HORI has announced a new fight stick and PS5 controller that bring some fighting edge to the steadily growing field of third-party PS5 controllers. The Fighting Stick α for PlayStation 5 will launch at $199.99 and the Fighting Commander OCTA for PlayStation 5 will begin life at $59.99, though there's no word on when pre-orders will go live.
In brief, the details are as follows: the Fighting Stick α is a customisable tournament-grade fighting stick "equipped with HORI's legendary HAYABUSA lever and HAYABUSA matte finished buttons", as well as interchangeable artowkr and programmable button profiles; and the Fighting Commander OCTA is "the ultimate controller for 2D fighting games" with a single analog stick and six face button layout, as well as an ergonomic, wired design, and customisation options galore too.
There has long been an audience who prefer specialist fighting gear and controllers as opposed to 'normal' console gamepads, and this news will be music to those folks' ears. Specialist fighting controllers, sticks, and pads offer greater responsiveness, flexibility, and crucially speed.
These officially licensed entrants now present a genuine means for fans of fighting games to get PS5-specific (though they will be compatible with PS4 and PC) controllers into their setups instead of relying on the (albeit excellent) DualSense.
In a broader, third-party controller view, Scuf entered the PS5 third-party controller fray with a bang recently when it launched its Reflex models (and subsequently broke its website, selling out in minutes). Scuf was the first third-party manufacturer to launch extra controllers for the PS5 system, and demand is clearly here - such a fighting specialism will only add to that demand.
PS5 accessories like third-party pads such as these are going to be right up there in terms of sought-after gear, adding to the system's growing roster of PS5 SSDs and PS5 headsets on the shelves.
You can read a bit more about each of the new PS5 controllers entering the game, below.
The Fighting Stick α for PlayStation 5 is a tournament-grade fighting stick that offers incredible flexibility for players. As well as custom profiles that can be created (with a companion app), there are onboard audio and mic controls. Plus, the whole kit opens up so you can replace the artwork and maintain the controller to your heart's desire to ensure your performances top-notch.
The Fighting Commander OCTA for PlayStation 5 allegedly contains the 'industry's best D-Pad', a responsive and simple-to-use sic-button layout, an ergonomic design and also microswitch buttons, and onboard audio controls to allow players to fully customise their pad. It's worth noting that this is also a wired controller to ensure near-zero latency and fast response times.
Remember, these are both fully licensed by Sony so have the shiny stamp of approval which will offer further confidence. And while these might seem very specialist, it's worth pointing out that these pads can also be contenders for best PC controller too as they are compatible with that platform.
As mentioned above, there's no pre-order or retail date stated yet so as of right now, our choices are still a little bit limited. Until this fills out a bit, here are the latest prices on all the colourways of the PS5's DualSense controller that can be found across the interwebs right now.
Looking for other PS5 gear? Check out our guide to the best PS5 headset as well as our guides to the best TV for PS5 and best 120Hz 4K TV.
