Sony’s venerable DualShock 4 controller is getting a new peripheral. Called the Back Button Attachment, it adds a pair of programmable paddles to the back of a standard PlayStation 4 controller. The $29.99 device will be available starting Jan. 23, 2020.
The Back Button Attachment includes three buttons in total. Two are used to mimic other buttons on the controller. The third is embedded in an OLED screen, and helps you to program the buttons and cycle through three different profile modes. It connects at the small port on the bottom of the DualShock 4, and includes a pass through for the headphone jack.
Controller paddles traditionally provide additional or alternate locations for buttons on a standard gamepad. That can be particularly helpful for those with disabilities, those with repetitive stress injuries, or competitive players who are looking to improve their response time.
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Paddles caught on beginning early this decade with the Avenger, which moved the standard face buttons and even the triggers themselves all around the controller on plastic armatures. These kinds of brute-force modifications eventually evolved into fully electronic solutions, like those available from Scuf and later the Xbox Elite Controller. Now Sony has its own offering.
