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[Interfectum]

I wonder why they are being so stubborn about this.

 

[FlyinJ]

They can't just flip a switch to turn off the light, the console was built around it.

This is sarcasm, right?

 

[Sean*O]

Their attaitue about this is just straight up asshole. Get a clue guys, unless you can't disable it for whatever reason, you had better offer the option. It's a gaudy gimmick that turns more people off than not.

 

[mixomatosys]

I can't believe people are flipping out so much over this light. Talk about first world problems.

...having said that, I can't imagine implementing an option to turn it off would be all that hard. but seriously people, it sounds like you're reaching to find things to complain about.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Convenience is something expected from entertainment. There are reasonable explanations for why this change wouldn't be a major use of resources to include in a future firmware update. Their answer to even the premise of this happening was "No." That feels like bad form to me. If the company cares enough to answer, but doesn't care enough to improve something about their system, I'll keep that in mind in the future.

Well I did edit in more before you posted it looks like, as I addressed that and agree.

It's just that there are a lot of work arounds that really aren't inconvenient, and it's nowhere near as bad as say the always-on Wii U gamepad screen.

 

[anexanhume]

Cancelling my PS5 pre-order.

 

[Symphonia]

The amount of butthurt in this thread over a problem that can be overcome with a few seconds of logical thinking is quite astounding. If you have the lights off when watching Netflix, simply place the controller under a cushion or down the side of the sofa. Problem solved.

 

[Itchy//Tasty]

The light doesn't bother me, but the short battery life does. Charging this thing constantly.

 

[Takamura-San]

if you turn the controller off while watching Netflix it pauses the video

Don't point to controller to the screen?...

 

[BruiserBear]

I wonder why they are being so stubborn about this.

Because they stupidly built the light as the ONLY way to know if the controller is on. So I'm sure they're afraid of the confusion it would cause if you could turn them off.

It was a really dumb mistake that they're not going to fix now.

 

[Alx]

He's saying the XB1 controller has the same light-based orientation feature, except it uses infra-red light, which is invisible to the human eye.

It's actually surprising how Sony is stubbornly focusing on tracking color objects, when everybody else is tracking IR lights or reflectors (Xbox1, Wii, IR track, Oculus Rift, ...).

 

[Malcolm9]

I think people are just complaining for the sake of it, it's a complete non issue for me and the people I know who own a PS4.

Battery life is fine if you aren't playing the PS4 for hours on end, as for the build quality mine are just as good as they were on launch day.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

That's a shame. I guess they'll be packing the camera in every time in the future?

I think people are just complaining for the sake of it, it's a complete non issue for me and the people I know who own a PS4.

Battery life is fine if you aren't playing the PS4 for hours on end, as for the build quality mine are just as good as they were on launch day.

Yes, because there's no one on a gaming enthusiast message board who plays video games for hours at a stretch.

 

[PhatSaqs]

What?

I'm being sarcastic of course but I do think it's funny that both controllers use lights at the top in order to track player movement (among other things). One does it a little smarter tho.

 

[CalebW]

I can't believe people are flipping out so much over this light. Talk about first world problems.

...having said that, I can't imagine implementing an option to turn it off would be all that hard. but seriously people, it sounds like you're reaching to find things to complain about.

When watching a few hours drains the controller battery to almost dead, there's a problem. As for first world problems, of course it's a first world problem. It's the world we live in. If you have third world problems, you're doing something wrong.

 

[shinobi602]

The amount of butthurt in this thread over a problem that can be overcome with a few seconds of logical thinking is quite astounding. If you have the lights off when watching Netflix, simply place the controller under a cushion or down the side of the sofa. Problem solved.

I'm sure those same people do exactly that, I know I do. The point is asking why not just offer the option to disable it? Seems easy to through some firmware patch or something, and pointless not to.

 

[Freshmaker]

They can't just flip a switch to turn off the light, the console was built around it.

Probably have to rewrite the OS code from Java to C++ if they want to make changes.

 

[purpletentacle]

Hasn't been a problem for me whatsoever

this. I've never noticed it once.

 

[baxter2231]

Probably because thats the only way to tell if the controller is on and if they turn it off imagine the complaints. People accidentally doing something thinking the controller was off, having the controller battery die since it was left on the entire time and complains that the thing is broken and having people return them as broken and also having to tell them to change it in options and that its not broken.

Not sure but did the ds3 or xbone/360 pads have options to turn off their indicators?

 

[Mr-Joker]

Put the controller in a drawer, under a desk, sofa or chair?

Smash it with a hammer.

I don't understand why Sony won't allow it to be turned off.

They probably want you to buy the camera and think that they can do it if they prevent you from turning it off.

The arrogance is creeping back in.

It never left in the first place.

 

[Interfectum]

Because they stupidly built the light as the ONLY way to know if the controller is on. So I'm sure they're afraid of the confusion it would cause if you could turn them off.

It was a really dumb mistake that they're not going to fix now.

Ahhh I didn't even think of that.

 

[Alchemy]

This is pretty silly. Force the light on in situations that need it, allow people to disable it when it is unnecessary. This is a weird issue to be unmovable on.

 

[Steel]

The amount of butthurt in this thread over a problem that can be overcome with a few seconds of logical thinking is quite astounding. If you have the lights off when watching Netflix, simply place the controller under a cushion or down the side of the sofa. Problem solved.

If you have the lights off while gaming...?

I put electrical tape on it, but to say that people don't have a right to be disappointed that a feature as obvious as being able to turn off the light on the controller will never be added is silly.

 

[Rei no Otaku]

Disappointing. It's really bright too when watching Netflix/Prime with the lights off.

Then turn the controller around?

I agree the option should be there to turn it off, but the fact that it bothers people to the degree that it does I find kind of silly. I've played the PS4 in a variety of settings and the only time I've noticed the light is once or twice when a screen would go dark while the game was loading. I wonder how people are holding their controllers that this is such a problem for them.

Even the battery life thing doesn't bother me. The controller lasts about 8 hours. I've never played a game for a single stretch that was over 8 hours. You're not supposed to anyway. Since the console charges controllers while in standby I've never even gotten the battery to low power yet.

 

[Muppet of a Man]

This is dumb. Just patch the ability to turn it off in a firmware update, especially if it nearly doubles battery life.

 

[mixomatosys]

When watching a few hours drains the controller battery to almost dead, there's a problem. As for first world problems, of course it's a first world problem. It's the world we live in. If you have third world problems, you're doing something wrong.

As much as the light can't be helping the battery life, I really don't see the light bar being the primary cause for the short battery life. There's no way that just one light dropped the life multiple hours from the PS3 controller.

 

[antitrop]

This is bullshit for PS4 owners. At least the unofficial drivers on PC let me turn it off.

 

[Salvor.Hardin]

This is so weird. They could at least explain why they don't want to include that option.

 

[cakefoo]

And some of you must sit way too close to your TVs. I sit 9 or 10 feet away from a projected 107" screen and never catch a glow on the screen from the controller (and I hold my controller angled upwards giving the led more of a direct path IF it was going to reflect anything).

Come on people.

I know it's hard to fathom, but it's possible that not everyone games on a 107" projector screen from 10 feet away.

 

[DietRob]

This is sarcasm, right?

Are you on the design team?

 

[Lana Del Rey]

I really don't understand why they won't give people this.

 

[iammeiam]

Also, like i've said previously, I think the people having a problem with the light on the TV is because of how you hold the controller. Set the Dualshock on a flat surface...the light actually points DOWN.
.

A lot of this depends on how high the TV is. I have a 55" VT60 on a TV stand that is not terribly tall. The controller, flat on a coffee table, reflects. If I don't angle my wrists so that the controller is pointed at the floor, it reflects. Sitting on the couch, holding the controller normally for me, the stupid blue controller light reflecting off the screen is noticeable on the all-blue home screen and everywhere thereafter. The light is angled, but with a lower TV stand it's not angled enough.

It's not world-shattering, but it's a silly irritation that literally every other console has managed to avoid. I think my Xbone even dims the upward-facing controller light in the dark, and that doesn't even reflect.

 

[RedNumberFive]

I wonder why they are being so stubborn about this.

Like it or not, it's part of their branding. The look sets it apart from other controllers.

Personally, I generally have my attention focused on the screen and forget it's even on. I think the argument for turning it off to conserve battery life has some merit considering how quickly those controllers lose charge.

 

[Beer Monkey]

Sony: carbon footprint suck it, global warming my ass.

 

[Nafai1123]

It really doesn't make any sense why they wouldn't offer the option.

 

[Family Fry]

Why give people the option to switch it off when you can just make them pay 60bucks for the revised version.

 

[Insane Metal]

Pre-order cancelled.

Oh wait.

 

[Sean*O]

3rd party controller with on/off switch for light incoming.

 

[DJ Lushious]

Plasma HDTV owner here and, yep, the lightbar reflects on the glass. I dig the concept of the lightbar, though no game has really taken advantage of it to great effect yet. I must admit that the ability to dim the lightbar could fix most of the issues associated with the thing.

 

[Deadbeat]

I dont understand why they wont offer and option AND people defend them not offering an option.

 

[KlytusImBored]

This is really annoying.

Stupid question - as someone who doesn't yet own a PS4. If the video pauses when the controller is shutting off - how do you get Netflix to play again...assuming you don't have a remote control?

 

[Nymphae]

Turn the controller off?

The video pauses when you turn the controller off.

This shit is really annoying me with the PS4 honestly. I've had to rig something up to raise my TV a bit because I can't stand the glare from the controller. I am a single player gamer, so I don't need a colour for player 1. And I don't give a shit about the light changing colours to display stuff while I'm playing games (health in Killzone), because, you know, I'm looking at my fucking TV. It's frustrating me more than I thought it would, and this news is a bummer.

 

[badb0y]

Weird decision but if it was bothering me I would just open the fucker up and disconnect it. It's literally like 4 screws and bam the first thing you when you open the controller is a white strip running to the light-bar.

 

[RedAssedApe]

sony is going to release a non-lightbar version of the ds4

Weird decision but if it was bothering me I would just open the fucker up and disconnect it. It's literally like 4 screws and bam the first thing you when you open the controller is a white strip running to the light-bar.

i think someone else said that its not as easy as this...its shared power with some other components? could be wrong...trying to find that thread someone posted.

 

[The Faceless Master]

arrogance already resurfacing 2 months in...

 

[qko]

This is sarcasm, right?

I dunno, sounds about right...

Spoiler

/s

 

[Majanew]

Are you on the design team?

I wish. I would have turned that dumbass LED off and I wouldn't have forced an unblockable notification for when the controller is set to turn off after a set time of inactivity.

[YOUR DUALSHOCK 4 IS OFF. I know you're watching Dexter on Netflix, but hey! YOUR DUALSHOCK 4 IS OFF.]

 

[DJ Lushious]

arrogance already resurfacing 2 months in...

How is Sony's response arrogant? It's more or less them just sticking to their guns. I don't blame them. The lightbar is there for a reason, in spite of its critics.

 

[The Faceless Master]

The light doesn't bother me, but the short battery life does. Charging this thing constantly.

short battery life can be solved by swapping in a 3rd party 1800mAh PS3 controller battery.

 

[Rei no Otaku]

Because they stupidly built the light as the ONLY way to know if the controller is on. So I'm sure they're afraid of the confusion it would cause if you could turn them off.

It was a really dumb mistake that they're not going to fix now.

This is probably the problem right here.