Wow. Nearly 4 years later the DS4 still sucks.

I prefer to be able to quickly swap my rechargeable AA batteries with some already charged AA batteries when the batteries in my controller dies while gaming so that I can quickly get back to gaming over having to start charging my entire controller when the battery dies while gaming like with the DS4.

Plus, the integrated battery in the controller will eventually completely die permanently whereas rechargeable AA batteries will always be cheap and easy to replace.

Rechargeable AA batteries > integrated batteries

@charizard1605: yeah, that light can't even be pulling a watt. I bet the drain is from constantly polling that touchpad for input, something that could be at off until your actually playing a game that uses it. Then there's the speaker, which I think you can turn down, but not off.

@reduc_ab_: if you get 7 to 8 hours out of the DS4, you're certainly in the minority. Good for you.

It's not just the battery life that sucks with the DS4...

Yeah I agree. The battery runs out maybe 4 hours for me, including idling breaks. It's really annoying.

@tjandmia:

I plug mine into the charger so I've not ever really had an issue with its battery life.

It's a good controller. People have nothing better to do than bitch about stupid shit.

Yeah the decision to include the really bight light was a bad one.

I'd even get rid of the touch pad. 99% of the time it basically serves as a big button.

The funny thing is I can actually turn the light off using the SCP Toolkit (Windows) and the battery life still sucks.

Battery life hardly qualifies as 'stupid shit'

It's not the light.

@locopatho: " Sony even patched the PS3 to use DS4s."

Why they didn't fully patched it to include Rumble/Wireless.

It has wireless but I don't think its the official because it's a workaround.

Rechargeable batteries are still silly. Are you seriously going to pretend that taking batteries out of your controller to put them in a charger is less of a hassle than simply plugging a freaking cable into your controller? XBox play & charge kit > batteries. Why is this even a question? I assume you're still using beta max.

Anybody with friends has more than one controller anyway. I don't own a single system with only one gamepad.

Not an excuse for the atrocious battery life of the DS4 though.

It's battery life is shit... Like, not even sure you can defend it. I have three controllers and have to constantly cycle through them... And I barely game.

I'd so much rather AA batteries to internal

But...

It's the best playstation controller to date...

@nethernova: silly so says the fanboy.

I'm fine with everything except the battery life.

@charizard1605: You're right, but thankfully the battery life is fine

Shocking that the DS4 controller stays being the DS4 even 4 years after....

What a stupid title.

But it's not fine, it's terrible, especially compared to the competition. And that's what's being discussed here.

@charizard1605: I disagree, it's fine. Might not last as long as others, but that doesn't make it bad. Played a good two to three hours horizon and I had 2 bars left still. Awesome controller

On the other hand, one of my controller dies in 3-4 hours without fail (the other one is very new, so it fares better), and that seems to be the common experience here. That is not acceptable battery life for a controller.

I bought a CronusMax Plus and hook up my X1 Elite controller to PS4. Better battery life and now I don't feel obligated to buy a custom PS4 controller.

@charizard1605: I have had a ds4 since launch and use the pro version now. I have never had a battery near dead from 2 to 3 hours of play. I don't know what yall doing. But I'm happy and I couldn't care less haha

Lol fair enough

Buy a second controller

No one plays for more than 4 hours anyway

Why not plug in every time you are done playing

I have a recharging station

Just plug in when batteries get low.

................................................

Why are you guys jumping through hoops to justify the battery life.........but at the same time bash the 360/XB1 controller for allowing you to just switch batteries or battery packs and keep playing wirelessly?

@charizard1605: motion controls, light bars, touch pad and anything else the X1 controller doesnt have,that tech. Yet they are same price. Complaining about something that is easuly fixed is whining.

I have friends, I have one DS4 and one Xbox One contoller. My friends are grown, they have kids and we don't often have time to get together in one location, so we play online.

Not saying you aren't grown or anything, but the assumption that everyone owns or should own more than one controller is grossly incorrect.

My friends just bring their own controllers over when we play together...

The V2 version of the controller quietly addressed the battery life. The battery lasts around 10-12 hours (about twice as long as the original and some change).

Incidentally your information on the Wii U gamepad also sounds outdated. Nintendo quietly replaced the battery for that with a larger capacity one. Chances are if you brought one of the later produced Wii U's you got the larger battery version in the box. It lasts around 7-8 hours (no volume/middling brightness).

/thread. Mods can feel free to lock this now :P I keed.

Ok, so a new version has twice the battery life, great, you still had to purchase anouther fvcking controller.

I mean, yeah... Sony isn't going to be able to magically double your battery life with a firmware update...

I have an original PS4 and Pro revision DS4. Both have abysmally bad battery life.

Confusingly low to be honest. Even set with the lowest LED light level it really doesn't make a difference.

The triggers also feel cheaply made. Both versions squeak when pulled. Not sure why they wouldn't have fixed that with a revision.

Still an improvement over the DS3. LMAO at someone saying just buy another controller. While I did that for convenience, it shouldn't be an issue to begin with.

Apparently not. Although I could still do without the light as it's distracting.

I'm totally fine with battery, I often play corded but the times I don't it lasts much longer than my XB1's rechargeable battery, with less disconnections than my DS3 had. Still, that being said, I really hate the feel of the materials used on the analogs, and triggers still don't feel as sturdy as as they need to be, and crap rumble. Other than that, still an improvement over the DS3. Still, the Xbox 360 or Xbox One controllers are still miles ahead of it.

Wow. Buy 2 controllers. Have one on standby then charge the other one when it dies and use the fully charged one. It's a million times better than dealing with stick drift and those garbage shoulder buttons.

lol.

@pdogg93: You'd need to buy 10 DS4 controllers if you want to match the battery life of a Nintendo Pro controller. So that doesn't really invalidate the fact that the DS4 has an inexcusably terrible battery life.

I basically just keep my controller plugged in during Persona 5 sessions, because it sucks having the power dropping out every session. Same goes for Netflix - I'll be binge-watching a show, and the DS4 will disconnect by the 4th episode.

Also, why would anyone buy a second DS4 controller? The PS4 doesn't have any decent couch co-op games!

*edit* While I'm at it - why does Sony always place the left analogue stick in the wrong place? On every other controller, your thumb rests on the upper left quarter (where the analogue stick should be). On the DS4, your thumb rests on the D-pad, and you have to stretch it uncomfortably to reach the left analogue.

I know I like the ps4 more (due to objective things like games and stuff)

However I feel the ps4 is more comfortable controller wise than the xbox one controller which I've tried at other people's houses.

The xbox one controller just feels cheaper and weird on the hand.

My ps4 controller is only unplugged when it's not in use like if it's just sitting around my room after a pc session or something.

@Planeforger: we get it you love Nintendo. Also, I'm not making any excuses for the poor battery life of a ds4.

Not everyone prefers the assymetrical thumb stick design there pal. I know you find that hard to believe, but imo other than the battery life the ds4 is the superior controller. It's solid, doesnt have the hilarious hardware issues that ms has from day one and still hasn't corrected (stick drift, poorly built shoulder buttons and a lul d pad).

And lol Nintendo.

Edit: not all of us have girl proportioned hands either

Lol, love trying to see cows defend DS4's woeful battery life... it's hilarious. "stop whining and just buy another controller as a backup" LMAO!

In the mean time, I got my SOLE XB1 controller with rechargeable AA batteries that lasts for days. Win!

DS4 has always been a lackluster controller with its awful battery life, joysticks that feel cheap and wear off the grips easily and bad shoulder buttons.

Xbone and Switch Pro controllers both destroy it.

@charizard1605: I have a launch PS4 controller and it lasts a lot longer than 3 hrs. You just have a lemon.

Well yeah, its the same solution I used for the PS3 as well. With this solution you never have to worry about waiting for your controller to charge before playing because you'll always have one at the ready. You have a better alternative solution?

Same here. I have both a launch PS4 controller and the newer PS4 controller that came bundled with the Pro and both last around 6 hrs fully charged. I don't know what the hell people are doing to get only 3 hrs of battery life. Some people just like to bitch for the sake of it.

People need to stop being cheap and buy a second controller, problem solved.

Well, its a minor issue when everything else about the console is so damn great. Paying an extra $50 for a 2nd controller should not be a big deal.

And honestly 6 hrs of battery life is not that horrible. I doubt most people's play sessions last that long anyways.

Then that's on Sony, not me

Ya'll are bitchin' about DS4's battery but that's not even the biggest problem with this particular controller. The main thing for me and many of rl friends is the analog (left analog mostly) getting a "dead spot" in under 6 months of usage. Its ridiculous. Bough a new controller for DkS3. Used it for 4 weeks and got a dead spot which makes your character stutter when walking/running forward. I dealt with it and refused to buy a new controller. Almost a year latter, i decided to grab another controller for Nioh. Aprox 100h into the game, i get the same problem with a brand new god damn controller. What kind of garbage is that? I remember using my 360 controller for over 2 years before *possibly* having any problems. I love how DS4 feels in your hands but the quality control is as low as i've seen... its Razer level.

Battery life is annoying, sure. But having your $80 (in Canada) controller break in so little amount of time is disgusting.

Best controller on the market (picking from pack in controllers for consoles) in every regard minus battery life, I can live with that.

Great controller

Shit battery

The battery doesn't bother me, but I can see why it's a big problem for most people. I game in my bed room so plugging in is no problem, but if you game in a family room where you are a great distance from the console...