staying the same over a long console life cycle.


the-evolution-of-the-playstation-controller_522c6fb70df34.jpg



XboxOriginalController.jpg


nes+2.jpg


wiiRemotePlusIdentify.png
 

Zach

Member
Why are so many people saying that those of us unfortunate enough to have crappy batteries are lying/exaggerating? It's weirdly defensive.

Also, I am flabbergasted by how much the battery goes down while I'm watching Netflix, etc. Like, why?
 

MercuryLS

Banned
In my lifetime of electronics i have never owned something with such a pathetic battery life. I don't even understand how the controller even uses that much energy. It is seriously ruining my enjoyment with he console. Can't even play GTA for longer than 3 hours without it dying.

3 hours seems insanely low, I get around 7 (which is still bad). How is it that the Wii U Pro lasts 80h and this lasts only 7? The light can't be sucking that much power can it?

My DS4's are always on the charger and it's annoying, I'd like to just play with the controller for days/weeks without having to worry about battery charge. On weekends when I have time to game the battery will often die with a long play through. Unacceptable.
 
The only problem I've had with my launch day DS4 is a sticking R1 trigger. It's not going to win awards for battery life, but three hours doesn't sound right. I just charge it off a phone charger overnight.
 

Dr. Kaos

Banned
Yes. Sony definitely needs to release a DS4 with better battery life. Whomever sacrificed battery life for weight or whatever else should be fired. 6 hours is absolutely unacceptable.

I had to buy an extra long USB cable because of this shit. And I had to pay shipping for replacing torn analog rubber too...
 

jonnyp

Member
In my lifetime of electronics i have never owned something with such a pathetic battery life. I don't even understand how the controller even uses that much energy. It is seriously ruining my enjoyment with he console. Can't even play GTA for longer than 3 hours without it dying.

Second controller? Longer charging cable?

Yes, they need to fix it but ruining your enjoyment? Please...
 
Top Bottom