Dual Shock 2

The Dual Shock is the name for the PlayStation/PlayStation 2 game controller included with both consoles. Released in May 1998 as a secondary peripheral for the original PlayStation, a revised PlayStation version came with the controller, and subsequently phased out the Digital controller that was originally included with the hardware. The controller was a success providing gamers with a new way to get further into their games. The Dual Shock stands as the main controller for the PlayStation/PlayStation 2.

The Dual Shock analog controller is a controller capable of providing feedback based on the onscreen action of the game (if the game supports it), or Vibration Function. The controller is called Dual Shock because the controller has two vibration motors: a weak buzzing motor (like cell phone or pager vibration), and a strong rumble motor, similar to that of the Nintendo 64's Rumble Pak. Unlike the Rumble Pak, however, the Dual Shock uses the PlayStation to power the vibration function, where as the Rumble Pak uses batteries. (Some third party Dual Shock controllers use batteries in lieu of the PSone's power supply.) The controller was widely supported by many games at the time, including Crash Bandicoot: Warped, Spyro the Dragon, Tekken 3, and many others. Many games took advantage of the presence of two motors to provide vibration effects in stereo; for example, Gran Turismo or the PlayStation port of Quake II.

Like its predecessor, the Analog Controller, it has two analog sticks, and unlike said controller, the sticks featured rubber tips, in lieu of the grooves recessed into the Analog Controller's sticks. However, the handles of the Dual Shock are a bit smaller than that of the Analog Controller.

When the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system was announced, the controller included with it was the same as the Dual Shock analog controller, except it was black, and all of the buttons (except for the SELECT, START and ANALOG mode buttons) were pressure sensitive. This controller was dubbed the Dual Shock 2 analog controller. Some games supported the pressure sensitive buttons, such as Square Enix's The Bouncer, SCEA's Gran Turismo 3 A-spec, various EA Sports titles, and others. However, such a feature is not as revolutionary now as it was when first introduced. Some titles today support the feature, but only for little things, such as varied camera rotation. Also, a similar feature was implemented into the controller included with the Microsoft Xbox.

The Dual Shock was introduced in Japan in late 1997 for the PlayStation game console. It launched in America on May 1998 and met with critical success. Alternatively, an analog controller was released in late 1997 that only featured the weak buzzing motor and lacked rubber tips on its analog sticks.