The Sr. Community Manager of Insomniac Games, Aaron Jason Espinoza, recently revealed a special edition PlayStation 5 controller that was exclusively sent out to PlayStation employees "to celebrate a fantastic 2022." Insomniac Games, the development studio most known for PlayStation exclusives such as Marvel's Spider-Man and Ratchet & Clank, have been owned by PlayStation since 2019.

As seen in the images below, the controller is quite similar to the traditional black and white DualSense, except that it's specked with the colorful symbols that have been the PlayStation controller's face buttons since the first PlayStation launched in 1994. In fact, it specifically references the brand's older consoles, given that, as seen even on this special edition controller, PlayStation 5's DualSense removed the color from the face buttons and instead made them monotone, a first in PlayStation history.

Arrived in the mail yesterday: the @PlayStation Holiday Gift!

It's a specially made DualSense Controller for employees to celebrate a fantastic 2022. 🎉

Here's to an even bigger 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣3️⃣! pic.twitter.com/aBJ5quUwv4

— Aaron Jason Espinoza (@TheAgentOfDoom) January 19, 2023

On the back of the controller, it reads the long-standing PlayStation slogan, "Play Has No Limits," along with "2022." In one way, the design does differ quite significantly from the usual fare of DualSense controller designs that PlayStation has made available so far. With the exception, perhaps, of the Gray Camo controller, most of them offer simply one smooth color mixed with the black, such as Cosmic Red, or Starlight Blue, not any sort of pattern.

Many who saw Espinoza's post had a positive reaction to the controller and expressed that they would be interested in it, were it to become available for purchase. That is unfortunately unlikely, as it would rather eliminate the concept of it being a special controller uniquely made for PlayStation employees that happened to be working there that year.

Given Espinoza's post, it's suggested that every single PlayStation employee received one, and if that is the case, then some of these controllers are likely to end up in some used marketplace eventually, so, particularly avid collectors that love having limited edition accessories will just have to wait awhile. Though, if fan reaction is particularly strong, it could be that PlayStation eventually puts the controller for sale and simply removes the slogan and year from the back, and just leaves the classic PlayStation face-button symbols for fans to enjoy.

Posted: Jan 26, 2023 7:14 pm
Related Forum: PlayStation Forum

Source: https://www.dualshockers.com/special-playstation-5-controller-employees/