While the PS4 and Xbox One might have raised the visual quality of console gaming, PC gaming enthusiasts would argue that the lack of keyboard and mouse input means that those systems will never be on a par with a gaming rig – especially when it comes to first-person shooters. Well, until now that is. The Tactical Assault Commander 4 is a new control solution from accessory-maker Hori, that aims to replicate classic PC gaming control on either the PlayStation 3 or 4.
The product, which is officially licensed by Sony, lays out all of the controllers you'd usually find on a Dualshock 4 across a compact keypad and mouse setup. There's a standard D-pad on offer, as well as a dedicated "walk" key, and the whole thing is reprogrammable, meaning you can reassign buttons to suit your own preferences.
As with the standard Dualshock 4, there's a touchpad included, located here on the top of the keypad section of the product. There's a backlight included for the keypad, so it'll even look a little more like a gaming PC setup, and the whole thing is wired, with the mouse plugging into the keypad via USB and the keypad into the console.
While this might be the only controller we've seen that offers quite this setup, there is a general industry trend towards offering more choice when it comes to control solutions. At E3, Microsoft announced an all-new Xbox Elite Controller, and just last week, Xbox's Phil Spencer revealed on Twitter that the company is working on keyboard and mouse support for the Xbox One (though it's not yet clear exactly how this will be implemented).
Elsewhere, Valve's Steam Controller is set to offer two circular trackpads in the place of traditional thumbsticks, with the goal of replicating the precision of a mouse.
Assuming that the experience of using the Tactical Assault Commander 4 lives up to the concept behind it, then it might well fill a gap in the console accessory market for Sony's systems. According to Amazon UK, the Tactical Assault Commander 4 will ship in early October for £86 (US$134). We'd expect it to hit the US around the same time.