The DualShock 4 controller for the PlayStation 4 will come with a touchpad, similar to the surface used on your laptop to swipe, but is there any functional purpose to it?

It wasn't easy designing the new PS4 controller, and developers were unsure how to incorporate the technology to enhance gaming experiences, according to GamesBeat.

"Initially, I was skeptical about the touchpad," Shadow Fall director Steven ter Heide told told the tech site, whose studio contributed to the controller design.  "You'd have to lift your thumbs off of the sticks to control it, so what kind of things could you do with it? Would it feel gimmicky? How responsive is it? How accurate is it? Is the area large enough?"

However, developers kept in mind their limitations and created a "forward-looking" feature that has the potential to change how gaming companies set controls for their titles.

"We can come up with things that work right now, but maybe a year down the line, people will come up with more exciting uses and even better functions. They'll integrate it even better into their games. It doesn't feel like it's something gratuitous or that shouldn't be there," said ter Heide.

As for how the controller's touchpad work, think of it as "one giant button," GamesBeat explained:

"It only has one general click, but the system knows where you're pushing. This enables developers to map different parts of the touchpad to be different "buttons" that you can press.  For example - and this is something launch title and first-person shooter Killzone: Shadow Fall does to control its OWL drone - a game can have four commands here, one on each edge (top, bottom, left, right). So if you press down on the right side of the touchpad, you could activate a different behavior than if you press down on the left side (and so on)."

The DualShock 4 controller will be compatible with Mac, PC and the PS3.  The PS4 will officially launch on Nov.  15, available for pre-order now.

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