About That Retro-Inspired ‘Concord’ PS5 DualSense Controller

This past week, PlayStation finally announced a much-needed Astro Bot-themed DualSense that will release alongside the game come September 6. It looks great, but in all the robotic peripheral excitement, I almost completely ignored another special DualSense that was revealed just a few days prior. I’m a video game magpie—shiny things excite me, but much to my frustration, I can’t focus on everything at once.

The limited edition Concord DualSense, which is currently available for pre-order, is priced at $84.99 and is scheduled for an August 23, 2024 launch date. Fittingly, this is also the day Concord, Sony’s new throwback aesthetic hero shooter becomes available on PS5 and PC. The accessory is $5 more expensive than the upcoming Astro Bot DualSense. It must be because it’s sci-fi, and it’s here visiting from a disco retro future. Not sure what that means, exactly, but here we are.

The mostly black gamepad seems interesting enough, though much less my cup of tea than Astro’s stylish offering, even if the Star Wars Arcade cosmetics are rather compelling. With its bold blue and red linework, it additionally calls to mind Microsoft’s awesome Starfield Xbox controller, and even something like Disney’s Space Mountain or Star Tours attractions. An ‘80s-era Tomorrowland futurism feel, for sure.

I do wish the shell wasn’t black, because I’ve always found black peripherals to be somewhat predictable and dull, but I suppose it fits into Concord’s interstellar vibes. The void, infinite despair of the uncaring cosmos or whatever.

After brief closed and open beta periods earlier in July, the $40 Concord does indeed unleash later next month, and I’ve heard mixed reactions to this 5v5 first-person live service game. A lot of blowback regarding general art direction and a traditionally less appealing roster of characters, mostly, although during my own playtime, I honestly didn’t have much issue with either mentioned point.

I participated in the beta for an hour or two and thought the game looked fantastic and played like butter, though admittedly, I found the narrative-heavy intro to be annoyingly out-of-place in a multiplayer shooter. If Concord was a single player experience, I’d have been all-in on the story, because it’s largely well-written and well-performed (I thought, anyway). I also dig the ‘70s aesthetic, even if it wasn’t carried over in a brighter way to the new DualSense.

The lukewarm reception and lack of an expected Battle Pass will make for a fascinating launch on August 23, to say the least. It’s easy to tell there’s quality buried in Concord, but will it translate to sustained player engagement, something these live service titles live and die by?

I never hope for games to fail, even if I’m not a fan, because it takes an insane amount of work and creativity to bring these massive projects to life. That said, in such a crowded market, first impressions are everything, and as such, it’s looking a bit dicey for Sony’s risky foray into Overwatch territory.

If things fall do end up falling apart, well, at least we’ll have a unique DualSense to keep as a souvenir. See, it is like Disneyland, after all. A fresh, hot churro might be better, now that I think about it.