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Why Don't People Like Dualshock 4's Lightbar?

The Beyond crew weighs in on this maligned feature of the otherwise superbly designed Dualshock 4.

antbolton894414d ago

I dont have a problem with the lightbar, I have a problem with the battery life

badboy7764414d ago

90% of gamers think it's the cause of the low battery life.

ramiuk14414d ago

but how wrong they are .
Its the touchpad and arnt the buttons digital now,unlike the DS3 which was analogue

IcicleTrepan4414d ago

Probably because someone posted the results of them testing with and without the light bar hooked up and the controller lasted much longer without it hooked up.

TomShoe4414d ago

It's not a bad thing.

Just give us some compelling reason to have it, then everything will be OK. Same for Kinect.

bradfh4414d ago

Its because the battery is smaller, Ps4 has only 1000mAh to ps3 1800mAh.

Ittoryu4414d ago

I disabled my light bar and my battery life is pretty good.

lazyjatt4414d ago

@bradfh the dual shock 3 only had a 570mah battery, not 1800.

rainslacker4413d ago

@lazy

The original sixaxis and DS3 had a 570m/a battery. After the slim PS3 release the battery was upped to an 1000m/a battery. 1800m/a batteries are available, but not sure if any DS3's come equipped with them from Sony.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 4413d ago
micx4414d ago

I think we should be able to turn it off if we want to.

lonelyplayer4414d ago

how would you know it is on?

micx4414d ago

It this a serious question?

HugoDrax4414d ago (Edited 4414d ago )

I agree! Being that I don't have a camera for my PS4, the light being on is just pointless. All it does is drain my battery. I'm not sure what type of battery is in the controller?

I use Duracell NiMH 2400mAh rechargeable batteries for my xb1 controller, and it lasts forever. I also have the turtle Beach X07 headphones for my xb1, and the controller still lasts a very long time.

In other news, I finally beat Second Son earlier :-)

JsonHenry4414d ago

Well most PS4 users don't have a camera and we would like the ability to turn it off since it serves us no purpose whatsoever without one.

Although I did use it as a flashlight the other day when the power went out..

BitbyDeath4414d ago

It's purpose is to tell you which controller is player 1-4.

ThatEnglishDude4414d ago (Edited 4414d ago )

@BitbyDeath
If the purpose is to just tell you which controller is player 1 through 4, then it's the shittiest design going. What was wrong with the small red LEDs that were placed under the numbers 1-4 to whatever player it was assigned to? Since when has the colour blue meant player 1, and whatever other colours represent players 2 through 4?

I sit near a window and sometimes the blue light will reflect off the glass and catch me off guard, thinking there's something going on outside. It's a distraction, but not AS bad as people make it out to be.

joab7774414d ago

Thats the only issue I have ever heard about. I love the lightbar. Its cool looking and actually practical. I hav never had an issue b/c I have 2, use standby and rotate.

But, the update is nice. The lowest setting isnt so low that its gone but will help with battery life.

TitanUp4414d ago

actually it will have virtually no effect on battery life, its the digital buttons and crappy low power battery that hurts the life of the controller.

Axios24414d ago

Because it's a reminder that Sony intended to include the camera for $500 and did a 180 at the last moment because they felt they needed a price advantage

HiddenMission4414d ago

That's retarded the camera doesn't retail for $100 it's like $50 or $60...which means you think Sony would have expected a 80% mark up with bundle

...Really people...who thinks that they would have actually marked it up by $40 to $50 for no reason what so ever.

They changed their mind because they knew they had to beat the price by a good margin to really stick it to MS and $50 difference doesn't have the same impact as $100.

That's all...so can we move on from this subject.

Also the damn light is an LED so no it's draining the battery that much...LED's are energy efficient. It's the digital buttons and digital touch pad that are power monsters.

Saito4414d ago

Pulling crap out yer butt. That was no intention or info of Sony doing that. Xbox maggot

ITPython4414d ago

The LED's have been confirmed to draw about 50mA of juice, which isn't necessarily huge, but with a 1000mAh battery it matters. It probably takes off about 2-4 hours of battery life because of it.

I think the biggest reason people don't like the light.. is that we cannot turn it off. Some people want to turn it off because of the extra battery drain, others might get reflections on their TV. For whatever reason somebody doesn't want it on I don't see why we should be forced to have it on all the time, especially if there is no use for it unless you use the PS camera.

Although I did come up with an interesting way to increase the DS4 battery life by about 300%.

http://www.amazon.com/Goril...

Cost $20 and adds an extra 2800mAh to the DS4 battery. It fits on the back of the controller vertically without getting in the way and weighs hardly anything. I just plug it into the USB of my controller (it comes with the right connector out of the box) and I get tons of extra juice, all while being completely wireless and mobile. So instead of my controller dying once every two days, it should last as long as my DS3 controller did, about a week with several hours a night of playing.

And when the external pack gets drained, I just unplug it and charge it up with my smartphone charger, and in the time it takes for it to charge I can keep using the DS4 which now has a full battery.

If somebody were to come up with something like this but also sell it with an inventive way of attaching it to the controller, that would be a great product idea since the DS4 battery life leaves much to be desired.

rainslacker4413d ago

The only "study" I've seen into it suggested they ran about 50m/a. That seemed excessive since the brightest LED I've ever seen for sale in the same class tops out at 30m/a. The study itself was questionable since there seemed to be no real control. I don't know if there's anything out there, but it doesn't seem like it would be that hard to get the actual specs of the LED. That kind of thing can be measured with a multi-meter, and there's likely a product code on the light itself. I don't care to take apart my DS4 to check myself though.:) It's possible the control circuits and LED could draw that much power though.

Here's the only one I've seen that's tested this in any ways.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum...

Even he admits his findings don't match up with actual real world practice.

I think too much is being made of the battery life being drained for the light. It's probably somewhere in the middle.

That battery you posted isn't bad, but you can buy a 1800m/a for half the price, and should bring the battery life up to 12-20 hours. Guess it depends on if you want to open up the controller.

4414d ago
+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 4413d ago
JOEgolferG4414d ago

This. It's bad on Thief when the bar turns white, all you can see is the bright reflection but it's better now that the dimming is in place.

Negative774414d ago

Agreed. TV reflection AND battery life.

Meltic4414d ago (Edited 4414d ago )

Ive never seen it im into the game lol

DJMarty4414d ago

You must sit very near to your TV for reflection to happen

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4414d ago
vongruetz4414d ago

I don't like that it sits there glowing while I'm trying to watch Netflix.

SlasherXI4414d ago

In the dark it is pretty visable imo.

joab7774414d ago

And thats what I like actually.

Dspdspes4414d ago

I personally don't need it/care about it. But if its the responsible for the short battery life, i would like to be able to turn it off

Show all comments (81)
80°

Playstation Plus Monthly Games for May: EA Sports FC 26, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, Nine Sols

All available May 5.

Read Full Story >>
blog.playstation.com
FPSRUSSIA32d ago

What's Point in commenting your basicly closing down the site.

LiViNgLeGaCY32d ago

I'm surprised it's still the old site. I thought he said starting today?

Eonjay32d ago

Its like the final episode of the Sapranos. You gonna go to make a comment and when you click add th-

Profchaos32d ago

Timezone thing maybe.... RIP

darthv7232d ago

Insert the Ferris Bueller end scene... "You're still here? It's over.."

LiViNgLeGaCY32d ago

I think the only game here for me is Nine Sols. Was always interested in that game.

TheColbertinator32d ago

Glad I don't buy FIFA games anymore

Rebel_Scum32d ago

Hey now! Thats a great month.

Nacho_Z32d ago

Good month for me, I wanted that particular footy game and thought it might be due. Anyway who cares, shame about the site I'll miss the comment sections. All the best everyone.

Show all comments (16)
70°

Naughty Dog Was Reportedly Divided On Joel's Controversial Fate During Development Of TLOU Part 2

Naughty Dog was reportedly divided on the controversial fate of Joel in The Last of Us Part 2 during the game's development.

Read Full Story >>
twistedvoxel.com
SimpleDad33d ago

NO, that can't be... No! I can't... Really?/s

Cacabunga33d ago

They for sure chose the worst way to deal with it

-Foxtrot31d ago

Funny considering Bruce left half way through development and now we get told there was an internal conflict with the story direction.

Makes you think…

HectixRose33d ago

I think it was good decision, if he was still alive, he would have been a mascot just like Kratos, drake and many others. These old dudes gotta die for new characters to take center stage with their own storyline. They keep dragging the emotional baggage into many sequels and eventually the story just turns into absolute shit show.

JEECE33d ago

It was ironic because people complained heavily about the story in the Uncharted games not having sufficient stakes because all the key characters always survived, despite the dangerous situations they were always in. Then ND killed a character in a more serious series and everyone lost their minds. Just shows that people don't always really want the thing they say they want.

CantThinkOfAUsername32d ago

I thought the more common complaint about Uncharted franchise was how the main cast are the good guys acting so nonchalantly while killing hundreds in cold blood (aka the dissonance between gameplay and story cutscenes). They just did it again in Part II.

Soy33d ago

Didn't have to kill him. Just have them part ways or Joel can "retire," whatever.

DarXyde32d ago

I don't think he would necessarily need to become a mascot (and besides, technically, I'd say Ellie is... So regardless, someone was going to be).

From a narrative perspective, I do think it has a similar effect to Ricky dying in Boyz N Da Hood: very likeable character, and you're really motivated to see the get back—in this case, it's more intense because it's an interactive experience. Most people hated Abby, but I get what they were after with portraying the cycle of violence and revenge—unfortunately, the game appears to want to take the side of the bad people.

But I will say that if Joel survived, it does become harder to tell an interesting story. What COULD have happened is an exploration into the rift between Joel and Ellie after the trolley dilemma events of the first game. It could have been interesting to see Abby out for revenge at the same time Ellie hated Joel.

Ashunderfire8632d ago

Sorry just had to say this lol! RICKYYYY!

Man Cuba Gooding Jr was miscast in that movie, but that part was cringey it was sad and funny at the same time man.

Ashunderfire8632d ago (Edited 32d ago )

I understand but the way they went about killing Joel, was poorly executed. Even the show of the Last of Us games tried to improved it, but it was just as bad. Well at least Joel got to know the reason why he had to die, before the death happened in the show. That part gave us the full context, but the game just let it happen with no pay off.

Joel death should have been a midway thing through the story, so we at least get to play him a little more with Ellie. Abby didn’t need to be this Hulk looking woman, but more like the show Abby which is a beater idea in my opinion.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 32d ago
InUrFoxHole33d ago

The only ND game that was so disappointing to me I couldn't finish it.

pwnmaster300033d ago

Honestly as much as I loved the game, they could have just not killed him off.
I get it creator vision and all but killing a character that made you millions is just wrong imo. At least have him go down fighting.

Show all comments (25)
60°

Final Fantasy X 25th Anniversary Website Launches With New Nomura Artwork and Merchandise

Square Enix launches Final Fantasy X 25th anniversary site, revealing new Nomura art, books, music releases, and merchandise.

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twistedvoxel.com
-Foxtrot33d ago

Look I know VIII has its issues and all that but how on earth can the do big anniversary events with new artwork and merchandise for VII, IX and X yet VIII got sweet f*** all.

They could have given it something during its 25th anniversary yet all it got was a single Happy Anniversary post on their social media.

solideagle32d ago

they should know that we are OG fans of VIII as it sold truckload as well. not as much as VII or X. I personally didn't like IX but X and VI are my personal fav.

Shadow Hearts 2 covenant is another game I love. I hope one day someone can make remake, I would be delighted

Relientk7732d ago

Final Fantasy VIII is great and you are always the first to defend it in the comments